Accelerate 2019 Schedule
Tuesday November 12
1:00pm • Company and Investor Spotlight
This event showcases a few of Mississippi’s most promising startups. Companies selected to pitch are currently or will soon pursue funding to support further growth. Between pitches, investors will conduct panels on topics pertaining to raising capital and investing in Mississippi startups. The United States Patent & Trademark office will talk about programs and will also be available for one-on-one meetings with entrepreneurs.
The Company & Investor Spotlight portion is free and open to the public.
> 1:05pm: US Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) Presentation: "Introduction to Intellectual Property" • Paul Lee, Jacob Choi> 1:25pm: Bidmoni • Stephen Daigle
> 1:38pm: MiCare Path • Scott Laster
> 1:51pm: EasyKale • Bilal Qizilbash
> 2:04pm: Citizen Health • Brennen Hodge
> 2:17pm: Investor Panel: What Investors Want • Jeremy Hirsch, founder of Spartan Mosquito; Michael Denny, CPA, Grantham Poole
2:37pm • Refreshment Break
2:57pm • C&IS Session Two
> 2:57pm: Sonido • Brady Hoggard
> 3:10pm: Cattlog • Loren Stark
> 3:23pm: Coflyt • Eric Hill
> 3:36pm: "Why Investor Funds are Attractive to Investors & Companies" • Martin Jue, Matthew McLaughlin, Jon Atkinson
3:56pm • Refreshment Break
4:16pm • C&IS Session Three
> 4:16pm: Lobaki • Kevin Loud
> 4:29pm: WISPr Systems • Conner Ferguson
> 4:42pm: Campusknot • Rahul Gopal
> 4:55pm: Torrus • Josh Frazier
> 5:08pm: Wrap-up
5:00 - 6:30pm • Accelerate 2019 • Speaker and Sponsor Reception
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, featuring music by Jeffrey Rupp.
Wednesday November 13
7:30am • Registration
8:00am • Breakfast Keynote Session
> 8:05am: Welcome by Tony Jeff
> 8:15am: Remarks by Lieutenant Governor Elect Delbert Hosemann
> 8:30am: Cybersecurity Panel Discussion
Boyce Adams Sr., Lisa Vaughan, Chief Cyrus Ben, Dr. Sarah Lee; moderator: Joel Lawhead - Learn about the current cybersecurity-threat landscape and methods organizations and individuals can use to protect themselves. The panel will feature local industry, state agency, tribal, and higher-education leaders. During the discussion, the panelists will talk about risks related to computer fraud, cybercrime, and data breaches, and will discuss how Mississippi is establishing itself as a national leader in cybersecurity education.
9:15am • Coffee and Contacts
Breakout Track A: "Block and Tackle"
Tactical Topics for Entrepreneurs
9:30am • Track A: "Block and Tackle"
• 9:30am: "Validation"
Loren Stark, President and Co-founder, Cattlog
Your first thoughts won't always be the right ones. This is the story of how Cattlog found its customers and worked with them to bring a new and exciting solution to market.
• 9:50am: "Prioritization"Hagan Walker and Anna Barker, Vibe LLC
How to recognize and pursue new opportunities with your entrepreneurial venture.
• 10:10am: "Building the Customer Base"Bruce Deer, Innovate MS Entrepreneur in Residence
What is the “Ideal Customer?" How to find, listen, cultivate and keep them. A discussion from a startup or new-entry perspective into the market.
Breakout Track B: "Big Ideas"
Startup Success Stories, Challenges in A.I. and Data Analytics
9:30am • Track B: "Big Ideas"
• 9:30am: "Startup to $100 Million"
Jeremy Hirsch, founder of Hattiesburg-based Spartan Mosquitos
Hirsch, inventor of the Spartan Mosquito Eradicator, will share his adventure of becoming one of the fastest growing companies in the country; going from startup to a $100+ million company in just a matter of two years.
Breakout Track A: "Block and Tackle"
Tactical Topics for Entrepreneurs
10:45am • Track A: "Block and Tackle"
• 10:45am: "Fundraising"
Matthew McLaughlin, managing partner McLaughlin, PC
Matthew will discuss the common issues early-stage startups need to address prior to beginning the fundraising process. Matthew will also discuss what angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for in investable companies.
• 11:03am: "Startup Marketing"Jonathan Sellers, president of Spark Outbound
With all the marketing options available today, startups often struggle to efficiently prioritize their efforts. In this session, we'll define the most important steps every startup needs to take to build a solid marketing foundation. These strategies and tactics are designed to efficiently put a startup in the position to acquire new clients or customers while simultaneously building brand authority.
• 11:21am: "Building a Strong Team"Judy Johnson, Senior Engineering Project Manager at MSU's Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems Extension
Your business needs to grow to be more successful, but you cannot wear all of the hats all of the time. During this session you will learn how to search for talent, set a clear vision, build a high-performing team, and lead them effectively into the future.
Breakout Track B: "Big Ideas"
Startup Success Stories, Challenges in A.I. and Data Analytics
10:45am • Track B: "Big Ideas"
• 10:45am: "Data Analytics"
Joe Stradinger, Founder & CEO, Edge Theory
Joe will share the importance of combining human and machine intelligence to achieve business goals. Joe will further share how EdgeTheory combines human and artificial intelligence to create "atomic content at scale" for business professionals to help them get discovered in a noisy world.
• 11:12am: "Fairness in Artificial Intelligence"Dr. Nashlie Sephus, CTO of Partpic, acquired by Amazon, currently part of Amazon's Fairness in AI team
AI has become so prevalent in today's world that people often use these technologies without knowing it. Whether it involves recognizing and responding to one's voice, recommending music or videos, or analyzing objects in images, how do we know these AI tools are being fair, especially when it comes down to a matter of privacy or human rights?
11:40am • Coffee and Contacts
12:00pm •
Lunch Keynote
"Jim Barksdale and Steve Case Fireside Chat"
Jim Barksdale, the Mississippi-born former CEO of Netscape, chats with Steve Case, the co-founder and CEO of America Online, to whom Netscape sold in the 1990s. Case wrote the book "The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur's Vision of the Future" and travels the country on his "Rise of the Rest" tour to promote entrepreneurial ventures throughout the country.