It’s a fact: 40 percent of the nation lives in mid- and small-size communities, which provides a huge and mostly untapped market for companies—particularly startups—to grow.

The Southeast Startup Challenge aims to connect entrepreneurs with some of that market.

Presented by theClubhou.se and the Augusta University College of Allied Health Sciences, the Southeast Startup Challenge takes place over three weekends in five cities in Georgia—Athens, Augusta, Columbus, Macon and Rome—from March 16 to April 1.

Similar to a hackathon, teams who register have the opportunity to work to find creative business solutions to real problems faced by government agencies, health systems and community health organizations. “These are actual customers,” said Eric Parker, program director for the event,” who are willing to pay to find solutions to their problems.”

Two winning teams at each city will receive cash prizes and the opportunity to work with their prospective customer to further develop their business and technology to present at the statewide Southeast Startup Summit in Athens on June 18, where they will compete for $25,000 in cash and business services from Augusta University.

In Augusta, the event will be held the weekend of March 23 at theClubhou.se, 540 Telfair St. Local challenges include:

·      Develop a mapping or identification service that tags instances of symptoms related to disease outbreaks in disaster areas for the Department of Public Health.

·      Develop a responsive website and app to improve the ability of organizations like the Augusta Warrior Project to connect their community with economic and wellness resources, a method for revenue generation from donors and corporate partners and digital profiles for social media and other online channels.

·      Create a solution to attract families who qualify for WIC but who are not currently utilizing it in Richmond County in order to improve public health and access to healthy food.

·      Create an app to assist Housing and Community Development and its nonprofit partners in matching people with available rooms to those who need short-term housing assistance.

The Southeast Startup Challenge is being funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to improve the health of mid-size communities by strengthening startup communities and connecting them to more resources.

“As you can imagine, the most difficult part of starting a company is identifying customers,” said Grace Belangia, executive director of theClubhou.se. “With the support of Augusta University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Southeast Startup Challenge offers a unique opportunity for technology startups across the state to gain invaluable visibility and potentially a new customer for their businesses, along with funding and help to grow.”

To register a team, learn more about challenges or to find out challenge rules, visit http://SoutheastStartupChallenge.com.