📅 When: Saturday October 28th, 2025 - 9:30 am – 5:30 pm
🏠 Where: 71 North Partnership Studio | Register by signing up on the event page.
❓What:
Welcome to a world where extraordinary powers create extraordinary problems. This year’s Startup Standup challenges you to innovate for a superhero-saturated society to create value and make an exciting pitch. Whether that’s designing tech for the heroes themselves (what features does Iron Man’s suit really need?) or creating essential products for the everyday civilians navigating collateral damage, super-villain attacks, and powered neighbors. Think Alfred’s butler tech, insurance for laser-eye accidents, or apps that help you avoid superhero battle zones on your commute. How will you make a superhero start-up?

Startup Stand-up is a one-of-a-kind event that blends the worlds of improvisation, storytelling, pitching, product development and comedy to create a unique and engaging experience for participants. The event highlight is the participants’ showcase, where the spirit of a hackathon meets the excitement of improv comedy. In this competition-like scenario, participating teams are given random innovation elements to create a fictional product and then pitch it in a fun and entertaining way.

Startup Standup is approved for Honors Engaged, Business Passport credits.

Event Schedule

• 9:30 to 10 a.m.: Registration and Coffee
  Welcome, participants! Get ready for a day of fun and networking with other creative minds.

• 10 to 10:15 a.m.: Opening Remarks
  A casual introduction to the event, its goals and a quick overview of the planned exciting activities.

• 10:15 a.m. to noon: Theatricality & You – Improv for Everyone Workshop
  Dive into improv exercises designed to help you think on your feet, boost creativity, and enhance communication skills in a fun and interactive environment.

• 12:15 to 1:30 p.m.: Introduction to the Stand-up Cup and Networking Lunch
  Overview of the Stand-up Cup, its rules, guidelines, and format. Form teams, receive random innovation elements, and enjoy a casual lunch while networking.

• 1:30 to 2:15 p.m.: Pitch a Product with a Story Workshop
  Learn the essentials of crafting and delivering engaging pitches for your ideas, products, or services.

• 2:15 to 2:30 p.m.: Coffee Break
  Grab a coffee and a snack to recharge for the prep session.

• 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.: Stand-up Cup Brainstorming and Preparation
  Intense brainstorming session to create a fictional product or service and prepare your pitch.

• 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.: Stand-up Cup
  Present your pitches to a panel of judges and the audience. Each pitch is followed by a brief Q&A session.

• 5:00 to 5:30 p.m.: Closing Remarks, Awards, and Networking
  Announcement of winners, awards presentation, and final networking opportunity.