Florida State University’s College of Communication & Information will host “3 Day Startup” on March 21-23 – an entrepreneurship education program designed with an emphasis on learning by doing with the goal of starting technology companies over the course of a weekend.

Students ranging from freshman to freshly-minted Ph.Ds. with diverse educational backgrounds are invited to apply for participation in the event, which is designed to kick-start new student-run companies and build entrepreneurial capabilities in students and their university communities.

One of Florida State’s “Big Ideas” is fostering an Entrepreneurial University and the “3 Day Startup” program aims to advance this initiative as participants will create: business models, contact with potential customers, prototypes, and lasting professional and personal relationships.

The “3 Day Startup” program was founded at the University of Texas in 2008 as a student-run organization.  It is now a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.   Eighteen “3 Day Startup” events on four different continents have resulted in developing 16 companies and $4 million in funding.

The 45 individuals selected to participate pick the best ideas for startups during the Friday brainstorming session and deliver prototypes and investor pitches on Sunday night.

Jonathan Adams, a professor in the School of Communication is the organizer for Florida State’s “3 Day Startup”, which is co-sponsored by The Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship at Florida State’s College of Business, the College of Communication and Information and Genivia, a private software development company.

“We want everybody to have a really great time and a valuable experience,” Adams said.  “We look for students who appear to be driven.”

The curriculum suggests at least half of the attendees should be programmers or knowledgeable in information technology, but balances that with highly skilled individuals in fields such as business, graphic design and public relations.

“Some people come in with friends who have already developed an idea and are working on it, and they just need an inspiring weekend with mentors and lots of energy,” Adams said.  “In other cases, it is a coder who doesn’t really have a lot of friends with good business ideas.  If they joined a team, they could be really good because they know how to work with computers and program the software.”

Space is limited for the event so all participants must apply online at fsu.3daystartup.org and be selected to attend.  Applications are due on March 14.

Mentors from across the university and business community will be on hand to facilitate projects.

“It’s an event where I can invite a professor from the Art department to come and be a mentor, and be there with a professor from the College of Business and they can both be there with someone from Computer Science,” Adams said.  “It’s one place where everybody can get together and focus on one thing.  It’s multi-disciplinary.”

Adams, who organized a “3 Day Startup” at Florida State in 2012, said, “The students who go through these events end up making really good friends with each other. It’s an opportunity to work across disciplines and work in teams and work like crazy and be really focused on achieving something over the course of a weekend.”

In addition, participation in the event is very attractive on a résumé to prospective employers.

“Employers seem to catch on really quickly that the event promotes leadership, independent thinking, creative thinking, working towards a goal, and executing a goal – all of those things that students don’t necessarily get in the classroom,” Adams said.

Another benefit is any student who is accepted to and attends the full event can register for a directed independent study worth three credit hours with Adams.

Learn more and apply at fsu.3daystartup.org or contact Jonathan Adams at fsu@3daystartup.org. View the 3 Day Startup flyer.