SwampFox

Success is helping you make valuable connections before, during and after our annual InnoVenture Southeast Conference.

• Eighth annual InnoVenture Southeast Conference
• May 10 and 11 in Greenville, SC.
• Applications for Create the Future presentations due March 31, 2011.
• Applications for the Przirembel Prize due February 28, 2011.
• Registration to attend opens early March. Registration fee $500. Faculty, students and high-impact entrepreneurs $99. Anchors and sponsors receive coupons.
• Sponsorships available to increase awareness with highly influential, affluent, connected community.

Below are two examples of successful connections made at InnoVenture Southeast, including a case study. At the conference, there are 600 or so passionate people who are kindred spirits seeking customers, capital, talent or technology to grow their enterprise. The examples include connections with:

• Innovators in large and middle market companies scouting for market needs and technical capabilities,
• Faculty and students from research universities to community colleges seeking connections to grow their academic enterprises,
• Entrepreneurs seeking connections to grow their companies, and
• Service and technology providers seeking to work with innovators and entrepreneurs.

How can you make connections?

• Register to attend. Innovation is a contact sport. You can not connect with others if you are not there. Registration opens early in March.
• Display a poster. By registering you are welcome to bring a Create the Future poster of the connections you need to succeed to display in our 40,000 square feet Innovation Hall.
• Apply to present. We are seeking short Create the Future presentations of the connections you need to succeed. We not looking for education or inspiration, though we hope the audience is educated and inspired. Our question after you present is whether anyone connects with you who is valuable. You can Download a template of the presentation we are looking for. Contact JohnWarner@InnoVentureSoutheast.com with questions.
• Apply to win.  We will award the Przirembel Prize to a collaboration across diverse organizations in the Southeastern United States recognized as significant by those outside the region. Contact VickieFowler@InnoVentureSoutheast.com for more information.
• Sponsor the conference. We work doubly hard to make sure sponsors make connections with our influential, affluent and connected community. Packages include booth space in the Innovation Hall, promotion throughout the event, and discounted bundles of registrations. Contact JessicaMoss@InnoVentureSoutheast.com for more information.

Our new 2011 format - More white space for conversations.
InnoVenture Southeast has a new format in May 2011. Henry Ford is famous for saying, "If I had asked them what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." Game changing opportunities start with the informed intuition of passionate individuals, which is never fully formed at the beginning but is developed through conversations with others who have diverse expertise and resources. Informed intuition is an informal, personal form of knowledge that you can't Google and you can't find with traditional market research techniques. You have to have conversations with the passionate champions who have it. So this year, the agenda of the conference is organized in a series of conversation modules. One of our anchors present their priority, followed by five champions with short Create the Future presentations, and then a conversation among the presenters and those attending the conference literally at a round table in the Innovation Hall. So this year will have compelling presentations, as we always have, but we have engineered in lots more white space so you connect with as many others at the conference as possible. Michael Bolick Lab21 said of his experience one year, "I got so excited I looked around to see who else was taking notes." That is the experience we want you to have.

Let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to you joining us in May. Help us spread the word to your colleagues. Nothing is more compelling than you telling a friend.

John Warner

Examples of Successful Connections

Jason Premo is co-owner of ADEX Machining Technologies, a middle market company that manufactures high-precision machined prototypes and production components for the aerospace, defense and energy-power generation industries. He presented at InnoVenture Southeast 2010 about his need to develop highly skilled talent to meet growing demand. Wendy Walden from Greenville Technical College connected with him about a recent statewide grant creating the "Dream It Do It" campaign to enhance exposure and improve curriculum through industry involvement. Jason joined the steering board and is working with other industry leaders and the state technical college system to develop highly skilled talent. Success at InnoVenture Southeast is making connections like Jason did, and he has committed to be back to InnoVenture Southeast 2011.

As Director of External Research for the Michelin Americas Research Company, Ralph Hulseman led Michelin to becoming the first corporate Anchor of InnoVenture Southeast several years ago. He made connections with universities, entrepreneurs, and even another large company, Milliken, with whom Michelin began a joint research project. Three years ago, Ralph spun out of Michelin to start Hoowaki. As president of an entrepreneurial company Ralph connected with Tom Strange of St. Jude Medical, who is now one of Hoowaki's most significant early customers along with Michelin, and with SC Launch, which invested in the company. Ralph is one of InnoVenture strongest ambassadors. Download a Hoowaki Case Study to see how Ralph has found a whole community of customers, capital, talent and technology.

InnoVenture Southeast Anchors