Basestation, to be housed at 148 Durham St, was being renovated specifically to meet the needs of entrepreneurs embedding technology in their startups.
The complex's investors Steve Vincent and Michael Doerner are well-established Tauranga IT business people and active supporters of economic development, and education. "It's exactly the type of community event we're creating the space to host," said Mr Vincent. "Startup Weekend is a great fit for basestation."
Previous Tauranga Startup Weekend events in 2012 and 2013 saw close to 100 participants take on the challenge to define a business idea, build a team and launch a business in the 54-hour intensive "learn-by-doing" event. More than 150 local entrepreneurs, business owners and investors have also joined in as mentors, judges and sponsors.
Many have also attended as guests at the final evening of the event - a pitch night, where participants showcase their weekend's work.
"It's an important community building event to introduce people to and engage them in thinking entrepreneurially about their future," said this year's Startup Weekend regional co-facilitator Tina Jennen, venture manager for the Enterprise Angels. "It's exciting to see the momentum that Startup Weekend has gathered in Tauranga."
