There are eligibility requirements.

This fall 2014 session of the Startup Gauntlet is limited to FSU students. This includes undergraduate and graduate students. Recent graduates may be considered on a case-by-case basis. We expect future iterations of the Gauntlet to allow for participants from the Greater Tallahassee community, but for now, we're limiting it to FSU students.

We expect applicants to be able to attend every session of the Gauntlet, arriving on time and prepared for every 1.5 hour session.

There is no cost to apply or attend.

Attendees are responsible for getting there and having access to a reliable computer and Internet connection outside of class. Otherwise, there is no cost to attend the course sessions.

This works best for those who don't have a product or service.

The class is designed for the customer discovery phase, which should occur BEFORE you have a product or customers. Teams with a current product or service in place tend to focus on validating their idea and don't perform well in this customer discovery course. If you are serious about forgetting everything you think you know about your product and your customers, then we encourage you to apply.

This course focuses on finding your customers and defining what value you can bring...BEFORE building prototypes, running pilots, and unnecessarily wasting time and resources.

Only those accepted may attend.

A maximum of four people on your team can attend. Nobody else. Leave your lawyer/ business partner/ mentor at home. Sorry, but this fall Gauntlet is closed to faculty and staff. Let us know if you're interested in attending a faculty iteration. We've hosted them before and are seeking interest in a repeat session.

You will form teams.

You may apply individually or as teams. Some applicants may all ready have teams formed prior to the Gauntlet; most will not. This is entirely normal and expected. We will encourage team formation at the October 14th information session.

Groups are limited to two-four people, and EVERYONE in a team must be associated with FSU as stated in the eligibility requirements above. Observers MAY NOT attend class sessions. This is not an individual experience; Gauntlet attendees must be part of a team.

There will (sometimes) be food.

We have working relationships with community organizations, business associations, and FSU departments and agencies who may sponsor dinner here and there. We certainly can't guarantee meals during every session, but we try. Please let us know if you have a special connection with a community or on-campus agency who may be interested in sponsoring dinner one night.

Our classrooms often contain computers and other electronic devices not owned by us. There is no food or drink allowed in these classrooms.

You will experiment and present your findings.

The Gauntlet is all about learning and sharing experiences. Participants will be expected to breifly present their weekly findings in class. But don't worry, we'll help you get started. We'll even provide access to our Startup Gauntlet course on Lore where you can access resources, contact the instructors, and submit team presentations. This is provided at absolutely no cost to you.

Meetings are scheduled for 90 minutes.

Expect each session to last 90 minutes (1.5 hours), and keep in mind we may go over our time, especially on presentation days. We expect all attendees to arrive on time and stay for the duration of each week's session.

All sessions will be held in the Dirac Science Library Instruction Lab (room 216). A valid FSU ID is required to enter the Dirac Science Library.

There is no dress code.

There are no dress codes in Start-up Land...Although we recommend against wearing blue and orange. ;-)

What are you waiting for?

We encourage you to apply early as applicants are accepted on a first-come basis, and each cohort is limited to 20-25 students. All it takes is completing a short application form, commitment to six sessions, and a desire to learn.

APPLY HERE