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Beehive Startups to host StartSLC entrepreneur event

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Interns from Beehive Startups prepare for the Start SLC event. The three-day event gives students the opportunity to learn and network with industry experts. (Luke Gunderson)

The largest startup and technology festival ever held in Utah will happen during a three-day event, starting on Thursday, Jan. 29. Beehive Startups will host Start SLC, a business and entrepreneurship event featuring events and activities hosted by organizations with ties to the Utah startup community, as well as a pitch competition that will award $250,000 to the winner.

Ben Lehnardt is a Beehive Startups intern helping to organize the event. He believes it will benefit students and others by giving them an opportunity to learn about different fields and network with experts.

“Because many of these events will happen simultaneously, Start SLC will have a very festival-like atmosphere, allowing for some amazing collisions and connections to happen between people who otherwise would have never met,' Lehnardt said.

Industry experts will give more than 40 speeches in fields including finance, technology, entrepreneurship, software development, management and marketing. Lehnardt explained the event is also about awareness. 'One of the purposes of the event is to showcase what cool stuff is going on in Utah,' he said. 'The Beehive State is actually abuzz with great startups, and not everyone is aware of that.'

Lehnardt said Beehive has taken special interest in getting students involved at Start SLC and hopes to have anywhere from 500 to 1,000 students attend the event.

'This event is the only of its kind in the area and is of particular interest to students because the pitch competition process is so essential to entrepreneurship,' Lehnardt said. 'Attending will be an awesome learning experience for students.'

Start SLC will take place at the Gateway in Salt Lake City Jan. 29–31.