Educators and Entrepreneurs Will Connect to Build Novel and Inspiring Edtech Products at Startup Weekend NYCEDU March 27-29

New York, NY, March 07, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Startup Weekend NYCEDU brings together a diverse group of educators, developers, designers and entrepreneurs who are passionate about making a positive impact in education to build potentially game-changing edtech products over the course of 54 hours. Interdisciplinary teams race against the clock in order to develop viable concepts that address the authentic needs of teachers and students. The teams are supported by experts in business, design, technology and education.

“It's not often that teachers work side by side with developers and designers eager to hear about the issues they face in their classrooms,” said lead organizer Deborah Chang. “By bringing people from such different backgrounds into the same room together, Startup Weekend NYCEDU is able to create a catalytic mix of talent and passion that jumpstarts new ideas and novel solutions."

On Friday night, attendees will take the open mic to pitch their ideas to the group in 60 seconds or less. After groups form, the rest of the weekend will be spent formulating the most popular ideas – typically web and mobile applications – with the help of mentors and seasoned startup entrepreneurs. By Sunday, teams will be ready to present their ideas in front of a panel of judges, including Preeti Birla (Innovate NYC Schools), Wiley Cerilli (First Round Capital), Christy Crawford (Bronx Community Charter) and Jason DeRoner (TeachBoost), who will award prizes based on business model, customer validation and execution and design.

“Elemental Path is proud and excited to be a sponsor of NYCEDU,” said Arthur Tu, co-founder of the company. “As technologists driven to continuously push the envelope, we believe great educational innovation comes from a fusion of pedagogy, design, technology and business – SWEDU is the perfect venue for that fusion.”

Notable companies built during past Startup Weekend Education events include Clever and Three Ring. This March’s event is the fourth Startup Weekend Education event held in New York City. Vidcode, the team that took home the top prize at last year’s event in NYC, has been featured in Forbes, Teen Vogue and more. This year’s winners will receive a prize package that will help them to launch their business and join the pantheon of inspiring companies created during Startup Weekend Education events.

“I met my soulmate founder at the event. We both pitched ideas and merged teams, and have been together ever since,”said Allie Diracles, co-founder of VidCode. "Startup Weekend NYCEDU helped us not only form our team but led to our first big contacts with incubators and advisors in the field who have been game changers in our success over the last year."

In addition to Elemental Path, this year’s event is being sponsored by Avenues: The World School (site sponsor), 4.0 Schools, Noodle, KidHoo,Google for Entrepreneurs, .co, Coca-Cola, Amazon Web Services and Post-It Brand.

For more information or to register, visit bit.ly/swnycedu2015.

About Startup Weekend EDU: Startup Weekend EDU events are 54-hour events designed to provide superior experiential education for technical and non-technical entrepreneurs. Beginning with Friday night pitches and continuing through brainstorming, business plan development, and basic prototype creation, Startup Weekend EDU events culminate in Sunday night demos and presentations. Participants create working education startups during the event and are able to collaborate with like-minded individuals outside of their daily networks. All teams hear talks by industry leaders and receive valuable feedback from local entrepreneurs. The weekend is centered around action, innovation, and education. Whether you are looking for feedback on a idea, a co-founder, specific skill sets, or a team to help you execute, Startup Weekends are the perfect environment in which to test your idea and take the first steps towards launching your own startup.