Startup Weekend Cedar Rapids organization a community effort

It’s been more than a year since a Startup Weekend has been hosted in Iowa’s Creative Corridor. Later this month, a number of Cedar Rapids’ community entities and leaders are coming together to change that with Startup Weekend Cedar Rapids…

It’s been more than a year since a Startup Weekend has been hosted in Iowa’s Creative Corridor. Later this month, Cedar Rapids community entities and leaders are coming together to change that with Startup Weekend Cedar Rapids

The event is Friday, Feb. 28 to Sunday, March 2 at the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, 501 1st St. SE.

David Tominsky, one of the event’s organizers, said groups like the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, Sculpt and Vault, Cedar Rapids’ co-working space, have come together to make the event a reality. The economic alliance will provide space for the weekend-long event while Iowa City-based Sculpt has been managing all of the event’s social media accounts. 

“For the first one in Cedar Rapids, I think our big questions have been, ‘What’s the broader sense of this event? What’s the broader community impact? What can we do that’s the best for this town and this area?’” Tominsky (right) told Silicon Prairie News. “It’s exciting to see a lot of different people coming at it.

“We’re all moving in the same direction and seeing the value of collaborating, of working together rather than as separate entities.” 

While this will be Cedar Rapids’ first Startup Weekend, the event will be the third in the Creative Corridor—two were held in Iowa City in Oct. 2011 and Oct. 2012.

RecBob, a startup founded by John Schnipkoweit, came from the region’s first Startup Weekend in 2011. It has since participated in the Nike+ accelerator, powered by TechStars, and shifted its focus to become NextStep.io.

Tominsky said its stories like Schnipkoweit’s is one of the factors that motivated him to pursue organizing a Startup Weekend in Cedar Rapids. 

“Going into 2014 the momentum is right in Cedar Rapids and the timing seems right,” Tominsky said. “I think kickstarting it with a Startup Weekend is pretty amazing.” 

Admission for the weekend is $99 and $25 for a ticket to Sunday’s final presentations, which begin at 5 p.m. Tickets are available via eventbrite

Stay tuned to SPN for continued coverage of Startup Weekend Cedar Rapids throughout the event and follow along on Twitter using #SWCR14.

 

Credits: David Tominsky photo from LinkedIn


This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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