Village Gamer

Toronto is poised to host its sixth Startup Weekend, an event bringing together entrepreneurs, designers and developers to participate in 54 hours of taking innovative business ideas from concept to launch. This time around makers have been added to the mix, and teams will be using a fleet of 3D printers, laser cutters and an exciting array of rapid prototyping tools to bring their product ideas to life. Hardware, wearable technology and robotics are the order of the day, and teams will be competing to win their very own MakerBot 3D printer alongside a host of other prizes to help them build their startup.

The event, which is presented by Ontario Centres of Excellence, takes place at OCAD U from November 22^nd through November 24^th and is supported by their Digital Futures Program and Digital Media Research and Innovation Institute (DCII). Local maker experts, CEOs, and founders will be on hand to provide advice and share their experiences to help teams on the road to success with their freshly-formed startups. GE will be sponsoring the event and bringing in industrial design experts to help teams succeed. Other sponsors of the event include The Working Group, T+H Events and BDC.

“Startup Weekend Toronto has always been a fertile ground for collaboration between different groups of entrepreneurially-minded people.” said event founder Chris Eben. “There’s a natural affinity between the maker community and the tech community – both are full of natural tinkerers who love to build things. Bringing these groups together to build startups over a weekend should lead to some really promising products being launched.”

Startup Weekend Toronto begins on Friday, November 22^nd at 6 p.m. at OCAD U, 100 McCaul St., Toronto, with participants pitching their ideas to the room in just 60 seconds. The rest of the weekend will be spent developing the most popular ideas and building prototypes before teams present to a panel of expert judges on Sunday afternoon. The winners will be announced at a wrap party at the Toronto Beer Academy. Around 120 people are expected to participate.

Startup Weekend Maker Edition Toronto takes place during Global Entrepreneurship Week. The winning team will go on to compete in a Global Startup Battle for the chance to win even more amazing prizes, hoping to following in the footsteps of last year’s Startup Weekend Toronto winners and global champions, Groupnotes. GEW is an international initiative that celebrates the innovators and job creators who launch startups.

For more information, visit the Toronto Startup Weekend site or follow them on Twitter @startupwkndTO and join the conversation with hashtag #SWTOMaker.