The best and brightest entrepreneurs in Arizona will gather this week for PHX Startup Week.
The third-annual event is designed to have experienced and emerging businesses leaders interact to create connections and cultivate business. It aims to promote the cultivation of collaboration between current business leaders and small up-and-coming startups.
“The purpose of PHX Startup Week is to actively try (to) expose startup ecosystems to help build companies,” said Stephen Viramontes, chief organizer for PHX Startup Week and general manager with DevMountain, an ed-tech company which teaches coding.
The event is free and open to the public, with a special focus this year on inclusivity, Viramontes said. Most of the panel discussions and activities will be held Monday through Thursday in downtown Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe, and it will conclude on Friday at the Arizona State University Tempe campus.
The event hopes to include startups coming from all walks of life, and Viramontes said this year’s program would include a majority of minority and female speakers.
Viramontes said the event is set-up entirely by volunteers.
“We intend (to make) Phoenix as one of the most generous entrepreneurial communities in the world,” he said.
According to public relations assistant Alana Tivnan, one addition to this year’s event is the Street Pitch.
Downtown on Wednesday, the Street Pitch will be a five-minute “Shark Tank” like competition that will allow 10 startups to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges. The winner will win a $50,000 investment in their business.
The Street Pitch competition will shut down Central Avenue from Washington to Jefferson from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
In addition to the grand prize competition, experienced CEO’s and business leaders will attend special mentoring sessions known as Mentor Connect. These sessions will allow emerging startups the opportunity to gain knowledge from business owners and founders.
“The opportunity will allow startups to have one on one discussions with successful business owners,” Viramontes said. “It will be a totally free opportunity.”
Notable founders and executives that have worked with brands and companies like Tuft & Needle, Co+Hoots, Phoenix Fashion Week, HubSpot, Zapier, Google, Facebook, and Mailchimp will all be speaking throughout the event.
Keynote speakers will include Tim Crown and Mike Guggemos of Insight Enterprises; Ernie Garcia, CEO of Carvana; PHOENIX Magazine editor-in-chief Craig Outhier; Craig DeMarco and Lauren Bailey of Upward Projects which owns Postino WineCafé, Windsor, Federal Pizza, Joyride Taco House and Churn.
Another addition to this year’s lineup is the addition of international startups from Monterrey, Mexico.
“Monterrey is like Mexico’s Silicon Valley,” Viramontes said. He said these startups will add to the inclusivity and diverse entrepreneurial ecosystem created by the event.
PHX Startup week is hosted in a different location every year. The event is now in its third year and will be held in various locations throughout the Valley including Grand Canyon University, ASU Downtown’s Mercado Building, U of A’s College of Medicine and others.
This year’s kickoff event will be held at Galvanize, a downtown Phoenix startup located in downtown Phoenix’s warehouse district at 515 E. Grant St.
Monday’s registration begins at 9 a.m. The week’s events will conclude Friday evening at ASU’s Memorial Union in Tempe.
Attendees are strongly encouraged to pre-register for all panel discussions and events. For more information and registration, visit phxstartupweek.com.
Correction: February 20, 2017
An earlier version of the story incorrectly stated this year’s program would include a majority of female speakers. It actually will include a majority of both female and minority speakers. The story has been updated to reflect this.
Contact the reporter at Edder.Diazmartinez@asu.edu.
