Mississippi State University’s entrepreneurship club hosts Entrepreneurship and Innovation Week, a five-day event featuring competitions in which over $50,000 in prize money will be given away.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Week, nicknamed eWeek by those in charge, started Monday and will last until Friday.
EWeek kicked off with the grand opening of the Entrepreneurship Center’s new laboratory in McCool Hall known as the Co-Lab. The Co-Lab is opening for members who will be able to come in and brainstorm ideas for future businesses.
Parker Stewart, president of the entrepreneurship club, said the Co-Lab is “truly the embodiment of entrepreneurship culture.”
“We’ve proven that you can have an idea, and as long as you’re willing to work for your dream, it will be made true,” Stewart said. “We’ve come a long way with making the Co-Lab. We’ve hit a lot of bumps, and we’ve changed a bunch of stuff. It’s been a whole process, logistics-wise, to get this thing together in six months. We’re pretty excited.”
A total of six competitions will take place from Tuesday until Friday.
The vent on Tuesday, a competition in which competitors will pitch their business ideas, will take place at 2 p.m. in 100 Simrall Hall. The winner of this competition will receive $5,000 in prize money.
Other competitions include an elevator pitch competition, which will involve competitors giving a 90-second pitch to promote an idea, and an app competition in which competitors will present their ideas for new smartphone apps.
Stewart said he is excited for the impact these competitions could have on business students.
“We hope that eWeek will help raise awareness of all the resources that are available to students to start their own business,” Stewart said. “That’s what we hope to accomplish. These competitions are designed to help students start companies and show that there are people out there who want to help.”
Stewart said he has a passion for helping and that he hopes he will have the opportunity to lead students with ideas in the right direction.
“As long as (the person is) passionate and they work hard, I’ll do everything I can to make sure that they get the things they need to start up,” Stewart said. “I’ve seen plans range from those who thought of an idea last week to those who have it all thought out, have customers and are just looking for some help growing the business. I like to tell people that I’m not an expert at everything, but I know people who are.”
 David Hennigan, vice president of the entrepreneurship club, said he looks forward to seeing eWeek come back and continue growing in years to come.
“EWeek is not something that is restricted to people who have everything thought out and everything all together,” Hennigan said. “No vision is too big or too small.”