Start-up Weekend organizer Cheryl Draper with (from left) mentor Scott Annan and participants James Newton and Abdul Hassab. (Julie Ireton/CBC)

A volunteer-run event for Ottawa entrepreneurs is taking place this weekend, one that gives would-be businesspeople a chance to make their pitches in front of their peers.

About 50 entrepreneurial hopefuls are meeting for Ottawa Start-up Weekend at the headquarters of Shopify, an e-commerce company on York Street.

Cheryl Draper, the event's organizer, said the event has been sold out for weeks. She describes the event, which began Friday, as "54 hours of intense energy."

The focus of the event for attendees is to pitch ideas, build plans and demonstrate their new start-up. On Sunday, three investors will judge the new ventures.

James Newton, his wife and son all signed up for what he calls a win-win situation.

"The best-case scenario would be everyone loves our project … we get the most talented people working on our project to make a pitch before the three judges," said Newton. "The worst-case scenario, we meet lots of different people, generate lots of enthusiasm … (and} we'll come away very tired with lots of contacts."

The City of Ottawa has tried to make entrepreneurs and small businesses a part of its economic strategy, recently rebranding the Ottawa Centre for Regional Innovation as Invest Ottawa and expanding the organization's mission to move beyond high-tech start-ups.

But Ottawa Start-up Weekend is different because it's run by volunteers and is not connected to a government-led initiative.

That's fine with Scott Annan, an entrepreneur and a mentor at the conference, who blames the Ottawa business community's dependence on government help as one of the reasons the city has fallen behind cities such as Waterloo and Toronto when it comes to starting new ventures.

"I think as a city it's way too much focused on government funding and bureaucracy," said Annan. "The way you develop a strong community is the community helping themselves … instead of looking for handouts or looking for someone else to solve the problem."

The opportunity to rub elbows with others in the community is attractive to attendee Abdul Haseeb Awan, who is funding his next company from profits from his first start-up — a firm he sold back in Pakistan.

"People are open to listening to ideas and sharing mentorship advices. It's a culture, a lifestyle … where you work together," he said.

Organizers are planning a second event in November.

With files fromm Julie Ireton