With a total of $10,000 on the line, 40 mostly student entrepreneurs will converge on Acadia University’s campus March 27 and 28 to pitch their business ideas. Acadia’s first Start It Up! weekend will take place in Acadia’s Sheldon L. Fountain Learning Commons beginning Friday evening and wrap up 29 hours later with teams making four-minute presentations to a four-person panel of experienced judges.

“We’re looking forward to the energy and enthusiasm these young entrepreneurs will bring to campus,” says Hope McCallum, Innovation and Incubation Manager for the Acadia Entrepreneurship Centre. “We have students from Acadia, Dalhousie and NSCC as well as members of our local community who want to solve what we’ve called a ‘killer’ problem. With a total of $10,000 in prizes on the line and the chance to pitch an idea to some very successful entrepreneurs, I know we’re going to see some very creative solutions.”

The Start It Up! program begins Friday evening with presentations from companies that have problems they need to solve. Participants vote on the top problems they are willing to tackle and the balance of the evening is reserved for forming teams and brainstorming ideas.

On Saturday, business mentors arrive to lend their expertise to the participants. These mentors include experts such as business lawyer Danny McMillin from Cox and Palmer; IT entrepreneurs Eduardo Vaz and Alex McCallum from QRA and John Frost from Frostbyte Interactive; sensory scientist Dr. Matt McSweeney; and Annapolis Valley-based web developer Mike Caplan.

On Saturday evening, teams will make their presentations to the judging panel. It includes Bob Thomas from Progeny Software; David Upton, President of the Atlantic Council for Community and Social Enterprise; Dean Tsaltas, Chief Technology Officer of QRA Consulting; and chef Howard Selig, co-owner of Valley Flaxflour Ltd.

The first place prize for the best Start It Up! idea is $6,000 or a trip to Waterloo, Ontario to attend the Velocity Fund Finals and tour the Velocity Garage and Foundry. Second and third place prizes of $3,500 and $500 round out the cash awards available to competitors.

“Acadia’s Launchbox idea incubator is really gaining traction,” says McCallum. “We have engaged student, faculty and community entrepreneurs who can’t wait for the next opportunity to arise. We are fortunate to have a number of very successful, innovative thinkers here in the Valley and throughout Nova Scotia, and it’s exciting for all of us to be at the centre.”

For more information about Start It Up! visit startituplaunchbox.com or contact Hope McCallum at 902-585-1743 or hope.mccallum@acadiau.ca .