BHSU students, staff earn first place in business Startup Weekend Black Hills

Black Hills State University students and a staff member were part of a team that placed first in Startup Weekend Black Hills, a 54-hour event where a business pitch is built into a functional startup enterprise. Back row, left to right, Black Hills State University students Stephen Swan, business administration major from Rapid City, and Zane Swan, graphic design communication major from Rapid City front row, left to right, Trevor Richardson and BHSU alum and staff member Adam Roosa discuss their winning idea for an outdoor adventure guide service with Dr. Bob Macintosh, a local occupational health developer.

With a knack for entrepreneurship and a love of the outdoors, a team that included Black Hills State University students and a staff member placed first in Startup Weekend Black Hills recently.

Startup Weekend Black Hills was a 54-hour event designed to provide superior education and mentoring for designers, developers and entrepreneurs to take a business pitch and build a functional startup throughout the weekend. Final presentations were given Sunday night to panel of local judges.

Adam Roosa, social media and video information specialist at BHSU and a BHSU alum, pitched the initial idea for Jaunt, an outdoor adventure guide service at the beginning of the weekend. Roosa's idea was one of the six top pitches and a team quickly formed to pursue the idea further. Stephen Swan, BHSU business administration- management major from Rapid City, Zane Swan, BHSU graphic design communication major from Rapid City, and Trevor Richardson, Spearfish, joined Roosa to work through testing, business model development and prototype creation throughout the Startup Weekend.

Startup Weekend Black Hills was organized through TechStars, a mentorship-driven startup accelerator, and a community team spearheaded by Melissa Haught, retention and recruitment specialist for the College of Business and Natural Sciences at BHSU, and Dr. Jeffrey Wehrung, assistant professor of Business Management at BHSU. Other partners included Spearfish Economic Development Corporation.