Briefing: Startup Week Registration Opens

Startup energy in central Ohio is contagious, and it will be most catching May 2-6 during the second annual Columbus Startup Week sponsored by Chase.

Base camp for this year's series of events is Vue Columbus at 95 Liberty St. in the Brewery District, says Brian Zuercher, who is heading up operations for the volunteer-led week. Vue can host crowds of about 350 for events on the main stage with a couple of smaller rooms and a tented front.

A veteran with a couple of his own startups, Zuercher, CEO of SEEN, predicts the week will draw double its first-year attendance of 1,500. One of six such events across the country, Columbus Startup Week offers dozens of free presentations intended for anyone interested in starting or supporting new local business.

Mirroring the local business scene, tracks will "focus on insurance and financial services and fashion and food and retail, things that are important to our community. It's not your traditional conference that's specific to an industry. This is about Columbus. This is about our central Ohio entrepreneurial ecosystem," Zuercher adds.

Online registration for a full slate of free seminars is available at columbus.startupweek.co. Like last year's Techstars-supported event, registration will be color-coded to allow attendees to zero in on particular tracks or mix and match sessions.

"I look at it as a community-driven event; for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs, extracting knowledge and talent out of our community to talk about their experiences and stories of starting and building their businesses. It is unique to Columbus," says Zuercher.

"For individuals, whether they're a product manager at Cardinal Health or they're a startup, there's this connective tissue that gets built throughout the week through the content and the stories and people being together. It's free so it's very accessible to the whole community."

–Mary Yost