Sessions will cover marketing, PR, funding, scaling, building a team, turning ideas into action, branding, creativity, product development and more.
7:45 a.m. – Registration opens + light breakfast sponsored by Sandbox Industries
8:30 – Welcome – Frank Gruber
8:40 – Why We Start: The Lifestyle – Phil Tadros
9:05 – Five Cultural Shifts Facing Entrepreneurs – Mark Drapeau
9:20 -Entrepreneur Perspective: Building a team – Eric Lunt
9:45 – Entrepreneur Perspective: Team of Problem Solvers – Harper Reed
10:15 – The Heavy-weight Professionals: Necessary Legal, Accounting and Paperwork – Bob Gurwin, Evan Brown, Daliah Saper and Jeff K. Singer, John R. Dallas Jr.
11:00 – Entrepreneur Perspective: Lessons from the Jam Pad – Travis Kalanick
11:40 – The Heavy-weight Professionals: PR Bootcamp – Sarah Hardwick
12:15 - LUNCH PROVIDED
12:40 – Creativity & the Importance of Building a Brand People Love – Ross Kimbarovsky, David Gardner, Peter LaMotte, Melissa Pierce
1:25 – Entrepreneur Perspective: The Spirit of the Startup & Embracing Failure – Micah Baldwin
1:50 – Entrepreneur Perspective: Finding Your Business, The Pivot – Aaron Batalion
2:25 – Entrepreneur Perspective: Building for Longevity – Genevieve Thiers & Dan Ratner
2:50 – The Heavy-weight Professionals & Entrepreneurial Perspectives: Reality of Funding – Aziz Gilani, Mike Trotzke and Matt Maloney
3:35 – Entrepreneur Perspective: Doing More Faster – Brad Feld & David Cohen
4:20 – Entrepreneur Perspective: From Product to Business, Keeping it Lean, Building Relationships for Success – Tony Conrad
5:00 – Closing Remarks by Frank Gruber and Jen Consalvo
Break for dinner
6:30 – 9:30pm – Tech Cocktail Chicago Startup Mixer at JOHN BARLEYCORN’S in WRIGLEYVILLE – Showcasing local startups, networking and having some fun over cocktails! The mixer is open to the public but conference attendees will be able to get in with a conference badge.
