Mississippi’s traditional economies—agriculture, energy, oceans and healthcare—are being rapidly reshaped by technology.
At this year’s Accelerate conference, we explore the resources and opportunities that Mississippi can leverage by embracing a technology-driven economy, even in traditional economic sectors.
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 9th
Company & Investor Spotlight
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Join us for a showcase of Mississippi startup companies in various stages of funding as they make their pitch. Special sessions featuring investors and mentors will discuss the finance landscape in the state.
Speaker and Sponsor Reception
5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Speakers and sponsors are invited to mingle and network as we welcome people to the Westin Jackson and look forward to the conference day on Wednesday.
COMPANY & INVESTOR SPOTLIGHT
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 9th
Networking opportunities are built in to allow for further discussion. We invite investors, service providers, mentors, economic developers and other entrepreneurs to this session. The Spotlight offers an opportunity for Mississippi entrepreneurs to gain some exposure for their venture while making valuable connections with mentors, potential investors and others in the innovation ecosystem.
- AI Control Technologies – Chris Webb
- Bloom Technologies – Melissa Bloom
- ConnectVNA – John Welch
- Jordan Analytics – Christina Jordan
- Moonshine – Raj Ramarao
- Primp – Ali Bridgers and Kirk Milman
- Stalwart Medical Innovations – Dustin Ford
- Time Touch Take – Barbara Coatney
- Tribly – Seth Power
- Wispr – Conor Ferguson
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 10th
REGISTRATION
7:30 a.m.
Come grab your badge, a cup of coffee and start mingling with attendees and vendors on Innovation Alley.
BREAKFAST KEYNOTE
8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.
2022 Legislative Session Update by Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, followed by "Only the Paranoid Survive: Get on Board or Get Left Behind" by Innovate Mississippi President & CEO Tony Jeff.
Big ideas
9:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
Mississippi’s economy is poised for a once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand economic opportunity, improve quality of life for its citizens and reverse brain drain.
BLOCK AND TACKLE
9:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
The Block and Tackle track covers those moments when the rubber meets the road for entrepreneurs in the Mississippi entrepreneurial ecosystem.
LUNCH KEYNOTE
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
JF Gauthier is a Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of Startup Genome and a leading expert in innovation ecosystem development.
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 10th
VIP AND MENTOR LOUNGE:
9:30am – 11:45 a.m. – BY APPOINTMENT
The VIP & Mentor Lounge offers pre-scheduled, 20-minute meetings between our high-level attendees and entrepreneurs. (Please RSVP!)
This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to have access to some of Mississippi’s most successful business leaders along with several service providers and mentors to get one-on-one advice on starting, growing and scaling your business.
VIPs:
- Jan & Lawrence Farrington
- Jim Lowery
- Bill Rayburn & Lois Lovelady-Rayburn
- Ben Walton
Mentors:
- Tom Bunting (IT and Sales)
- Bryan Carter (Marketing, Media, Advertising
- Sunny Desai (Fundraising, General Business)
- Dr. Lurlene Irvin (Finance, Fundraising, General Business)
- Mike Morgan (Finance, Fundraising, General Business)
- Darryl Pieroni (Sales, Marketing)
- Whit Rayner (Patent Law)
speakers
We’re assembling an exciting group of speakers for Accelerate: the Conference on Technology Innovation this year. From startup veterans to educators to industry leaders, this group offers a deep look at the challenges facing Mississippi—and how we can turn those challenges into opportunities for innovation and growth.
Almesha L. Campbell, Ph.D
Jackson State University
Almesha L. Campbell, Ph.D. is the Assistant Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Jackson State University (JSU). She designs and manages programs around innovation, technology transfer, and commercialization in an effort to broaden the participation of underrepresented minorities in these areas.
Jeremy Clay
Mississippi State University
Jeremy Clay is director of MSU’s Office of Technology Management, the unit charged with efficiently capturing, protecting, managing and accelerating the commercialization of university-owned and -generated intellectual property.
Dr. Brian Cuevas
University of Southern Mississippi
University of Southern Mississippi
Dr. Brian Cuevas is the Director of the Office of Technology Development at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) and has over fifteen years of industry experience in the development of highly regulated medical products.
Joe Donovan
Mississippi Development Authority
Mr. Donovan currently is the Director of The Office of Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship @ Mississippi Development Authority. Donovan primary responsible for focusing Mississippi on growing the knowledge based economic development through developing an eco-system focusing on emerging technologies.
J. F. Gauthier
Founder & CEO, Startup Genome
JF Gauthier is a Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur and Founder & CEO of Startup Genome. He is the world’s leading expert in innovation ecosystem development, having advised—and learned from—more than 100 governments and private-public partnerships across 40 countries.
Adam Horlock
BCM, Office Evolution Flowood MS
Adam Horlock is currently the BCM (Business Center Manager) for Mississippi’s first Office Evolution. Office Evolution is the nation’s largest locally owned and operated coworking network, with over 80 locations in 25 states.
Delbert Hosemann
Lieutenant Governor
Elected in November 2019 with more than 60 percent of the vote, the Honorable Delbert Hosemann is serving as Mississippi’s 33rd Lieutenant Governor. He previously served as Secretary of State. Lt. Governor Hosemann is committed to serving the public with open and fair government.
Eric Hughes
Brand Manager and Creative Director
As a Brand Manager and Creative Director for leading national brands and award-winning ad agencies, Eric has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs, startups, and national brands create breakthrough marketing strategies and campaigns that disrupt markets, nail goals, and drive results.
Tony Jeff
President and CEO, Innovate Mississippi
Tony Jeff serves as the president and CEO for Innovate Mississippi. He’s a technology evangelist who speaks regularly on emerging trends and strategies in technology and innovation commercialization.
Laura Johns
Founder & CEO, The Business Growers
Laura Johns is Founder and CEO of The Business Growers, a results-driven marketing firm based in Jackson, Mississippi. For nearly 20 years, Laura has led and managed marketing efforts for companies from technology startups and global, multi-billion dollar businesses.
Dr. Amber Johnson
Owner, Kidult Life
Dr. Amber Johnson, a native of Jackson, Miss., is an entrepreneur and techie. She is the owner of The Kidult Life, a lifestyle brand she founded after becoming the first black woman to graduate with a PhD in Computer Science from Purdue University.
Janice Karcher
Chief Innovation Officer, ERDCWERX
As Chief Innovation Officer, Janice Karcher’s role at ERDCWERX includes the support of ERDC innovation and commercialization including the strategic engagement of industry and academic partners.
Tim Mask
President and CEO, Maris, West & Baker
Tim oversees brand planning, marketing strategy, and digital media strategy for partner clients and works for organizations including the Mississippi Development Authority, Entergy Nuclear, and the Mississippi State Department of Health.
Cade Moody
Technology Specialist, Wade, Inc.
Cade Moody is an Agricultural Technology Specialist at Wade, Inc., a prominent John Deere dealer in north Mississippi. He studied Agricultural Engineering, Technology and Business before getting his master’s degree in Agribusiness Management at Mississippi State University.
Michael Mosher
The University of Mississippi
Michael Mosher is the Associate Director in the University of Mississippi’s Office of Technology Commercialization. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry and Psychology from Carleton College, a JD from The John Marshall Law School with a focus on Intellectual Property Law and a Master’s Degree in Nanoscience from Arizona State University.
Cliff Osbon
Owner, Office Evolution Flowood MS
Cliff Osbon is a serial entrepreneur who as led several successful ventures. Cliff currently consults for various healthcare industry stakeholders. He and his wife, Angela, own Office Evolution, a flexible office space provider in Flowood.
Davis Pace
CEO, MSET
Davis Pace serves as President and CEO of Mississippi Enterprise for Technology (MSET). Prior to joining MSET in 2021, he spent nearly a decade in Washington, D.C., on and off Capitol Hill, with a focus on technology, space, and cybersecurity issues.
Dr. Nashlie Sephus
Amazon AI & Founder The Bean Path
Amazon AI & Founder The Bean Path
Dr. Sephus received her PhD from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2014. Her core research areas were digital signal processing (mainly music, speech, and image signals), machine learning, and computer engineering/science. She recently joined the Amazon AI team focusing on “fairness in AI” and is based in Atlanta.
Anne Turner
Founding Shareholder, Anne Turner, PC
Anne Turner is the founding shareholder of Anne Turner, PC, in Madison, Mississippi and the founder of Lexcela, a legal accelerator for startups (www.lexcela.com). Anne has been practicing law for over twenty-five years, and her practice primarily consists of advising early stage startup companies, as well as other transactional work in the geophysical and energy sectors.
J.F. Gauthier
Founder & CEO
Startup Genome
Luncheon Keynote
J.F. GAUTHIER, STARTUP GENOME
J.F. Gauthier is a Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur and the Founder & CEO of Startup Genome. He is the world’s leading voice in innovation ecosystem development, having advised more than 100 governments and private-public partnerships across 35 countries.
Gautier has founded five businesses and led others across two continents and three sectors (Tech, Life Sciences and Cleantech), achieving two exits and one at scale-up stage. He is also an active angel investor who previously worked in corporate innovation, advising IBM, Cisco, Agilent/HP, Johnson & Johnson, and Abbott for the firm of Kim Clark (former dean of Harvard Business School) alongside Clayton Christensen and other thought leaders.
Gauthier has an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Registration and sponsorship
exhibitors & event sponsors
$1500 and up
- Technology Champion Sponsorship ($1500)
Exhibit space on Innovation Alley, company logo in program and 8 tickets to all events. - Coffee & Contacts Sponsorship ($2500)
Exhibit space on Innovation Alley, company logo in program, special networking event in your booth and 8 tickets for all events. - Innovation Leader Sponsorship ($5000)
Exclusive event sponsorship, premium booth space on Innovation Alley, 10 tickets (reserved table) for all events.
entrepreneurs & executives
$250 and up
Entrepreneur Sponsorship ($250)
Tickets for two and recognition in our programExecutive Partner Sponsorship ($550)
Tickets for four and recognition in our program
INDIVIDUAL
attendees
$85 full conference
- Wednesday 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
- Breakfast
- Tech Sessions
- Innovation Alley
- Luncheon
INNOVATION ALLEY
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 10th
Join us in the Pre-Function Space all morning Wednesday, November 10th, for quality time with vendors offering innovative services and/or support for entrepreneurs in Mississippi.
our sponsors
Presenting Sponsor
Featured Sponsor
Innovation LEaderS
Coffee & Contacts
Technology ChampionS
Executive PartnerS
EntrepreneurS
