The fifth annual Young Entrepreneur Convention is set to take place this Saturday, October 30 in the new Student Innovation Center on the Iowa State campus.
The event is focused on providing information, motivation, and practical tools to assist early-stage founders. In addition to a series of keynote speakers and panel discussions, the event offers one of the largest single-day pitch competitions in the United States.
Speaker sessions will begin at 9 a.m. and take place throughout the day. The event will conclude with the Pitch Competition finals at 4:45 p.m., followed by a post-event social that will bring together students, early-stage founders, and entrepreneurial leaders from Iowa and beyond in an informal environment to recap the day.
“We are driven to create an atmosphere of founders helping founders,” said event co-founder Clayton Mooney, and CEO of Ames-based startup Nebullam in a release. “Connecting early-stage founders with founders who have experienced success has tremendous value. It not only provides these young founders with real-world contacts who can share what the founder journey is like, but it helps them to build a network they can lean on as they grow their companies. We are excited about this year’s speaker lineup and confident that there will be a number of takeaways for long-term founders, those launching early-stage startups, and those who are still wondering how to move from idea to action.”
This year’s featured speakers include Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur and investor Furqan Rydhan of Founders, Inc.; Iowa-based founder of ISA Ventures Eric Engelmann; and a panel discussion featuring a trio of early-stage female founders.
In addition, the annual Pitch Competition will award prize packages including cash for the top three finishers. The Pitch Competition is limited to the first 30 pitchers to sign up. A limited number of pitch slots remain open. A ticket to Young Entrepreneur Convention is required to pitch.
Tickets are still available and are $99.
