To put the magnitude of Startup Summit into perspective, last semester’s event brought in over 300 students and featured Chandrika Bahadur, representing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, as well as Wayfarer Entertainment and Jane the Virgin Star Justin Baldoni. For this semester’s event, we are bringing in Francesca Kennedy. Francesca is the creator of iX Style, an accessories-focused startup that works to raise money for water shortages in Guatemala. Saturday’s event will also include the announcement of the 2017 Changemaker Challenge Winners, giving every attendee the opportunity to see what ideas are being funded right now at ASU and how to apply to get funding for future startups. And as always, the event is great way to network with students, attend a workshop, receive mentorship and feedback on ideas and –at least this time- open a few plastic eggs. What few attendees know is that they have just as much opportunity to create and shape the event as they do in attending it. As the current Changemaker Startup Chair, I am privileged to work with the rest of Changemaker in choosing, organizing, and meeting tons of speakers and students behind the scenes of the event. It has been a fantastic experience being at the forefront of ASU’s entrepreneurship scene. As the Startup Chair, I have spent this year devoting most of my time to diversifying the event and adding as many new workshop speakers as possible. As I prepare to graduate in May, I look forward to meeting next year’s Startup Chair and what they will bring to future entrepreneurship events on campus. (For those interested: next year’s Startup Chair job opening is already available for anyone to apply to and as always committee members are created on an ongoing basis!). Interested in getting more involved in ASU’s entrepreneurship scene? Wondering what is going to be happening with so many plastic eggs? Then you should RSVP for Startup Summit here: https://changemaker.asu.edu/programs/startup-summit On top of all of that, the event is free for students, includes a free lunch, and opens with a keynote speech from Ms. Kennedy! If you think you or another one of your friends could use some innovative thinking to start off 2017, I would encourage you to come to this event! (AND BRING YOUR STARTUP IDEAS ALONG WITH YOU!)
