The Sheffield Startup Summer 2019 is a three-week programme hosted at Ko-Host and the Kollider Incubator from 10–28 June. It will facilitate up to 12 teams of students in developing their digital startup ideas through to final prototype. Organisers of The Startup Summer are looking for mentors with relevant experience who can guide and advise the teams, and perhaps be a part of Sheffield’s next big tech success story.

How The Startup Summer works

This is the first of what Kollider hopes will be an annual programme of support for entrepreneurial students and a limited number of non-students, taking them from idea to prototype through intensive and practical help and mentoring.

Across three weeks, up to 12 teams of five participants – put together in week one, to combine a mix of skills, expertise and backgrounds – will be guided through three phases of the startup process.

• Discovery and exploration
• Digital design and startup testing
• Final prototype

Workshops and talks will cover the early stages of a startup, through the design of a technical Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and the exploration of its sustainability and market interest. They will then focus on the final prototype with advice from legal, marketing, financial, employment and security experts.

All teams will present their product to an expert panel, with the most promising startups put forward to a virtual pitch to funders, who will assess the potential of the startup and offer advice on funding options.

Kollider will offer prizes to viable startups, including free IBM hosting for their software for up to a year and free space within its new incubation programme until they are funded or become profitable.

This event is supported by Kollider, Institute of Coding, Barclays Eagle Labs, University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University, IBM, Hackcessible and there are more supporters due to be announced.

Tickets are priced at £40 for the full programme, which includes food and refreshments throughout the three weeks. The organisers are working with both universities to offer a package of support for students who may struggle to pay the ticket price.

Can you help?

Organisers of the event are looking for people with a wide variety of skills and expertise to mentor the teams during the process. With many of the students coming from computer science backgrounds, the event will focus on creating, validating and ensuring the market exists for the chosen MVP, so if you have experience in any of these areas, your help would be invaluable.

This is a voluntary opportunity without payment and mentors aren’t expected to be present for the full three-week programme. Any amount of time you can offer will be well received and much appreciated. Plus, you might play a part in establishing the next successful tech startup in Sheffield.

If you are interested in becoming a mentor on The Startup Summer 2019, just get in touch with Jack Lancaster, Investment and Incubation Co-ordinator at Kollider, by emailing jack@kollider.co or phoning 07480 672688.

There are a limited number of spaces available on the programme for non-students. If The Summer Startup appeals to you and you aren’t a university student, just get in touch with Jack on the details above to have a chat about getting involved.