The McKinstry Innovation Center, located east of downtown at 850 E. Spokane Falls Blvd., next month will host Startup Weekend, an entrepreneurial weekend focused on launching new ventures. The event is scheduled for Nov. 15-17.

Startup weekends are 54-hour events at which any startup enthusiast, including entrepreneurs, computer developers, designers, marketers, product managers, and others, meet to learn the basics of founding startup businesses and developing their business ideas. They also compete to see who's deemed by judges to have the best startup idea.

"We create a platform and allow people to go through the process," says Brett Noyes, event organizer. While the event is focused on getting a business going from inception to operation, it's really is about connecting with people and resources, Noyes says, adding. "It's about the ripple effect."

All Startup Weekends follow the same basic model. On Friday, participants will pitch their ideas for one minute, vote to choose about a dozen of the best ideas, and form teams around those ideas. The teams will spend the weekend validating their business ideas through customer surveys and business plans. The goal, Noyes says, is to have a working prototype by Sunday for final presentations and judging.

"When you are setting up your business, people tend to make the same mistakes. We are trying to give people resources to make fewer mistakes and be more successful," says Noyes.

This is the fourth Startup Weekend here in 18 months, and Noyes says this event will include more computer developers and better graphic design. The event is growing, and new companies are emerging out of it, a few of which include Crowd Swell, Pixel Buddy, Barters Closet, Gigmo, iCPooch, and Direct to Schools.