West Palm Beach Startup Weekend kicks off Nov. 14

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Courtesy: Chris Callahan

Chris Callahan is the co-founder of Startup Palm Beach.

Celia Ampel

Reporter- South Florida Business Journal

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When entrepreneur Chris Callahan launched his company Surfr App from West Palm Beach, he didn't have the same support system that one might find in Silicon Valley — or even in Miami, he said.

"I realized that there weren't really any good resources in West Palm Beach for startups," he said.

Callahan worked with the global network Startup Weekend to bring the event to West Palm Beach. A year later, the city's third Startup Weekend is set to kick off Nov. 14, offering $10,000 in prizes to the winning entrepreneur.

The event will run through Nov. 16, followed by Global Entrepreneurship Week programming that lasts through Nov. 21.

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Callahan's goal is to keep the benefits of Startup Weekend going past the end of the event. Organizers continue to offer resources to the two past winners: TeamSponsor, which helps sports teams and leagues get community sponsors, and FunScout, an event discovery platform.

Startup Weekend West Palm Beach is part of a larger effort to foster entrepreneurship in the area, Callahan said. He hosts other events and lobbies for a local entrepreneurship center through his organization Startup Palm Beach.

Through Startup Palm Beach Capital, he invests in and mentors local startups. Entrepreneurs in Palm Beach County sometimes have trouble finding funding, he said.

"Funding is definitely a challenge for guys starting out, who need seed funding," he said. "They basically have to look more toward Miami, to people like Nico Berardi [at Accelerated Growth Partners]."

Callahan wants to help Palm Beach entrepreneurs make use of and replicate Miami's growing range of startup resources.

"We're kind of like Miami's kid sister, which is not a bad thing," he said. "It's a really good thing."

Celia Ampel covers technology, startups, venture capital and angel investment. Stay on top of the latest venture news with our free daily newsletter. Click here to subscribe.