PSU Kickstart Weekend

KSW 2025 Recap

Kickstart Weeknd had a record breaking number of people, students from all across campus came together for this fast 3 day workshop, designed to give students a feel for entrepreneurship. Watch the 2025 recap here.

Watch 2025 KSW Recap

JOIN US FOR KICKSTART WEEKEND: COMMUNITY EDITION

Kick-off your entrepreneurial journey with a fun, 2 day immersive workshop to bring your ideas to life!

Join us at the PSU Center for Entrepreneurship for an fun exploration on how to build community, with a special focus on Human Centered Design, the Lean Startup Canvas, and Storytelling.

Register for Kickstart Weekend

How It Works

Work alongside fellow PSU students and mentors from Portland’s startup and innovation community, including PSU faculty and staff, to turn ideas into action and build your entrepreneurial skills.

Through hands-on, interactive exercises, you’ll learn and practice:

Problem Validation & Ideation
Customer Discovery
Rapid Prototyping
Lean Canvas Modeling
Collaborative & Creative Problem-Solving
Effective Storytelling & Pitching

Register for Kickstart Weekend

Details

The weekend will culminate in a mini pitch competition, where teams will present their ideas to a panel of judges and compete for a $500 prize awarded to the top team.

Beyond the competition, Kickstart Weekend offers opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, professional mentorship, and hands-on experience with the innovation process. Participants will leave with new skills, connections, and confidence to take their ideas further through the 10-week PSU Innovation Challenge, taking place during Winter 2026.

ELIGIBILITY: Kickstart Weekend is open to current PSU undergraduate and graduate students, as well as recently graduated alumni.

LOCATION: 2130 SW 5th Ave, Portland, OR 97201

DATES: November 20–21, 2026