Troy University students and members of the Wiregrass community will have an opportunity to experience the realities of entrepreneurship in one weekend as the Alabama Small Business Development Center at Troy University brings Weekend Ventures to downtown Troy Sept. 18-20.
Hosted at the Troy University IDEA Bank, Weekend Ventures is an intensive, three-day entrepreneurship experience that takes participants from identifying a problem Friday evening to pitching a newly developed business concept before a panel of judges Sunday.
“We are seeing more students and community members who are entrepreneurial-minded and interested in creating something of their own, but entrepreneurship requires skills that are difficult to learn from a textbook alone,” said Juliana Bolivar, director of the Alabama SBDC at Troy University. “For many entrepreneurs, those skills are developed through trial and error — starting something, making mistakes, pivoting and sometimes starting all over again.”
The program is being brought to Troy University’s Sorrell College of Business and SBDC following previous Weekend Ventures programming conducted in partnership with Auburn University’s Lowder Center for Family Business & Entrepreneurship. The Troy program will be facilitated by The Founders Playground.
Rather than asking participants to bring an existing business, teams will start with a blank page. Participants will identify real-world problems, pitch potential solutions and form teams around ideas they want to explore.
“You do not have to already be an entrepreneur to benefit from thinking like one,” Bolivar said. “The ability to identify a problem, work with people who think differently than you, test an assumption, respond to feedback and communicate an idea effectively is valuable whether you ultimately start a company or go to work for one.”
The weekend will include about 27 hours of programming, making it more intensive than a traditional entrepreneurship workshop.
Participants will meet from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, to identify problems worth solving, pitch ideas, form teams and learn the fundamentals of market research and customer discovery.
Saturday’s programming runs from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and will focus on building. Teams will work through the Business Model Canvas, conduct customer discovery, develop and test prototypes, explore pricing and receive feedback from coaches.
On Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., teams will refine their concepts and presentations, develop pitching and public-speaking skills and prepare for a final competition before a panel of judges.
The program uses 15- to 20-minute lessons followed by immediate application rather than extended classroom lectures.
“It is intensive by design,” Bolivar said. “In three days, they are going to have to make decisions, work as a team, talk to potential customers, receive feedback, change direction when something is not working and ultimately stand in front of judges and explain what they built and why it matters.”
Meals will be provided throughout the weekend. Registration is limited to 60 participants.
Results from the most recent university-based Weekend Ventures cohort showed improvement across several entrepreneurial skill areas. Among 20 survey respondents, 100 percent reported increased confidence and mindset, 95 percent improved in market research and validation, 90 percent improved in leadership and team collaboration, and 85 percent improved in business model development.
Participants reported an average 28 percent increase in business-skills confidence, while 95 percent continued entrepreneurial activity following the event.
For Bolivar, the program’s value extends beyond creating new businesses.
“If someone leaves Sunday wanting to launch a business, that is wonderful,” she said. “But if a student leaves with more confidence, six new professional connections, a better ability to work on a team and the experience of taking an idea from nothing to something tangible, that is also a success.”
Weekend Ventures will be held at the Alabama SBDC at Troy University in the IDEA Bank, 63 S. Court Square in downtown Troy. The program is open to Troy University students and community members, including those who have never started a business.
