(1888PressRelease)
October 27, 2009 - Raleigh, N. C. Business and economic leaders in the 5-county Pensacola regional economy will gather this week to brainstorm ideas on small business job creation. The “New Trends and New Opportunities in Technology” economic summit is sponsored by the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, and will be held at the Hilton Hotel at Pensacola Beach on October 30, 2009.
“Job creation and economic growth in the future for regions like Pensacola will depend on local small business technology investments,” said Thomas Vass, a regional economist located in Raleigh, N. C. “Part of the secret sauce for economic growth is making the connection between regional capital markets and local small business technology investments,” he added.
Vass will be making two presentations at the Pensacola economic summit on how a new local capital market infrastructure can be implemented in Pensacola that targets investments to both new and existing small companies in the region.
His first presentation will address how innovation ideas can be channeled into a pipeline of regional technology commercialization ventures, and the second presentation will address how the new tools of social media can be used as a regional platform for technology collaboration.
“With the advent of globalization, the traditional strategies of economic development have not worked well for creating jobs in many American communities,” said Vass, the President of Regional Innovation Systems, Inc. an economic consultancy. “Those traditional methods can be supplemented and strengthened by the addition of new strategies related to technology innovation investments in small businesses.”
A unique feature of the upcoming summit is a component devoted to connecting angel investors, who invest in early stage companies, to entrepreneurial firms in the Pensacola regional economy who need growth capital. “I have been impressed with the wide diversity of innovation ideas in Pensacola,” said Vass. “It shows how a region that does not have a large research university can generate great ideas and take greater control over their own economic growth destiny by focusing on small business economic growth.”
About the Pensacola Economic Summit: The iTen Wired Summit is designed to promote technological advancements and technology-based entrepreneurship within the five-county region from Mobile, AL to Fort Walton Beach, FL. Co-hosted by the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, PJC and ITGulfcoast, the October 30 summit will focus on the latest innovations in cyber-security, green technologies, and industries poised to cultivate economic development as well as the visionary entrepreneurs who will make it happen. New to this summit is the Angel Investors portion where entrepreneurs may make their "pitch for capital" to local, accredited investors. Contact Bridgette Price, 850 438 4081.
About Regional Innovation Systems, Inc. RIS creates web-based economic tools to help unemployed workers and small business owners discover ideas for small business investment opportunities. Part of the RIS economic development consulting services involve the implementation of regional capital market mechanisms that target investment capital to local new ventures and existing small companies.
Contact Thomas Vass, 919 975 4856 tvass ( @ ) privatecapitalmarket dot com
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