Sheffield’s first ever large-scale event for entrepreneurs, the Start-Up Weekend, begins on November 9th, promising three days of new ideas and top industry training for small business owners and young people.

The event, which is hosted by University of Sheffield Enterprise (USE) and the university’s Department of Computer Science, aims to take innovative business plans and see them through to development within 54 hours of pitching the concept. Participants will be given 60 seconds to state their business idea to the group, comprised of top local business owners and start-ups including Plusnet founder Lee Stratford, who will be on hand throughout the event to give tasks and provide expert advice.

After the initial pitches the rest of the weekend will be spent developing ideas into business plans, taking into account finances, supply and demand, and a marketing strategy, combining print marketing with social media training. By Sunday, teams will present their ideas to a panel of expert judges, for a first prize reward worth up to £1,000.

USE’s marketing coordinator said the weekend was expected to be a great success for students and start-ups alike in Sheffield, adding: “The city has a great deal of creative, digital and entrepreneurial talent and we’re really looking forward to seeing the evolution of ideas from pitch to start up in just a few days.”