Thursday, October 10th

*new location*
Hilton Hotel Richardson
701 E. Campbell
Richardson, TX 75081

 

Learn all about and watch a great video on our Innovation Expo HERE

Tech Titans, the technology association for North Texas, and its Innovation Expo want to take fast-growing emerging technology companies to the next level of growth by introducing them to potential investors through this new take on our annual pitch-day event.

Venture capital firms, corporate innovation groups, corporation investment or M&A groups, family office investors, and private equity firms are invited to participate in the special ‘speed-dating’ like event! Participation in this event is invitation only.

Guests are welcome to attend and view, experience and share in the event for a nominal fee of just $10.

Innovation Expo Overview

Presenting technology companies will be selected from a variety of startup companies around the North Texas area with a net annual income of no more than $2 million.  The companies selected to pitch their businesses will not be seed or early-stage start-ups, rather they must have customers, traction and rapidly growing revenue and ready for expansion capital (series A, B or C rounds of financing).

With around 30 start-up companies showing up to present and pitch their ideas in an exhibit style format with a table, their pitch, and not much else, they have about 7 mins to catch the eyes and ears of approximately 30-40 top line investors that will attend.  It is at this point the two will begin the process of connecting to see if the investors like what is in front of them before the bell rings and they must move on to the next.

At the end of the event, we will host all start-up companies and investors to stay for a networking and ‘catch up’ happy hour to reconnect with the connection or connections they made that they want to speak with further.  This allows information to be passed back and forth, questions and answers to be done, and more time to be spent with each other to see how the two can proceed into the future as a partnership (if at all).

This year we are introducing something fun and new also to start off the event. We are in process of talking to two (2) top entrepreneurs in Dallas to Keynote Speak and lead us off into this fun and unique event experience.  Following the Expo itself and prior to the networking experience, we will have a panel discussion of some top-level executives to round out the event.

 

Innovation Expo format

1:00 pm: The event will begin with Trey Bowles, our Keynote Speaker presenting on entrepreneurship.

2:00 pm: Following our Keynote, this will be the ‘speed-dating’ style rotation, and everyone will have a chance to speak with an investor, give their elevator pitch and exchange information. At the end of the closing bell, we will have a panel discussion to close the main event.

4:00 pm: Panel discussion will begin

5:00 pm:  Bars are open and all are invited to a reception to give presenters and investors an opportunity to connect and network.

6:00 pm: Event conclusion

Find out about our panelists here!

• George Brody
• After briefly retiring from corporate life after a 43-year career that included 26 years of Big Company life mixed in with an exciting 17-year entrepreneurial journey, George is currently the Founder and CEO  of InfoNet of Things LLC, an IoT solutions company and also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Turbostart Global, a global venture fund and accelerator focused on investing in and enabling early-stage tech-driven startups.
• Bhag Manukonda
• Bhagawati Manukonda (Bhag) is the co-founder and CEO of Innocito, a digital engineering solutions company with over 18 years of experience in the IT industry. In the last two years, he has successfully guided more than 10 startups from concept to ideation. Bhag’s core belief is that business success should take precedence over complicating technology—a critical insight, as many startups fail by losing focus on what truly drives value. This philosophy has been key in bridging the gap between business and IT service delivery teams. Before co-founding Innocito, Bhag was Associate Vice President at Cigniti, where he led Global Delivery and ESG portfolios, shaping strategies for large enterprise clients.
• Justin Cohen
• Justin Cohen is currently the head of Slalom Ventures at Slalom.  Starting his first company in 1994, Justin has since founded or grown 4 tech companies, with three exits to strategic buyers and one most recently to private equity.
• Alex Hemmerlein
• As the Sportstech Ventures Associate at Plug and Play, Alex Hemmerlein specializes in investing in high-growth sports startups and fostering partnerships with professional sports teams and Fortune 500 brands. A USC alumnus, Alex expanded Techstars’ Blackstone LaunchPad accelerators to over 140,000 in reach and co-founded Alma Mater Angels, an education platform for aspiring angel investors. Off-duty, Alex shifts his strategic focus from startups to chess games and hits the trails with his outdoor guiding organization, Let’s Bivy, which has enabled over 4500 young adults to get outside.