Startup Weekend returning to Santa Clarita - Santa Clarita Valley Signal

After a two-year absence, Startup Weekend is returning to Santa Clarita over the weekend of Nov. 13 through 15.

A grassroots event for entrepreneurs organized by three volunteers, the SCV team is working to market the event to 30 software developers, 30 designers, and 30 business-minded folks to collaborate on small teams to launch a startup company in one weekend.

Working with the Seattle-based group that has helped to launch startup weekends around the world, Santa Clarita Valley residents Thomas Beckett, Dale Fairclough and Christopher Girdwood, wanted to rekindle the momentum that began in October 2012 when SCV Startup held the first such event in Santa Clarita.

'We reached out to Eric Arndt who launched SCV Startup, which hosted the first event and asked for his blessing," said Christopher Girdwood, a self-described entrepreneur and also the business outreach and communications manager for the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation. "He was all about it – gave it his blessing."

The organizers said in a statement that they wanted to "prove that Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach aren't the only places where startups can grow."

While the SCVEDC is not officially organizing the event, it and the Economic Development Division at College of the Canyons have thrown their support behind the event.

"Joe Klocko was instrumental in getting us a free room for the weekend that would have cost about $5,000," Girdwood said.

Beckett, the entrepreneur who previously launched Makesmith CNC making an affordable CNC machine for home hobbyists with a college friend in 2014, thought the former event brought a lot of attention to Santa Clarita.

"It would be cool to bring it back to Santa Clarita. It's a great thing for community," Beckett said. "We have the (city's) Incubator and Eric's community. These guys are working really hard, and we thought another Startup Weekend could help launch a more unified group. And Eric's been incredibly helpful."

There are a lot of people starting their own businesses in Santa Clarita, but they don't really know how to meet each other, said Fairclough, a programmer for Los Angeles-based home lighting designer and manufacturer, LampsPlus. He works on mobile operating systems development, specifically for Apple products, as a hobby.

"Our goal is to create a platform where people starting their own business or becoming a part of startup community can come together," Fairclough said. "It's a lot of work, but a lot of fun. You can get a lot of joy out of creating something on your own and following your passion."

Startup Weekend participants will first gather at the COC University Center at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13.

Attendees are encouraged to present their ideas in one-minute pitches, followed by the group as a whole voting on their favorite pitch ideas.

Participants then split themselves among the projects to lend their skills toward making a viable product – all within 54 hours.

By Sunday, a panel of four to five judges will view final presentations about the product each team has created, including working prototypes to show them in action.

The team behind the best of these prototypes will receive prizes, which the team is still working to secure.

Two tickets each were also handed out to each of the colleges – College of the Canyons, The Master's College and CalArts – to help get the students involved and get word about the event out, Girdwood said.

"We're on the periphery of the greater Los Angeles area. Santa Clarita does have a lot of resources that other towns don't have," Beckett said. "Hopefully this event contributes to making that mission more visible to others."

For more information, contact the organizers by emailing them at santaclarita@startupweekend.org.