Social Media Week kicks off, startups rally in Atlanta, Stanford gives young treps the mic, PandoMonthly chats with Drew Houston, a govathon takes stage, Kairos Society’s young treps gather in NYC… This week’s notable news and startup events for young ‘treps:
1. Social Media Week: As previously alerted, this worldwide event is aimed at connecting businesses and individuals to collaborate on new ideas and information, while also discussing “the social, cultural and economic impact of social media.” Social Media Week has conferences in ten cities around the world. (New York, Washington D.C. and Lagos, Nigeria, Feb. 17 – 20)
2. Startups rally in Atlanta: Co-organized by Hypepotamus and Startup Georgia, Atlanta’s Startup Rally is getting billed as part expo, part internship fair — with more than 100 startups, investors and press expected to attend. Don’t miss appearances from Jermaine Dupri, the CEO of So So Def Recordings, or Scott Case, former CTO, co-founder Priceline.com. (Atlanta, Feb. 18)
3. Stanford/MIT give young treps the mic: The schools’ Venture Lab is hosting a panel of young entrepreneurs to talk biz. Pebble Watch CEO and founder Eric Migicovsky, Apigy founder Cameron Robertson and WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg are expected to attend. (Stanford, Calif., Feb. 19)
4. Join the riot: Another hip Atlanta event, Startup Riot gives 30 startups three minutes to present a four-slide presentation — not to raise money, but simply strut their stuff. The presenters will answer questions, providing personal insight into the process and the idiosyncrasies of executing unique ideas. (Atlanta, Feb. 20)
5. Graduation Day: GrowLab’s Winter 2012 class is expected to graduate this week, with a celebration that’ll include top investors from Founder Fuel and HyperDrive. graduating next week. Though the Demo Day is sold out, keep an eye out for these young treps. (Vancouver, Feb. 20)
6. Fireside chat with Drew Houston: Dropbox founder sits down with PandoMonthly to discuss the backup-storage company’s success and more. This month ‘networking time’ has been extended giving participants a better chance of finding and conversing with other like-minded entrepreneurs. (San Francisco, Feb. 21)
7. Get your ‘Govathon’ on: Calling all innovators, creative thinkers, entrepreneurs and developers, Startup Atlanta is hosting a city-wide ‘Govathon,’ a hackathon aimed at addressing problems affecting the local government and community at large. (Atlanta, Feb. 22)
8. Calling all social treps: The Kairos Society’s annual summit gives young socially minded entrepreneurs from all around the world the chance to broadcast their businesses and meet some of today’s most influential leaders. Past mentors have included the X Prize’s Peter Diamandis and Boeing’s Phil Condit (New York City, Feb. 22 – 23)
9. Creating plastic alternatives: The Plastic Pollution Coalition is tapping entrepreneurs to help innovate plastic alternatives or greatly reduce plastic waste around the world. Submit your idea to win one of two prizes totaling $60,000. (Submissions close March 10.)
10. What’s on your bucket list? Travel the world for free and win a $50,000 cash prize. Got your attention? Two college buddies started MyDestination back in 2007, citing travel as their most valuable educational experience. Now they want to share that experience. (Entries close in 45 days)
