Invest Atlantic 2012

Thank you to 235 registered delegates, speakers and sponsors for sharing your ideas and experiences with one another!

If you would like to be kept in the loop on the 2013 conference on September 25th at the World Trade & Convention Centre, Halifax, Click here.

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Charity & Golf

Invest Atlantic is pleased to announce the Maritime Heart Center as our chosen partner charity for our 2012 conference in lieu of providing panel members gifts. And on Thursday, if you are interested in attending the BioPort conference click here, or if you are interested in playing golf and supporting the critical work of the Maritime Heart Center by joining their surgeons, donors and supporters at the 8th Annual Charity Golf Classic click here!

Host-an-Entrepreneur

In collaboration with our sponsors we want to ensure young entrepreneurs throughout the region have an opportunity to attend this year's Invest Atlantic conference. In doing so, we are pleased to offer a new program entitled Host-an-Entrepreneur (HAE). Each sponsor will receive complimentary HAE passes to be given out to entrepreneurs. Qualifying HAE entrepreneurs must have a business that has be registered in one of the four Atlantic provinces for less than 3 years and a business may receive only one HAE pass. In the event sponsors are looking for businesses to invite we will be accepting email nominations of businesses that qualify, please forward the name of the business, contact name, email and phone number to Host an Entrepreneur Nominations.

Conference Agenda

Please note times, topics and speakers are subject to change and as speakers are confirmed to sessions their names will appear in bold.

Time	Session
6:00 -7:30am	Exhibitor Setup (Investor's Café Area)
7:30 - 8:30am	Registration for Delegates
7:30 - 8:30am	Welcoming Refreshments (Investor's Café Area)
8:30 - 9:00am	Opening Remarks by chairperson and introduction by McInnes Cooper
9:00 - 10:15am	Session I IDEATION Guest Speaker: Thor Muller, CTO, Get Satisfaction, San Francisco The hardest thing for many start ups is to validate the ideas that they have. How can you do that? What do financiers and other stakeholders look for in an idea? Here we explore what makes the difference between a backable idea and the thousands of good ideas that simply cannot get backing. Moderator: Cheryl Paynter, CEO, Innovation PEI Panelist: David Baxter, Chair, Propel ICT, NB Panelist: Frank McKinnon, Vice President, 2^nd Act Innovations, NS Have a Question for this panel? If you have a question you would like asked at the conference, here's your chance. Submit here.
10:15 - 10:45am	Networking & Refreshment Break (Investor's Café Area)
10:45 - 12 noon	Session II TALENT INFUSION Guest Speaker: Julia Law former VP in charge of Global HR at Nike Investors will say that the first and in many cases, the only thing they will back is management. What does this mean? How can a start up either prove that they are the management team that investors are looking for or how can they attract, recruit and retain this talent? This session explores this vital area that start ups need to address. Moderator: Tom Hayes, President & CEO, Growthworks Atlantic Panelist: Jennifer Robichaud, VP, Corporate Resource Development, Innovacorp, NS Panelist: Gerry Pond, Chairman, Mariner Partners, NB Have a Question for this panel? If you have a question you would like asked at the conference, here's your chance. Submit here.
12:00 - 1:15pm	Keynote Luncheon Developing an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Jeff Amerine Technology Licensing Officer, Adjunct Faculty, Entrepreneurship, at the University of Arkansas Jeff will speak to developing an entrepreneurial ecosystem with special emphasis on the role of universities. His career has involved creating, financing and deploying high-tech products and services. He held senior leadership positions in seven startup ventures and three Fortune 500 companies. Jeff’s current role at the University of Arkansas is to commercialize research in addition to teaching entrepreneurship. He serves as a consultant to Innovate Arkansas which helps support the knowledge-based economy in Arkansas. Innovate Arkansas has served over 100 clients and has helped raise $75 million in public and private funding. Jeff also manages a tech-focused, angel investment fund called Gravity Ventures Arkansas, and the ARK ChallengeStartup Accelerator. Jeff holds a BS, Physical Science from the United States Naval Academy, and an MS in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas. Note: Adam Jackson was previously scheduled to be the keynote speaker and he has had to send regrets due to airline rescheduling.
1:15 - 2:15pm	Session III GLOBAL CONNECTIVITY Guest Speaker: Nimeshh Patel, COO AOL Europe With a population of just 34 million, Canada is too small as a market for investable high growth companies. By definition, many of these companies will need to seek markets elsewhere and it is a difficult process. In this session, we look at how companies can successfully export and what help is available to do this. Moderator: Nicole LeBlanc, Director Finance, New Brunswick Innovation Fund Panelist: Mike Oliver, VP, Business Development and Sales, Atlantic Hydrogen Inc., NB Panelist: Mark Kennedy, Celtx.com, NL Panelist: Colin Deacon, Bluelight Analytics, NS Panelist: Ben Forcier, Partner, Espresso Capital, NS Have a Question for this panel? If you have a question you would like asked at the conference, here's your chance. Submit here.
2:15 - 2:30pm	Networking & Refreshment Break (Investor's Café Area)
2:30 - 3:30pm	Session IV RAISING FUNDS Guest Speakers: April Seggebruch, VP Finance & Operations, Merchant View LLC, Fayetteville, Arkansas Access to capital is always an issue for companies. This is especially true of Atlantic Canada, where there is a distinct lack of competition in the VC or angel space. What are the lessons that companies need to learn about attracting capital? Moderator: Rob Cowan, Partner, McInnes Cooper Panelist: Jevon MacDonald, CEO, GoInstant.com, NS Panelist: Patrick Keefe, VP, Innovacorp, NS Panelist: Jeff White, Partner, East Valley Ventures, NB Have a Question for this panel? If you have a question you would like asked at the conference, here's your chance. Submit here.
3:30- 4:30pm	Pitching Den Four companies will pitch to a panel of investor/judges in hopes of raising capital, a welcomed mentoring session and a must see! Moderator: Peter MacNeil, Director- Venture Capital, NSBI Investor: Dan Martell, CEO, Clarity, NB Investor: Jeff Amerine, Technology Licensing Officer, Adjunct Faculty, Entrepreneurship, University of Arkansas Pitcher #1: Paula Morand, Jumpstart 720, NB Pitcher #2: Garnett Wilson, CEO, Afinin Labs, NL Pitcher #3: Tapajyoti Das, CEO, Leadsift, NS Pitcher #4: Jordan MacLeod, CEO, Strue, PEI
4:30 - 6:00pm	Networking Reception Appetizers and cash bar for all conference delegates.
6:00 - 7:30pm	Exhibit Takedown
	Thursday's Post Conference Events If you are interested in attending the BioPort conference click here and if you are interested in playing golf click here!