Want to be an entrepreneur or innovator? Really? Do you want it enough to devote a weekend to it?

Then THIS is the event for you! Learn how to think, work, and build like a startup over 54 thrilling hours. Techstars Startup Weekend is an exciting and immersive foray into the world of startups; if you've never been a part of it, the time is NOW. Over an action-packed three days, you’ll meet the very best mentors, investors, co-founders, and sponsors to show you how to get more done faster -- and, maybe even start that business. Past attendees have won global competitions, raised millions of dollars, and created jobs right here in Orlando. So stop talking and start doing surrounded by an incredibly smart and motivated group of people.

Judges

Regine Bonneau

Regine Bonneau, CTPRP is the Founder/CEO of RB Advisory, LLC located in Winter Park, FL. Regine Bonneau has over 20 years experience and is recognized as;

-Top 100 Women-Led Businesses by The Women's Edge in 2024
-2021 Women Leaders in Technology by Consulting Magazine
-Women Who Mean Business by the Orlando Business Journal (OBJ).

RB Advisory, LLC is a prominent cybersecurity firm established in 2016 dedicated to delivering sustainable strategies, best practices, and proven methodologies to ensure clients achieve successful outcomes in cybersecurity protection, risk management, and compliance. The company operates with a global impact, serving as a trusted cybersecurity partner for a diverse range of clients across various industries, including healthcare, financial, legal, government, and energy sectors.

Ron Ben-Zeev

Ron now resides in Orlando but has vast international experience all over the world.
He has lived or worked in West Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Central America, and
Europe. Fluent in four languages, he uses his international and entrepreneurial skills
in growing and building both his businesses as well as mentoring and helping
others to do the same.

He has honed his entrepreneurial skills in diverse areas starting with his first
business launched at the age of 13. Since graduating from the Wharton School of
Business, he spends his time between his family, companies, speaking
engagements, board seats and consulting engagements.

Ron sees the value of giving back and building his community. As such, he was the
co-organizer of the local chapters of the Orlando Startup Weekend and Kauffman
Foundation 1 Million Cups Events. Ron also sits on several Boards at Rollins College
in Winter Park Florida.

He recently resigned as the first Entrepreneur in Residence at Rollins College in the
Social Entrepreneurship Department.

Ron is the founder and President of World Housing Solution Inc., a Florida company
that manufactures rapidly deployable and reusable thermally efficient structures
and shelters for the US military, NGO, and first responder industries.

World Housing Solution Inc has been recognized twice by Inc 500 as one of the
fastest growing companies in the US as well as GrowFL and many other prestigious
organizations. Most recently the US AIR FORCE selected World Housing Solution as
the only shelter manufacturer to have won the AFWERX Base of Future Challenge.

Ron also sits on the board of directors of several companies as well as the board of
advisors of the Wharton School of Business IGEL and IDEAS for Us as well as being
appointed by the US Secretary of Commerce to the North Florida District Export
Council.

Kunal Patel

Kunal Patel is an Orlando leader, technologist, vision maker, and tech entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in video game development, software tech, creative partnerships. He's the CoFounder of OMG Labs, a frontier technology incubator & coworking space for creatives. He's also CoFounder and Executive Director of Indienomicon Foundation which forges connections between game development and major industry like Space, Health, Defense, & Themed Entertainment. He does this with signature game jam hackathons & meetups and focusing efforts through the 4 R's, that make Indienomicon Foundation and OMG Labs a leader of the innovation engine of Central Florida. Relationships, R&D, Region & Recruiting. He has over the years worked with NASA, Team Orlando, every major university and built and has grown several startups from scratch including a local unicorn company, Stax formerly known as Fattmerchant as Director of Innovation. Kunal is a believer in not waiting for something great to simply happen to you, but rather taking action to create your own luck and to professionally manufacture serendipity.

Speakers

Mayor Demings

Jerry L. Demings was sworn in as the fifth elected Mayor of Orange County, Florida, on December 4, 2018, and was reelected in 2022. He is the first African American to serve in the role. He oversees more than 8,000 Orange County employees and a $7 billion budget as the County’s chief executive officer. His goal is to make Orange County the “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” by creating a community culture of innovation, collaboration and inclusion.

Mayor Demings is passionate about addressing the issues that matter most to residents.

An Orlando native, Mayor Demings is a graduate of Jones High School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida State University and a master’s degree in business administration from Orlando College where he graduated magna cum laude. He is also a graduate of the 194th session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Academy and studied at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Jason Eichenholz

Jason Eichenholz is a serial entrepreneur, executive and recognized pioneer in laser and optics enabled innovation, product development and commercialization. Over the past two decades he has started and founded multiple companies that raised over a billion dollars of investor funding and went public on Nasdaq.

Eichenholz has led the development of hundreds of millions of dollars of revolutionary products and companies that have enabled a variety of applications from autonomous vehicles, battlefield explosives detection, early cancer detection, new drug delivery systems and environmental studies from the depths of the oceans to the top of Mt. Everest and even on the Moon and Mars.

Eichenholz holds more than eighty-five U.S. patents, is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and Optica, the society advancing optics and photonics worldwide. He is a member of Florida Inventors Hall of Fame and the Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida.

Eichenholz has a M.S. and Ph.D in Optical Science and Engineering from CREOL – The College of Optics and Photonics at the University of Central Florida and a B.S. in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

An accomplished public speaker, he has given dozens of plenary and invited talks at major automotive and photonics conferences and universities as well as the commencement address at the University of Central Florida. In his free time, he likes to give back to his community and is especially passionate as an advocate for autism awareness, housing and employment and has served for 25 years as an Emergency Medical Technician and Certified Firefighter and serves as a Reserve Lieutenant at with Orange County (FL) Fire Rescue.

Sneak peek into the Startup Event of the year!

SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, October 18th

5:30 PM

Venue opens. Don’t be late. Arrive and get checked in.

6:00 PM

Dinner and networking — meet someone new!

6:30 PM

Welcome, orientation, and speakers

6:55 PM

Energizer/Team builder activity

7:15 PM

Pitch Fire! Participants all give a 60-second pitch on a brand-new, innovative idea.

8:35 PM

Voting. Attendees vote for the top pitches from the evening.

9:00 PM

Team formation and discussion.

Take an inventory of skills. Be clear about resources and skills needed for the weekend. You may stay and work until 10:30pm.

Make sure you get some good sleep. Saturday starts early and it’s a long day!

Saturday, October 19th

8:30 AM

Doors open. Arrive on time and get some breakfast/coffee. We have so much to do!

9:00 AM

Energizer activity.

9:10 AM

Mandatory check-in for teams.

9:15 AM

Customer Discovery/validation overview

9:30 AM

Break off and begin working in teams.

10:30 AM

Mentors begin working with teams.

12:00 PM

Lunch is served

12:30 PM

Check-ins, team status, calls for help

Value Prop and Business Model speaker.

1:00 PM

Continue working in teams, head out into the community for customer discovery and validation.

3:00 PM

Virtual MVP workshop

3:30 PM

Work in teams

4:30 PM

Mentor Sessions #2

6:00 PM

Dinner is served

6:30 PM

Check-ins, team status, calls for help

Pitch Deck overview

7:00 PM

Continue working in teams

8:50 PM

Full-group end-of-day reflection

9:00 PM

The venue closes promptly at 9 PM tonight

Sunday, October 20th

8:30 AM

Doors open. Arrive on time and get some breakfast and coffee

9:00 AM

Energizer

9:05 AM

Mandatory team check-in

9:10 AM

Set the Agenda

Pitch and presentation overview

9:30 AM

Continue working in teams

10:30 AM

Pitch on the spot: test where you truly are with your pitch!

Mentor sessions

12:00 PM

Lunch is served

1:00 PM

Pitch practice & tech checks begin

3:00 PM

Continue working in teams

4:30 PM

Introductions to final pitches

4:45 PM

Final Presentations begin

Present, watch, and celebrate all your hard work throughout the weekend!

7:00 PM

Dinner is served

Judges deliberate and score the pitches

7:30 PM

Awards!

8:00 PM

Big group photo, head out to the after-party!

Terms of Participation Agreement: It is our job to provide you with an incredible networking and learning experience. Our intention is that you meet some amazing people that you might start a company with, learn from mentors, and learn from your peers. The event is intended to be a collaborative forum for sharing, learning, building, and having fun. As such, by registering as a participant, you acknowledge that any ideas shared by you or anyone else over the course of the event are contributions to the overall experience and community. If you’re very concerned, you can limit your pitch to the rough outline of the idea without giving away key information.

As a member of your startup community, you agree to be inclusive of any and all people and their ideas. You agree to act professionally, treat everyone with respect, and treat the event facilities with proper care. You agree that you are responsible in the event of any accidents or damages that you cause. You also agree to not hold Techstars Startup Weekend, your local volunteer team, or any of the event supporters liable for any loss, damage, injury, or any other unforeseeable incident.

By participating in the event, you grant Techstars permission to capture photos/videos of the event and use them for marketing purposes, so we can continue to offer amazing Techstars Startup Weekends around the world.

By purchasing a ticket to a Techstars Startup Weekend event, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you have questions please reach out to privacy@techstars.com.

We ask for demographic information as part of our local government grant requirements. These grants help to provide funding to make these events possible.

If you require a reimbursement, contact the event organizer.

Special thank you to our global sponsors: Google for Startups, Deel, and Brex!