Friday March 16th 2012 is Pitch Day - 9:00 - 14:00, this Day is open to the Public.

Wed 14th - Thur 15th March, 8:00 - 23:00 is for students, mentors.

For more information, view our website with full details at: http://telaviv.3daystartup.org

To apply go to http://telaviv.3daystartup.org/apply/.
The event is completely free if you are accepted.

Selection

Before the event even begins, we solicit applications from across universities and colleges. After reviewing applications and conducting interviews, the top forty candidates will be invited to participate in the event. 

Structure of a 3DS weekend

A week before the event takes place, a workshop/boot camp is held that teaches frameworks for creating and evaluating business ideas.

Day 1 (14th March 2012): The participants arrive at the 3DS event site with their most promising ideas for new technology companies.  Some bring pre-built technology that is waiting to be commercialized while others literally bring the napkins that their ideas are written on.  In the first few hours, participants discuss and evaluate their business ideas in smaller groups. They consider ideas in terms of market attractiveness, technical feasibility and financial viability.  During this analysis phase, mentors from around the community are brought in to provide their tips and insights.  Ultimately, participants vote with their feet and literally walk over to the teams that have the strongest ideas. 

**Only the top three to five ideas make it past Day 1, but all 40 candidates remain to work on these ideas in teams.

Fueled by free food and caffeine, the participants convert their abstract notions of entrepreneurship into the actual practice of innovation.  The participants roll up their sleeves and get busy: MBAs devise potential revenue sources, CS students write code, marketing specialists research competition & create strategies, designers create elegant and exciting user interfaces, and everyone talks to potential customers.

Professional and experienced mentors go from group to group, questioning projections, tweaking designs, and steering participants in the right direction.  All of Day 2 is packed with action -- it is a microcosm of what it's like to run a startup, with the highs of successfully creating viable prototypes and the lows of discovering a better positioned competitor that already dominates the market. 

The ideas that survive make it to Pitch on Day 3 (16th March 2012) where they are judged by a panel of technology startup experts including venture capitalists, angel investors, distinguished professors, and local entrepreneurs.  The pitches go beyond simple PowerPoint presentations as participants show functioning prototypes, beta-customer responses, initial business plans, and a team that is already staffed with highly skilled and motivated people.  The feedback is just as extensive; panelists ask tough questions, identify strengths and weaknesses, and give candid advice for the road forward. 

The 3DS event ends on Day 3 (before the Sabbath), but the benefit to participants and their communities is ongoing.  For those that choose to start companies, 3DS provides access to a world-class network of mentors that can provide advice in areas including raising venture capital, product design, and scaling their products.  Regardless if a team gets funding interest directly at the event or wishes to pursue other ventures, all participants take their new knowledge and relationships back to their respective communities, campuses, and networks - thereby increasing the entrepreneurial capability throughout.