Santa Clarita entrepreneurs will get the chance to test out the viability of their startups over 54 hours as part of the Santa Clarita Startup Weekend.

The three day event, hosted at the University Center at College of the Canyons, will have designers, programmers and other creators develop a startup company and product from scratch over the weekend of Nov. 13-15.  

Dale Fairclough is one of the hosts for the weekend. As a hobbyist iOS developer, he has participated in several of these events.

His latest Startup Weekend project, part of the Garden Grove Startup Weekend, was a place “for people to receive help with household tasks without having to pay an arm and a leg for something simple a neighbor could do,” according to a blog post by Fairclough.

All participants will gather at the COC University Center at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Then, attendees are encouraged to present their idea in one minute pitches before a vote on these ideas by the group. Contributors will split themselves among the projects chosen to lend their skill towards making a viable product.

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“If your idea doesn’t get selected,” Fairclough said, “you can still create a team if you have at least three other people who want to work with you on your idea.”

Once teams are made, they will set to work creating the app, website or product.

“You set up your team on Friday, but also start working Friday night,” Fairclough said.

On Sunday, a panel of four to five judges will view presentations about the product each team has created, including working prototypes to show them in action. The teams behind the best of these prototypes will receive prizes, including potentially meeting with venture capitalists interested in continuing development on the projects.

From the start of the event to the judging, the entire process takes 54 hours. Anybody who has thought of an idea for a startup but has never pursued that thought is encouraged to attend and look into how their idea could become reality. Even if that idea is not taken up by the group, the event is a learning experience.

“If you’ve got a company you’d like to pitch,” said Fairclough, “(Startup Weekend) is a great way to see if it’s viable to create.”

In 2012, the first time Santa Clarita hosted this event, about 40 people attended. This year, that number is expected to at least double, with an estimated 100 participants. Tickets for the event can be purchased here for $100, with a $50 discount for students.