With only three days and a $500 prize at stake, programmers, designers, and business entrepreneurs joined together at College of the Canyons for Startup Weekend SCV 2017.

The event is an opportunity for teams of startup product developers to work together on a marketable computer program to pitch to a panel of judges on Sunday night.

Aside from the cash prize, the organizers of startup weekend said the diversity of the participants contributes to each one’s growth as program developers and marketers.

“You have a mix of business people, designers and programmers,” said Dale Fairclough, one of the organizers of the event. “Each one of those brings their own expertise.”

As the clock ticks towards Sunday, participants experience the pressure of working on harder deadlines, and presenting their work to a professional panel of judges.

“A lot of participants have said that Startup weekend is like three months of work experience injected into three days,” said Wyatt Thompson, the lead organizer of this year’s event.

The organizers explained that the competition is not just about who can create the best code, but about creating a product for people to use that can turn a profit when sold.

“It’s not just the code that you’re showing off, it’s the business model,” said Fairclough. “It’s the
whole package.”

Each participant who completes their project will pitch their idea to panel of judges made up of experienced venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.

“We provide them with the resources and the mentors and the steps and the action plan that they need to take it to the next level,” said Thompson. “And something that they thought was a half-baked idea actually turns out to be a successful company.”

One of the event’s previous successes was Whiz Tutor, a platform that started in Santa Clarita during Startup Weekend SCV 2015, and is now connecting students to tutors in cities like Chicago and Los Angeles.

“It’s cool to see teams survive well after the weekend, and what this event has impact on not only of the lives of people new things her, but on the Santa Clarita Valley,” said Thompson.

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