OwlSquad to host 3-day student startup contest

By Dixita Viswanath     3/20/13 7:00pm

 

OwlSquad, a new student organization that strives to foster the entrepreneurial culture at Rice University by empowering entrepreneurs to reach their goals, is hosting the second annual 3-Day Startup competition for Rice undergraduates, graduate students and Master of Business Administration students, according to OwlSquad co-founder Isabel Scher.

This startup event, which will run from Friday, March 29 at 5 p.m. until Sunday, March 31 at 9 p.m, allows 40 passionate entrepreneurs, chosen by application, to start a technology company over the span of three days, Scher said.

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"The participants split into brainstorming groups where everyone pitches ideas, then each group chooses their bests to pitch to all 40 participants," Scher said. "Five ideas are chosen from those and solidified, and those become the teams that people can join. One team might have twenty people while another has two."

Teams will proceed to create a prototype of their product throughout the course of the three days, OwlSquad co-founded Allison Garza said.

"At the end of the weekend, each team will pitch their work to venture capitalist judges in a public event," Scher said.

The winner of the event will receive a month free co-working space at Platform Houston while the second place winner will receive free hosting space on Rackspace, Garza, a Duncan College junior, said.

Scher said she hopes the competition will facilitate collaboration in the Rice community to build an entrepreneurial network for students.

"The goal of this event is to build enough momentum among a network of highly motivated students to sustain the company beyond this weekend," Scher said. "Over this one weekend, students will create a business model, contact potential customers, build prototypes and [form] lasting professional and personal relationships."

Garza said she hopes that participants will continue their projects even after the event closes. 

"The goal is that participants form teams around ideas that they are most interested in so that they would be excited about pursuing the venture past the weekend," Garza said. "Several companies have been formed out of similar 3 Day Startup events, and OwlSquad's mission is to empower and enable each team to do so."

According to Scher, this competition is being funded through the sponsorship of Rice Center for Engineering Leadership, Rice Alliance, Jason's Deli, Which Which and Paulie's Restaurant. 

OwlSquad primarily works to build a linked network among the various leadership and business collaborations on campus and to connect Rice students with the Houston entrepreneurship scene, Scher said.

"Our goal is to know every student on campus that is thinking about entrepreneurship," Scher said. "By forming these relationships, we can better provide students with the best tools and resources to be successful."

Scher said she and Garza founded OwlSquad this past November and that OwlSquad's goal is to engage the Rice entrepreneurship community throughout the year through events, workshops and mentor pairings.

Hanszen College freshman Maggie Edmunds said students interested in business can get involved on a campuswide level to gain experience before moving beyond the hedges.

"I think it gives us an opportunity to test-drive our ideas and get feedback on how we can improve on the business and entrepreneurship fronts," Edmunds said.

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