BY RAEGAN NEUFELD
Since 2013, the Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship has hosted Kansas Startup, a competition where students can turn their innovative ideas into a reality. The event got its start when Fort Hays alum Dylan Bathurst participated in a startup weekend while working for Zappos.com.
“It changed his life,” said Henry Schwaller, event facilitator and organizer. “He launched an app that he eventually sold to eBay for over $1 million. Because of that experience and how transformational it was for him, we’ve been doing it for students since then, and we’ve transformed quite a few lives.”
The competition lasts all weekend, with this year’s event starting on Friday at 6 p.m. Participants will begin by pitching ideas, whether it be for ventures, non-profits, or a university solution, and then form teams based on the best ideas. Teams will then spend the rest of the weekend creating a presentation to show how their idea can come to fruition. Presentations will be shown Sunday at 5 p.m. to a panel of judges.
Saturday is the big workday for participants and is also the day when coaches come in to work with the teams.
“We have people who have professional backgrounds in accounting, finance, or management for example, and they can help them hone in on how to make their ideas better,” Schwaller said.
The coaches are one example of the tools provided to the students. While the teams do all the work on their own, they are given some help such as documents and check-ins.
Schwaller also spoke on how students can benefit from participating in Kansas Startup.
“Any student should participate and would benefit, regardless of what they’re studying. Everyone has an idea. What do you do with that idea? What we’re providing is an opportunity to learn how to take ideas and make them a reality,” Schwaller said. “That has a lot of benefits in the practical world. It also looks good on a resume that you participated in one of these events.”
Along with the beneficial experience, Kansas Startup will also provide meals to participants for the duration of the event. Registration is still open and will be until Friday. The competition will be held at the Robbins Center on the Fort Hays campus.