Preliminary Agenda

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Wednesday, September 21

Time	Event	Speaker Details
2:00 PM	Registration & Networking Regional and community showcase exhibits
3:00 PM	PLENARY: Young Entrepreneurs Reshaping North Carolina Session Keynote Donna Fenn, Inc. Magazine contributing editor and author of Upstarts! How GenY Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business Three Entrepreneurs Under 30 from North Carolina Panelists Ryan Allis of iContact Corporation in Morrisville Rachel Weeks of School House in Durham James Freeman of Mighty J’s in Pembroke	KEYNOTE Donna Fenn Inc.com Inc. contributing editor Donna Fenn is the author of Upstarts! How GenY Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business and 8 Ways You Can Profit From Their Success (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Both this blog and the book examine the ways in which GenY is changing the entrepreneurial landscape with new approaches to starting, growing, and managing their companies. Learn more at www.upstartsrock.com. Donna Fenn, Inc.com See Speaker Details
5:00 PM	Joint Reception with NC Companies to Watch American Tobacco Bay 7
7:00 PM	Dinner on your own Find highly-recommended restaurants in downtown Durham OR NC Companies to Watch dinner (registration is closed) 2011 North Carolina Companies to Watch, in partnership with the Edward Lowe Foundation and entrepreneurial support organizations from around the state, honors second-stage companies that demonstrate high performance in the marketplace, exhibit innovative products, and embrace unique organizational cultures. On September 21st in Bay 7 at the American Tobacco Campus in downtown Durham, NC, CED will unveil the 25 NC Companies to Watch winners and celebrate the entrepreneurial community of NC.

Thursday, September 22

Time	Event	Speaker Details
7:30 AM	Breakfast Buffet & Networking
8:30 AM	Plenary Opening
8:40 AM	Social Entrepreneur’s Welcome to Durham	KEYNOTE Martin Eakes Self-Help Credit Union Martin Eakes co-founded Self-Help, a community development lender, in 1980. Self-Help has provided almost $6 billion in financing to more than 60,000 homebuyers, small businesses and nonprofits and serves more than 25,000 mostly low income families through 7 retail credit union branches. Self-Help reaches people who are underserved by conventional financial institutions—particularly persons of color, women, rural residents, and low-wealth families. A native of North Carolina, he is a nationally recognized expert on development finance and has received several honors and awards for his work. Martin Eakes, Self-Help Credit Union
9:15 AM	Policy Chat with Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco	Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco
10:00 AM	Networking Break
10:15 AM	Concurrent Seminar Sessions Minority Entrepreneurs Breaking the Glass Ceiling Session Keynote: Darrin Redus, President of JumpStart Inclusion Advisors in Cleveland, Ohio Since its inception in 2004, JumpStart has created or retained 1500 jobs and raised $375 million in investment capital in Northeast Ohio. Its primary method is intensive entrepreneurial assistance from successful entrepreneurs. JumpStart has a specific focus on increasing the success of minority and women entrepreneurs in growing high-impact companies. Mr. Redus wrote in a recent blog: “Creating jobs by developing a more integrated entrepreneurial ecosystem focused on high-growth entrepreneurship is the first and best step toward addressing African American and Hispanic unemployment.” In the session he will highlight a few clients, talk about lessons from JumpStart, and engage with participants in a discussion about how these approaches can be applied in North Carolina. Pushing NC’s Leadership in the Fourth Sector The fourth sector is an emerging group of enterprises that have a triple bottom line orientation toward profit, people and planet. The session keynote and moderator will provide an overview of the sector, why it matters, and who is active in it in North Carolina, which is one of a few leading states. Then three entrepreneurs in the fourth sector will discuss how their companies formed, how their markets and practices are evolving, and how the ecosystem should improve to support more firms like them. Session Keynote and Moderator: Christopher Gergen, founding partner of Life Entrepreneurs and founding Executive Director of Bull City Forward in Durham Panelists Eric Henry of T.S. Designs in Burlington Chris McCurry of Bark House in Spruce Pine Julie Mullin of Fiberactive Organics in Raleigh Reinventing NC’s Traditional Industries Hear entrepreneurs from four of North Carolina’s mainstay traditional industries – apparel, tobacco, furniture and tourism – discussing the innovative or niche businesses they have developed and how they are tapping new markets and retooling their workforces. Moderator: Patrick Woodie, VP of Rural Programs, NC Rural Center in Raleigh Daryl Locklear of Charlie T. Locklear Vineyard and Winery in Maxton Charles Rice of Kellex Corporation in Valdese Trevor Sherrick of Calyber Boatworks in Edenton Chris Yura of SustainU recycled apparel; based in Morgantown, WV with a plant in Huntersville, NC Brave New World of Marketing: Social Media, Educational Marketing and Strategic Alliances Hear entrepreneurs from all sectors discussing how they are growing their companies through the use of new marketing approaches including social media, blogs and webinars, and partnerships with other organizations that already reach your customers. Moderator: Chris Grams, President and Partner, New Kind communications agency (Raleigh) and author of The Ad-Free Brand: Secrets to Building a Brand in a Digital World Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe in Durham Randy Goins of Trimark Solutions in Raleigh Chad Ledford of 3Tailer in Charlotte Jeff Mackanic of Red Hat in Raleigh Janis Pettit of SmartTrack in Wake Forest	See Speaker Details
11:45 AM	Entrepreneurship Summit Luncheon	KEYNOTE Louis Foreman Enventys Louis Foreman is founder and Chief Executive of Enventys, an integrated product design and engineering firm in Charlotte, NC. He is also CEO of Edison Nation. His interest in starting businesses and developing innovative products began while a sophomore Economics major at The University of Illinois with his first company founded in his fraternity room. Over the past 20 years, Louis has created 9 successful start-ups and has been directly responsible for the creation of over 20 others. A prolific inventor, he is the inventor of 10 registered US Patents, and his firm is responsible for the development and filing of well over 400 more. Learn more at www.louisforeman.com. Louis Foreman, Enventys and Edison Nation
1:15 PM	Concurrent Seminar Sessions New Niches in Health Care Hear three entrepreneurs talk about their niches within health care, which continues to be a growth industry for North Carolina. The moderator will add her perspectives as a local behavioral health entrepreneur. The panel will discuss the new challenges and opportunities for health care businesses presented by demographic trends, changes in federal and state law, and technology. Moderator: Leslie Hardy, MSW, President of Primary Source Group in Raleigh Dr. Jitesh Chawla of Patagonia Health in Cary Donna Lowry of Caring Touch Home Health Care in Pembroke Dr. Jean Orelien of SciMetrika in Durham (public health consulting) Ecologics and Economics: Building a Sustainable Future Hear several entrepreneurs talking about their ventures in several sectors of the green economy. The moderator will bring insights from her work with the state’s largest venture capital investor in clean tech. The session panel will discuss how to combine profit with innovations to improve the planet and how North Carolina can continue to build an environment that supports that continuous innovation. Moderator: Anne Claire Broughton, Co-Founder and Senior Director, SJF Institute, Durham Bill Brown of Net Power in Durham (energy) Stan Cross of Biowheels in Asheville (transportation) Luke Fishback of PlotWatt in Durham (energy) Kim Jones of Alganomics in Southport (biofuels) Reyad Sawafta of Quartek in High Point (nanotechnology) Roddy Tempest of Tempest Environmental Systems in Chapel Hill (water) The Entrepreneurs of Local Food The local foods movement is a fast growing segment of North Carolina agriculture. Hear how these food entrepreneurs are overcoming the challenges of scale, price and distribution to bring fresh local food to North Carolina customers in stores and restaurants. Moderator: Deborah Hardison, Small Business Center Director, Richmond Community College Sandi Kronick of Eastern Carolina Organics in Pittsboro Rob Mayo of Carolina Classics Catfish in Ayden Rob Segovia-Welsh of Chicken Bridge Bakery in Pittsboro Jeff Stern of TROSA grocery store in Durham Money Talks: Bootstrapping 2.0 Bootstrapping is financing a business without much outside investment. Hear how the featured entrepreneurs are selling assets, bartering, outsourcing or networking to preserve cash and leverage their limited outside funding. Bring your own business bootstrapping ideas for the discussion. Moderator: Farad Ali, N.C. Institute for Minority Economic Development, Durham Chris Carroll of Carroll Woodcrafts in Polk County Dana Jaunzemis of 44!deas in Wilmington Dan Roselli of Red F and Packard Place in Charlotte Jason Merrill of Back Alley Bikes in Chapel Hill	See Speaker Details
2:45 PM	Plenary Wrap-Up Making NC the Best State for Entrepreneurs Moderator: Scott Daugherty, NC Commissioner for Small Business Leslie Boney, UNC General Administration Billy Ray Hall, NC Rural Center Andrea Harris, NC Institute for Minority Economic Development Anne Shaw, Small Business Center Network	Scott Daugherty, NC Commissioner for Small Business
3:30 PM	Adjourn
3:45 PM - 5:30 PM	Fourth Sector Mini-Conference The Fourth Sector: Supporting economic development through social and sustainable enterprise (additional $15) The NC Fourth Sector Cluster Initiative is a collaboration of entrepreneurs, business, community and economic development leaders convened to accelerate the growth of social enterprise and social innovation, entrepreneurship and green and sustainable businesses (the emerging "fourth sector") across North Carolina’s Research Triangle region and throughout the state. The Initiative is partnering with business leadership organizations, academic institutions and representatives from local and state government to develop a regional, cluster-based strategy to promote job growth and advance the emerging fourth sector. The Initiative’s objective is to accelerate economic growth and job creation while making tangible impacts on pressing community challenges. This mini-conference will follow the fourth sector overview provided during the Governor's Entrepreneurship Summit and harness the energy of the stakeholders at the Summit to explore the "how tos" of supporting Fourth Sector growth - mainly, how to accelerate this sector across the state in a comprehensive, coordinated, and strategic manner.