In July, Tampa entrepreneurs will get the unusual chance to participate in a weekend of business building and pitching where real businesses are thought up and real partnerships are formed. 54 hours is all it takes to take a business from idea to pitch stage, and that is exactly what will happen at the Microsoft Corporate building July 8 – 10. Tampa is one of many Startup Weekend events that take place around the world throughout the year.
 
How successful are these events? Roughly 2,450 startups have been created including Food Spotting, Zaarly, and Pocket Tales. The most common question we have been asked while planning the Tampa event is; what if I’m not technical or don’t have a business idea? This should not discourage anyone from attending the event, because businesses are  intended to offer services and make money, the sky is the limit with opportunity. Everyone has something to offer.  Startup Weekend gives attendees the opportunity to network with other like-minded individuals, mingle with local startup leaders and perhaps even take a shot at learning a new skill.
 
Some of the women behind Startup Weekend Tampa:
 
Startup Weekend Organizer and WWOTB Member Susie Steiner is no newbie when it comes to startups. Susie has her hands in many ventures including Fido’s Laundry, an online upscale dog boutique. She is the founder of Geek is Single and operates a highly successful freight brokerage business here in Tampa.
 
Co-organizer - Kim Randall is a Social Brand Strategist and serial entrepreneur. Her companies and partnerships include KiMedia Strategies LLC and Geek Is Single.

Mentor - Linda Olson is the founder of Tampa Bay WaVE, a local nonprofit organization with a mission to enable & support high growth web startups throughout Tampa Bay.  Currently, WaVE has over 3 dozen members, one of which you may have heard of Wufoo.com (who was recently acquired for $35 million).  She is also the founder of 3 different web ventures of her own - WOMbeat!, StudGuru and Total Web Concierge.  When she is not working on WaVE or one of her ventures, Linda is an active board member for the TBTF Foundation and an advisor to several small and mid-sized local companies.

Mentor – Katy Richard  is a front-end web developer for Grooveshark, she has a passion for clean code, usablilty, web standards, and design of all kinds - plus an unhealthy fetish for office supplies.

Pitch Coach – Elizabeth Colón, National Speaker Trainer and Program Manager, will coach attendees on how to pitch their ideas and startup company to investors, both technical and financial.
 
Please join us and many other wonderful Working Women of Tampa Bay for the first ever Startup Weekend Tampa.  Use the code WWTB for 20% discount.

Startup Weekend Tampa July 8-10, 2011  For more information visit www.tampa.startupweekend.org

Working Women of Tampa Bay is an official sponsor of Startup Weekend Tampa.