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The Venture Club of Indiana is linking its annual Innovation Showcase to an international gathering this year—the Global Entrepreneurship Congress—in hopes of capitalizing on the momentum of that much larger event.
The 17th annual Innovation Showcase, which brings investors and entrepreneurs together for a pitch contest, a keynote presentation and discussions, will take place June 5. This year’s event also includes a keynote presentation by an HBO producer and director.
It begins immediately after the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, or GEC, a separate event which is expected to bring 3,000 to 4,000 attendees to Indianapolis from the U.S. and about 150 other countries.
And the Innovation Showcase takes place at the Westin Indianapolis—one of the two host hotels for the GEC.
“We’re trying to make it as easy as possible for folks to extend their visit a day or a few hours and come stop by,” said Claire Neuman, the Venture Club’s executive director.
The GEC, an annual event that takes place June 2-5 at the Indiana Convention Center, is for entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and others connected to the world of entrepreneurship. That event is organized by the Global Entrepreneurship Network, which launched the event in 2009 in Kansas City, Missouri. Since then, the event has taken place in a different venue each year, and this is the first time since 2009 that it has been back in the United States.
Typically, Neuman said, the Innovation Showcase attracts about 250 attendees. Because the showcase is an official side event of the GEC this year, Neuman said she’s hoping for as many as 300 people.
The Innovation Showcase requires separate admission. Tickets, available on the Venture Club’s website, are $125 for Venture Club members and $175 for non-members. GEC attendees can purchase tickets at a reduced price via a discount code.
The Innovation Showcase is built around a pitch contest in which judges will select four winners from among 21 companies that will be presenting their pitches at scheduled intervals. Companies will compete in one of two categories: Digital Tech or Life Sciences. The four winners will receive a total of $20,000: $7,000 for the first-place finisher in each category, and $3,000 for each of the second-place finishers.
This year’s event also features a keynote presentation by HBO executive producer and director Gregg Fienberg, whose projects have included the television shows “Big Little Lies,” “Bad Blood” and “Gods and Monsters.” Feinberg is also the founder and CEO of CallPlease, a Los Angeles-based company whose software platform helps users manage their phone calls and workflows.
“He brings this new, exciting perspective as an HBO producer, but he’s also a tech investor and entrepreneur,” Neuman said of Fienberg. “So he relates with our audience while bringing a fresh and new perspective.”
Feinberg will be joined onstage by Rhys Ryan, the CEO and co-founder of Indianapolis-based data analytics startup Ekkobar. Ryan is also the former chief technology officer at CallPlease.
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