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Commercializing
Technology to Drive New Business Formation: The Experience of Entrepreneurs
In 2005, the Economic Development Council and its Technology Commercialization Task Force (TCTF) undertook a review of the state of technology commercialization in this region. In a series of programs and study groups the Technology Commercialization Task Force brought together over 100 individuals from the public, private, academic and other sectors. Following a review of existing material on the matter and discussion of new ideas and concerns, the results were compiled in, "Defining an Economic Development Roadmap for the Region to Obtain the Benefits of Technology". Since the report was issued in October 2005, the Task Force has continued to meet, discuss and analyze the Roadmap with additional organizations and individuals, with the goal of communicating, refining and implementing the Roadmap. In May, The Task Force brought in leaders from model technology "clusters" in Cambridge, England, San Diego, and St. Louis to share their insights and advice for Chicago's technology entrepreneurs, as our region explores the potential for establishing a resource organization to provide connectivity, benchmarking, marketing and support for technology commercialization in the region. In September, we brought together a panel of small and mid-sized manufacturers, development organizations and academia to explore technological opportunities and resources available for manufacturing. The Task
Force now invites you to join us as we look at technology commercialization
as it relates to driving new business formation in our region. We will
provide a first person perspective of the current condition of our mechanisms,
resources and infrastructure in support of entrepreneurism and new business
formation. From this, we will explore the ease or difficulty entrepreneurs
experienced when identifying and accessing the resources necessary to
launch and build their businesses. The discussion will focus upon the
technology commercialization and business formation mechanisms that work
and should continue as is, that don't work well and need to be improved,
and that do not exist and need to be created. The program will feature
serial entrepreneurs who have successfully built and launched new businesses
and a leader of an organization focused upon accelerating the transition
of cutting-edge technologies to the marketplace by connecting innovators
to investors and companies. This forum will be presented in a panel format
with ample time allotted for audience discussion and Q&A. The cost of the program is $50. Reservations are mandatory, to register online, prepay by clicking one of the links below, or complete and fax the registration form to the EDC at 773-279-8872.
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The agenda
and speakers are as follows:
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