Startup Huddle St. Lucia

As an experiential learning opportunity, the Startup Huddle St. Lucia format is consistent with the format used in every other location where it is held. 

Every month, two early-stage startups present their companies to a diverse audience of their peers, mentors, educators, and advisers. 

Prior to presenting, the founder prepares by incorporating lessons from the Kauffman Founders School “Powerful Presentations” series, featuring Nathan Gold, and a workshop provided through the Entrepreneurship Readiness Program from SLUDTERA.

Each founder presents for six minutes, followed by a 10-minute question-and-answer session with the judges, then a 10-minute question-and-answer session with the audience. 

Engage in collaborative and honest conversations with like-minded people in your community. Receive feedback via an audience survey (conducted by the event organizers).

The startups will also receive feedback from the event organizers. They will also be enrolled in workshops with select business persons, professionals and entrepreneurs and be assigned a mentor. 

The culture surrounding Startup Huddle St. Lucia is that of a supportive, neutral space welcoming entrepreneurs to be open and honest about their businesses and the challenges they face. Everyone that attends SHS is there to support each other in their entrepreneurial journey.

The progress of each startup will be monitored by the event organizers and their mentor. Each startup will be coached and prepped in readiness for the application process for the YLAI program which is held annually. This will be done through the Entrepreneurship Readiness Program offered by SLUDTERA, and through YLAI – St. Lucia. 

The application process for the YLAI Program opens in April each year.

Prior to the launch of Startup Huddle St.Lucia, Interest/participation in our community of entrepreneurs will be encouraged. We will:

• Identify 52 startups (a year’s worth) and start building a spreadsheet
• Reach out to these startups to gauge interest (aka: get to know our customer first)
• Contact the first set of Entrepreneurs who have been selected to present for the launch two months prior. Each pair of startups will be notified 2 months ahead of time as to their selection, so that ample preparation can be made for their moment to shine. The event will officially launch in November 2018 and will be held every month thereafter.

Invitations will be sent out to all the Secondary Schools on the island for students in the 3rd, 4th and 5th Forms, Students attending Tertiary Level Institutions who are in their 1st and 2nd year of SALCC, Students attending Universities who have not yet graduated, adults Entrepreneurs ages 21 to 40 years. Ministers of Government, Representatives of the Private and Public Sectors. Educators, Potential Investors, Special Guest Speakers and event sponsors and partners. Members of the media will be invited to the launch.

Each event will be streamed live on Facebook for viewers who may not be able to attend. The event will be held from 10 am to 11 am.

Event time layout:

52 minutes for presentations – This includes the 6 minute presentation for each founder followed by the 20 minute Q&A session for each founder. During this time, the audience will be asked to complete a survey on the two founders’ presentations.

8 minutes for announcements and vote of thanks. 

30 minutes for networking – This will be done during Brunch which includes light snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. Persons will get an opportunity to exchange business cards, arrange important business meetings, Special talks or presentations at the participating schools, etc. 

Then the remaining 30 minutes will be used for the forum session, where the event organizers will share with the founders, the feedback received from the audience survey and from the judges.

Apply to Speak. Apply to be a Panel Judge. Apply to be an Organizer. Apply to be a Sponsor. Apply to the Community. Apply to Present.

Take a look at the website here.