TechYukon is preparing to host its second tech entrepreneur event.

The Startup Checkpoint event, which will kick off Friday evening at the Westmark Whitehorse Hotel, will help businesses with new information technology products.

“It’s a little bit like Dragon’s Den with a friendly face,” Rick Steele, the executive director of TechYukon, said in an interview Wednesday.

The event will provide six businesses with advice on their product ideas and help them develop a 10-minute sales pitch.

They will then present the pitch in front of a panel of four local business people.

“The biggest thing is a lot of people walk around for a long time having an idea,” said Steele.

“But you can waste a lot of time and energy and money on something that isn’t going to work.”

He described the workshop as a “reality check” that will help businesses with “failing quickly.”

He noted that about half of products presented end up getting further mentorship after the event.

One of the panel members, Alastair Smith, co-founder of Proskida, presented his idea for a cross-country ski grip at last year’s event.

“It’s kind of like a Fitbit inside of your ski pole that can give you very good scientific data on how you’re doing in terms of your performance,” explained Steele.

Members of the Canadian ski team are now trying out the prototype.

“It really opens people’s eyes to looking beyond the product,” said Smith of the event.

“I think people think of business ideas as purely neat products.”

From the event, he received mentorship from Bernd Petak, a Vancouver-based entrepreneur with more than 30 years’ business experience, who will also be in attendance this year.

Smith also travelled to Vancouver to connect with similar startups.

He said it was helpful to have expert assistance in the early stages of his business.

“In a lot of cases, you don’t even know the questions to ask,” he explained.

“You’re starting up and you don’t even know the next step.”

He hopes that in the future, a community of entrepreneurs in the Yukon will be able to help one another.

This year, he is excited to help with a new batch of ideas.

“Being able to give back to the next crew, I’m looking forward to that,” he said.

As for advice to entrepreneurs, he said be prepared for a lot of hard work.

“You need to go in understanding that it’s going to be a long road and it’ll be fun but definitely stressful and a lot of low points,” he said.

Friday’s Startup Checkpoint pre-event social will take place at 5 p.m. at the Westmark Whitehorse.

The social event and pitches are open to the public.