More than a dozen economic development and business groups across the state are putting on Alaska Startup Week to boost entrepreneurship and innovation in the Last Frontier. One goal is to inspire the creation of new businesses, in hopes of diversifying Alaska's economy to reduce its dependence on oil.
The 10-day event, which officially begins Saturday, will give entrepreneurs, investors, businesses and others opportunities to attend a host of events primarily in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau. It's part of a larger effort called Innovate Alaska (2.0), which many of the same groups partner on to "strengthen and diversify Alaska's economic base."
The event includes investor workshops, a showcase, meetups, opportunities to learn about pitching, and webinars about how to get funding and how to grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Alaska.
"Here in Alaska, because our economy has not emphasized entrepreneurship, because we have emphasized resource extraction, we're really in the early stages of it," said Juliet Shepherd, a project manager at the Fairbanks Economic Development Corp., one of the groups organizing Alaska Startup Week. "This is really laying the groundwork to increase our entrepreneur skill level."
The concept of a week dedicated to startups began in 2013 when the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. spearheaded Alaska Entrepreneurship Week, which has evolved into this year's event. Alaska Startup Week is a statewide effort, with events happening in several communities around Alaska.
[A Sitka couple has big plans to spur new business in Southeast Alaska]
"It's grown really impressively," said Jon Bittner, vice president at AEDC. "Economically speaking, we've been a one-trick pony for a very long time. … We have to have a diverse economy. Everybody wants to have the next large Facebook pop up in their state, but there are also small businesses that create a stable base in the economy."
Alaska's reliance on the oil industry has led to a state budget deficit of about $4 billion as oil prices have tumbled since 2014.
Lower oil prices have sent ripples through the state's economy, including oil companies slashing workforces and leaving the state, and are expected to lead to the state's first annual jobs loss since 2009.
Other groups are also trying to figure out how to diversify the state's economy.
Shepherd said the events offer a chance for a wide range of people to share expertise and ideas. The broad vision of Alaska Startup Week, she said, is to show people how they might be able to start a business in order to grow the state's entrepreneurial ecosystem, and find ways to reduce import dependency and increase exports from Alaska.
"The idea is to generate excitement, and awareness, curiosity by showing up for some of these events," she said. "What are our greatest needs right now in Alaska, and how can we meet them?"
You can take a look at the schedule at alaska.startupweek.co.