Startup Weekend aims at young entrepreneurs
hope that this opens their eyes to being an entrepreneur,” Wilde said.
Shavonnah Tiera Collins, RedFlint’s managing director, has long been involved in the startup scene in Las Vegas. She helped to bring the first Startup Weekend to Las Vegas in 2011.
“This is the first one dedicated to youth, and it’s great to see somebody step up and do that,” Collins said, adding that she is interested to see what the students come up with.
She knows of a 14-year-old who pitched an idea at a UNLV-hosted Startup Weekend for college students.
“He wanted to create a company that allowed tourists to fly drones up and down downtown Vegas,” Collins said. “So, that is the type of thing that you’ll see: technology, and how it is viewed from the kids’ point of view.”
Collins said Startup Weekends can happen whenever somebody in the community comes forward to organize one.
Lassard said it is important for kids to know that they don’t have to wait to start doing something with their ideas.
“Technology makes everything possible. It doesn’t matter anymore — your age, your background, your mindset, your knowledge. All that matters is your goal and what you are going to do with it.” Contact Nicole Raz at nraz@reviewjournal.com or 702380-4512. Follow @JournalistNikki on Twitter.