Innovation Summit calling business pitches, speakers

The Juneau Economic Development Council is calling for innovators, business owners and entrepreneurs to pitch business ideas at their 2018 Innovation Summit in February.

Two portions of the Innovation Summit are open for proposals: Innovation Shorts and the Entrepreneur Pitch Contest. Interested industry experts, entrepreneurs, researchers, seasoned business owners and inventors interested in speaking at the Innovation Summit can submit their proposal by visiting www.JEDC.org/innovation.

The JEDC is seeking up to 30 presenters for the Innovation Shorts portion to showcase original topics through a 10-minute “Innovation Short.” The condensed presentations offer Summit attendees the chance to learn about innovation and business projects in short presentations. Presenters gain experience speaking publicly on their topic while growing their network and creating interest in their business. The application can be found here.

The JEDC is also seeking five Alaska entrepreneurs/innovators for the Pitch Contest, which is an opportunity to pitch their vision in front of Innovation Summit attendees. Entrepreneurs will have five minutes to pitch their business concept in front of Summit attendees and business owners. Attendees will crowdfund a cash prize for the winner(s) to take home at the end of the session. More information can be found here at JEDC.org

The Innovation Summit is scheduled to take place Feb. 21-Feb. 22, 2018 at Centennial Hall Convention Center.

The annual Innovation Summit is recognized as the largest gathering of business professionals in Southeast Alaska. The Summit focuses on providing insight and guidance to new entrepreneurs and business owners.

Interested parties can submit to present at the Innovation Summit by filling out a short speaker application no later than Jan. 15, 2018. For questions regarding the speaking proposal or process, please contact Dana Herndon at dherndon@jedc.org.

JEDC is also actively seeking sponsors for the Summit. For more information, please email dherndon@jedc.org with questions or call 523-2324.