When it comes to entrepreneurship and innovation there’s nothing like gaining first-hand experience and that is exactly what is on offer at the Queen’s Startup Summit (QSS).

Held Jan. 29-31, the summit brings together teams of student-delegates who are given two days to build a startup company from scratch and pitch their idea to a panel of judges.

In its fourth year, the Queen’s Startup Summit attracts delegates from Queen’s and other universities who are looking to put their skills to the test in an intense environment that also offers space for creativity and collaboration. Cash prizes are handed out to help the winning teams turn their ideas into reality.

Michaele Francesco Corbisiero (Artsci’17), Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator, has been involved with organizing QSS for three years and attended the inaugural event as a delegate. He says a key focus of the event is networking and recommends it to anyone interested in entrepreneurship or startups.

“After being a part of the summit as a delegate, I wanted to get involved ‘behind the scenes,’” he says. “I've watched the summit evolve into an event where all students of Queen’s can come and learn more about entrepreneurship through first-hand experience. First-hand experience is scarce and hard to come across, but QSS makes that possible.” 

After coming up with a product, the teams are tasked with creating a business model, marketing plan and a prototype. Working out of Goodes Hall, the teams have access to a group of mentors, including a number of Queen’s alumni, who have volunteered their time to offer guidance and advice. At the final stage, teams have 15 minutes to pitch their company to the judges and respond to critiques and questions.

While it’s an intense challenge, the draw of the Queen’s Startup Summit is simple, says Mr. Corbisiero.

“Students see an easy opportunity to take a simple, innovative idea, work on it, and mold it into something that they can make a living off of while also positively changing the lives of those around them,” he explains. 

The Queen’s Startup Summit was founded in 2013 by a group of students and the Queen’s Innovator Connector (QIC) and is aimed at introducing students to the life of an entrepreneur as the economy continues to shift toward jobs, companies and industries of shorter duration than in the past.

“QSS in particular fills a nice role in the entire Queen’s offering in that gives an opportunity for the people to taste all aspects of entrepreneurship – pitching, forming a team, bootstrapping, moving decisively and efficiently. It exposes students to the full experience in a short amount of time,” says Greg Bavington, Executive Director of the Queen’s Innovator Connector.  “It’s an important part of the entrepreneurial funnel in our ecosystem.”

More information and the eventual results of the event can be found on Queen’s Startup Summit website.

To learn more about Queen’s Innovation Connector visit the QIC website.