Smart Start
NEXT EVENT: April 7-8 2022
Register here for the Spring 2022 Smart Start.
Over thirty students participated in the last University of North Alabama Smart Start. Friday afternoon kicked off a two-day event for students to exchange business startup ideas. The weekend focuses on 6-8 ideas that cover the course of the two-day event to develop a company.
The workshop offers a hands-on environment designed to teach students through a series of modules so they learn by doing. Students learn about ideation, team formation, customer discovery, rapid prototyping, and pitch workshops. The event culminates with student teams pitching their ideas to a mock venture capital panel. The panel then gives the teams constructive feedback to help them refine their ideas and business models. The mission of Smart Start Weekend is to kick-start new student-run companies and build entrepreneurial capabilities in students and their university communities.
The program uses a format based on the very successful Innovation and Entrepreneurship toolset. Students will come away with a clear path towards building a company and then present their ideas to a panel of local investors. The public is invited to be part of the finale.
Thank you to Event & Innovation Sponsors: Bank Independent, First Metro Bank, and UNA Sanders College of Business and Technology.