Startup Fest – Close School of Entrepreneurship

Join us

November 4-5.2021

Choose your own path at Drexel’s premier Entrepreneurship Festival! Students, graduates, and entrepreneurs are all welcome to join in-person and online for a three-day celebration of entrepreneurship by attending speaker panels, mentoring sessions, networking, competing for over $15,000 in prizes and more!

SCHEDULE

Day 1

10a–3p
Proving Ground Expo

11a–12p
Pitch Perfect
Practice pitch competition using the Networking
feature on Hopin

12–1p
Do You Want to be an Entrepren-aire?
Interactive game

1–2p
Lunch Break and Optional Networking
Grab a bite and some refreshments. Feel free to mingle
with other attendees to discuss the day’s activities so far.

3–4p
Fast Pitch Competition
Come to watch some fun pitch videos and vote on your favorites!

4p
Fast Pitch Competition Winners Announced
Come to watch some fun pitch videos and vote on your favorites!

Day 2

10–11a
Learning Session: Tech for Change: How
Influencers use Social Media to Champion Social Change

11a–12p
Learning Session: Low Code/No Code: Environmentally-Friendly Lightning Innovation

12–1p
Lunch Break and Optional Networking

1–2p
Keynote Speaker – Super Power Skills Series 2

2-3p
Baiada Incubator Competition

3:00PM–3:15PM
The Entre-Professors Performance

3:30–4p
Baiada Incubator Competition Awards and Winners Announced

4–5p
Networking Reception

SCHEDULE

Day 1

11a–12p
Pitch Perfect
Practice pitch competition using the Networking
feature on Hopin

12–1p
Do You Want to be an Entrepren-aire?
Interactive game

1–2p
Lunch Break and Optional Networking
Grab a bite and some refreshments. Feel free to mingle
with other attendees to discuss the day’s activities so far.

2–3p
EAN Panel
Business office hours with Jim Paolino.

3–4p
Fast Pitch Competition
Come to watch some fun pitch videos and vote on your favorites!

4p
Fast Pitch Competition Winners Announced
Come to watch some fun pitch videos and vote on your favorites!

Day 2

10–11a
Learning Session: Tech for Change: How
Influencers use Social Media to Champion Social Change

11a–12p
Learning Session: Low Code/No Code: Building Environmentally-Friendly Code for your Start Up

12–1p
Lunch Break and Optional Networking

1–2p
Keynote Speaker – Super Power Skills Series 2

2-3p
Baiada Incubator Competition

3:00PM–3:15PM
The Entre-Professors Performance

3:30–4p
Baiada Incubator Competition Awards and Winners Announced

4–5p
Networking Reception

Entrepreneurs from different industries and verticals are expected to be in attendance in a number of roles including exhibitors, students, speakers, and roundtables.

Nick Bayer

CEO

Founder and CEO of Saxby’s – a hospitality business fueled by great coffee. Nick is also a board member of The Franklin Institute and Drexel’s own Charles D. Close School of entrepreneurship.

Nicole Marquis

CEO

CEO and Creator of the trend setting plant-based fast casual restaurant chain HipCityVeg, currently with locations in Philadelphia and Washington D.C.

William Toms

Head of Strategy

Co-Founder of REC Philly, an ecosystem that exists to empower independent creators to do more of what they love. Will is in the intersection of entertainment, technology, economics and social change.

Learn and connect with the best

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Bring together top talent to discuss entrepreneurship

Justin Somaini

Chief Security Officer

Just is the Chief Security Officer at Unity Technologies. Justin Somaini is an experienced global security executive with a long record of transforming companies’ security functions and driving security as a competitive differentiator. Justin was the Chief Security Officer at SAP, has had senior roles at companies such as Yahoo, Box and Symantec and serves as an advisor to many startups. Justin is also the Founding Partner of Somaini LLC which provides strategic security management consulting to assist organizations in tailoring designed security models. Justin has a B.S. in Management Information Systems from Drexel.

Brad Lucas

SVP for Global Digital Solutions

Brad is the SVP Global Digital Solutions at Fiserv. Brad is a visionary product and technology executive with deep experience developing award-winning and transformational digital solutions for global brands in financial services, retail, energy, and automotive industries. Prior experience include Head of Mobile for Target where his team was one of the first to deploy Apple Pay for Retail. As the Head of Mobile for JPMorgan Chase, Brad was responsible for developing the nation’s first mobile banking applications that included award winning features like mobile check deposit, SMS balance notifications, money transfer, and mobile person-to-person payments. Brad graduated from Drexel with focus on MIS and Finance.

Vijay Ullal

Founder

Vijay is the Founder of Seabed V and former President and COO of Fairchild Semiconductor. Vijay has led technology development, operations and business units at companies like Maxim, from early start-up days to a company with a $10B market cap, and Fairchild, the founding company of the Silicon Valley. He has led operations, business units and entire companies at every stage of a company’s life cycle. He is deeply passionate about new technology, new products and growing things from zero to one. Vijay has an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Drexel.

Ashley Reid

Owner

Ashley Reid of Active Mom Fitness supports Philadelphian women and moms through filling the gap in personal training, prenatal exercise consultations, and postpartum fitness.

KEYNOTE

Entrepreneurs from different industries and verticals are expected to be in attendance
in a number of roles including exhibitors, students, speakers and roundtables.

Christine Miller

CEO

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