This article was published on May 23, 2013

Startup Weekend and Startup America launch Up Global, a new organization to better support entrepreneurs


Startup Weekend and Startup America launch Up Global, a new organization to better support entrepreneurs

Startup Weekend and The Startup America Partnership have announced a new partnership that will see a new umbrella brand and organization come to fruition, as it looks to support “the creation of vibrant entrepreneurial communities around the world.”

Backed by the likes of the Kauffman Foundation, Gates Foundation, Google For Entrepreneurs and Microsoft Bizspark, Startup Weekend is a non-profit organization that supports the development and expansion of entrepreneurship through events in 400 cities around the world.

Started by AOL co-founder Steve Case, Startup America pitches itself as a national movement of founders, specialists and other useful resources aimed at giving startups a leg-up to access services they need to grow. It was launched at the White House in early 2011.

The resulting company, UP Global, will be based in Seattle, and will bring together Startup Weekend’s other assets which include its month-long startup accelerator NEXT, as well as its email newsletter StartupDigest. With the launch of Up Global, however, this won’t lead to the demise of the Startup Weekend and Startup America brands – both will be kept going.

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Only last month, Google partnered with Startup Weekend to launch an updated five week curriculum for NEXT, designed to teach startup founders how to engage with new customers, investors, partners and potential employees.

It’s difficult to see how this new tie-up won’t cause a little confusion though, given this is another new brand being brought into the mix alongside the existing ones. But it should prove mutually beneficial, with Startup America’s money and prominence helping to support Startup Weekend’s global events.

We’re told that the UP Global platform will be a “positive force for entrepreneurship in Europe.”

“Startup communities are truly driven by their leaders, and we’ve shown that we can provide useful tools and frameworks for those leaders to foster sustainable early stage ecosystems, ultimately leading to the creation of more meaningful and persistent firms,” says Marc Nager, President of UP Global.

Feature Image Credit – BRUCE WEAVER/AFP/GettyImages

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