Google Startup competition a first for Cape Girardeau entrepreneurs

Downtown Cape Girardeau's co-working community is planning to host the Southeast Missouri region's first Google Startup Weekend in mid-March, which organizers say will give aspiring entrepreneurs a chance to transform innovative ideas into something more.

The Google-sponsored, weekend-long business startup event will be at Codefi from March 13 through 15.

Dr. James Stapleton, co-founder of Codefi, said the event being held in Cape Girardeau represents local progress in the area of innovation. Google Startup Weekend events are held around the world, but until now, the closest was in St. Louis.

The 54-hour-long event is essentially a pitch competition that includes participation by people with ideas and people who have the skills to make ideas into prototypes and a successful business model.

"The program is really engineered for someone who has an idea but has done nothing with it," Stapleton said. "It's about exploring ideas and moving up from there."

During a Startup Weekend's first night, participants pitch their ideas on an open microphone. Groups then form -- consisting of entrepreneurs, developers, designers and others who may simply want to learn more, Stapleton said. The groups work through the weekend to turn an idea into a presentation that goes before judges at the end of the event. Startup coaches are available to event participants throughout the Google Startup Weekend event, Stapleton said, and judges also give feedback on presentations.

Winners will receive $3,000 worth of services from Codefi, support from local entrepreneurs and the chance to pitch to the 1ST50K competition committee in June.

1ST50K, headed at Codefi, is a recently developed multilevel startup competition that grants winners up to $50,000, pro-bono business services and access to successful entrepreneurs. Stapleton said Codefi had been familiar with the weekend events for some time and was looking for a program that would help people prepare to participate in 1ST50K.

Google tracks the success of the startups, looking at how many groups continue working together once they connect at an event. Over 36 percent of startups, according to a Google website with information about the events, "are still going strong after 3 months."

Google also estimates on the site "roughly 80 percent of participants plan on continuing working with their team or startup after the weekend."

Along with Codefi, the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce and The Bank of Missouri are sponsoring the event.

Dawn Dauer, community bank president at The Bank of Missouri, said the bank's status as the region's only Small Business Administration Preferred Lender for small businesses is part of the bank's interest in participation.

"These are entrepreneurs who are trying to get a start with their small businesses, so for us, it just makes sense," Dauer said. "Under the direction of Dr. Stapleton, you can't get a better coach. He takes the time to teach these businesses how to do it the right way so that success will be much greater. For us, this is the right platform to get more and better-quality businesses in our area."

Stapleton, who co-founded Codefi last year, is a longtime entrepreneurship educator. Other entrepreneurs and experts planning to participate in the weekend event as coaches are Glenn Campbell, co-founder of Hatworld Inc., now called LIDS, and Chris Dittmer, a program director for Software as a Service, a software division of IBM.

Up to 100 people may participate in the Google Startup Weekend. Participation requires buying tickets, some which are discounted. The cost varies from $35 for students to $75 regular price. Tickets bought early are discounted to $50.

Full details on tickets and more information on the event are available at up.co/communities/usa/cape-girardeau or codefiworks.com.

eragan@semissourian.com

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