Wait, didn’t Startup Weekend just finish up? Yes, but this is Women’s Startup Weekend! After a smash success last year, the second annual Women’s Startup Weekend is taking place in Fargo once again, from April 17-19.

This is an event where teams pitch creative business ideas and over the next 54 hours build the foundations of a startup with their team, which is then presented to a panel of judges on the final day. The mission of the event is to foster innovation; but one problem some see is that the events tend to be tech-heavy and male-dominated (roughly 70-80%).

Why a Women’s Startup Weekend?

Fargo’s two “power Sues” – Sue Gartin and Dr. Sue Mathison – addressed this by creating an event that focuses on providing a comfortable environment geared towards women, although men are welcome as well. Last year they successfully held North Dakota’s first Women’s Startup Weekend, the only one in the state and one of only a handful in the world.

“It [Women’s Startup Weekend] is, I feel, much more of a relaxed and supportive environment,” Gartin said. “There’s people going from table to table, the organizers and judges are mentors…we’re trying to include everybody and give everybody a degree of comfort.”

A community of encouragement

There was no better illustration of this than the pitch night last year, Gartin said. Before the event, most participants said they didn’t have an idea to pitch. In fact, the organizers had prepped ideas of their own so that teams could still have something to work with.

But when the first few women shared their ideas, others began to stand up.

“We [the organizers] were all prepped and ready to go, and then, all of a sudden, all these people start standing up. I mean, it gave me chills,” Gartin said. “Part of that was the comfort level. It tells me too that there were a lot of people who said they didn’t have an idea, that did have an idea.”

Out of the 48 participants, 28 ended up pitching. Courtny Evanson, who took first place for her breast pump idea called Neveah, was shaking when she took the stage, but with cheers from the audience she went up. She now has been pursuing her idea for a year and was named Entrepreneur of the Year at Emerging Prairie’s 1 Million Thanks event.

Christine Murch, who had an idea for an organic “manure tea” for plants, was not even going to pitch until Gartin encouraged her to go up. She took second place in the finals and is also pursuing her business with a product called Bison Tea Bag.

“There was really concrete stuff that came out of it,” Gartin said. “A lot of real, tangible products.”

How does it differ from Startup Weekend?

The pitches at Women’s Startup Weekend are much different than those you’d hear at Startup Weekend – specifically much less tech-based, Gartin said. Besides first and second place going to non-tech startups, third place went to a magazine for young women in the F-M area celebrating academic and entrepreneurial accomplishments. Other ideas included a juice shop, a a soul-food restaurant, and a state-themed gift box delivery service.

One member from the magazine team last year was Amanda Booher, who also participated in the co-ed Startup Weekend this year. From her experience there is a noticeable difference between the two events, she said.

“[At Women’s Startup Weekend] I didn’t feel nervous or scared to pitch an idea, and I felt a lot less intimidated pitching there than to a room full of guys,” she said. “It’s a very unique experience.”

Working and bonding with other women was also valuable, Booher said, especially having recently moved to Fargo. And not only did she meet new friends, but her future employer as well!

Oh, and she also noted one other important difference: the food.

“The food at Startup Weekend was very hearty and heavy,” she said. “At Women’s Startup Weekend it was like Nichole’s pastry, Mezzaluna…everything was super delicious.”

Most importantly, as both Booher and Gartin attested to, the event provides a less competitive environment where women are encouraged to feel confident in their ideas. And that boost of encouragement is sometimes all you need to carry on to success, Gartin said.

“It’s helping people, women particularly, see that they have a lot more to offer than what they think,” she said.

If you go…

If you’re interested in participating in North Dakota’s Women’s Startup Weekend 2015, sign up here! And be quick – there’s a limited amount of early-bird tickets left.

Earl-bird tickets are $50, and regular tickets are $75; both include meals for the weekend. Here’s everything you need to know.

Photos courtesy of Ashley Hahn of AVictoria Photography.