The Austin Business Journal is hosting the "
Entrepreneur Xtravaganza" this Friday (All Day).
The event will be held at the
Hyatt Regency Austin from 8 AM until 6 PM. A great line up of business speakers will share their stories and inspire everyone to go out and achieve more.
You can still
register for this unique event. It will prove to be a great way to spend your Friday. Bring your whole team for a dose of motivation and a map toward success.
The speakers include:
NEAL PETERSEN- No Barriers- Only Solutions
Adventurer, award winning author and international keynote speaker. South African-born Neal Petersen is an adventurer, solo around-the-world racing yachtsman, businessman and international speaker. PBS airs a documentary about his life – “No Barriers – the Story of Neal Petersen”, and he wrote the award winning auto-biography, Journey of a Hope Merchant. Petersen has faced many challenges in life – poverty, discrimination, physical disability and other insurmountable barriers – and he always responded by turning them into opportunities and solutions. His life experiences show that imagination coupled with determination to achieve, can break through the toughest challenges. Neal completed the 1998-99 “Around Alone”, a 27,000 mi yacht race, 9 months at sea ~ alone; in a yacht he designed and built himself. In sharing his high-impact, unique and extraordinary adventure, Neal delivers a powerful message that “In Life There Are No Barriers – Only Solutions!”
KYLE MACDONALD- One Red Paperclip
Originally from Belcarra, British Columbia, Canada, Kyle MacDonald has planted more than one hundred thousand trees, delivered more than one thousand pizzas, but eaten only one scorpion. He has also traded one red paperclip for a house only once. Inspired by “Bigger and Better,” a game he played as a child, MacDonald came up with the idea of trading objects over the Internet. He posted a red paper clip on Craig’s List and waited for offers. The buzz was almost instant, showing how a unique story can capture the minds and imaginations of people all over the world, and create a movement unto itself. He has made hundreds of media appearances including, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Hour, MSNBC, BBC, CBS, CNN, CBC, City TV, Global, and has been featured in USA Today, Maclean’s, The New York Times, In Touch Magazine, VH1, MTV, The National Examiner, Reader’s Digest, LA Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and The Toronto Star, among others. When he’s not stealing a flag from the Prime Minister’s office or promoting Alberta Beef by hitch-hiking in a parade, you might find him leaving his wallet in El Segundo or hanging out in Bangkok modeling Italian Soccer jerseys to fund 4am Red-Bull and Rum-fueled urban hitchhikes. He also enjoys writing third-person biographies for his speaker intro. His mom still cuts his hair.
RICK SAPIO- The Simplicity Imperative
MIT Gathering of Titans, Chairman. Richard (Rick) Sapio, 46, is a lifelong entrepreneur who started his first company, a bicycle repair shop, after the death of his father, when he was 14 years old. Since then he has founded more than 20 companies. After college, Rick worked in the investment industry, and traded distressed bonds. Shortly thereafter, he became the youngest partner at his firm; after making more than $1 million in commissions and $100 million in transactions in one year, while he was still in his mid-twenties. At the age of 30, Rick started an investment holding company, that has made more than 50 investments in the past 16 years. Rick invests in private companies, public companies, and real estate. His firm currently has more than 30 direct and indirect holdings; which include being the founder of six separate publicly-traded funds, the founding GP of a private equity fund, and 11 start-ups. His firm is also an active LP in 10 healthcare/medical device investments. Rick was the President of the Dallas Chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization for two years, and is currently a member of YPO. He is the four-time Chairman of MIT’s “Gathering of Titans” program in Boston. In the past two years, his passion for business turnarounds, has enabled him to successfully turnaround two midsized private companies.
JACK DALY- The Keys to Growing Robust Sales and Profits
Jack Daly is an expert in sales and sales management inspiring audiences to take action. He brings 20+ years of field proven experience from a starting base with Arthur Andersen to the CEO level of several national companies. Jack has participated at the senior executive level on four de novo businesses, two of which he sold to the Wall Street Firms of Solomon Brothers and First Boston. As the head of sales, he led forces numbering in the thousands, operating out of hundreds of offices nationwide. In 1985, Jack relocated to California and started a mortgage company. As CEO, he grew the company in 18 months to 750 employees, 22 offices nationwide, producing $350 million per month in mortgages, and in its first three years they reported profits of $42 million. In 1998, working as a senior partner in a 5 year-old privately held Enterprise, Jack helped the company to be recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young and ranked No. 10 on the Inc. 500. Jack Daly speaks from experience and has helped thousands of individuals and organizations reach their full potential.
RANDY COHEN- Ticket to the Limit - how passion, purpose and performance can transform your life & business into an amazing adventure!
President & CEO, TicketCity. Randy founded TicketCity in 1990 and has since grown it to be one of the most successful companies in the secondary ticket market. Under Randy’s guidance, TicketCity has developed into one of the largest and most prominent ticketing companies, won numerous awards, and has been named one of the Top 50 Fastest Growing Companies in Austin six times. When TicketCity began, the internet was still unknown to most consumers, however, just six years later Randy led the company to launch the first e-commerce web site in the industry. Randy focuses on acquisitions and partnerships as well as being the Chief Energizing Officer for the company. He is active in the community and is a member of the Entrepreneurs Organization and MIT’s Gathering of Titans. Randy is also a published author; his first book, Ticket to the Limit, is a personal account of how passion, purpose and performance can enable you to build a company from nothing to amazing while living all your wildest dreams along the way. His second book, DD and Daddy’s Big Night Out, is a children’s book he wrote for his daughter. In addition to overseeing TicketCity and writing, Randy frequently speaks at area events and has started a charity organization known as The Loop of Love.
BERTRAND SOSA- MPOWER Labs
Founder & Partner, MPOWER Ventures; Founder & President, MPOWER Labs. Bertrand Sosa is passionate about consumer branding, marketing, and entrepreneurship. In 1999, he co-founded NetSpend Corporation, now the nation’s largest prepaid debit card company targeting the underserved. While at NetSpend, Bertrand oversaw the creation of the signature messaging and look that would defi ne the All-Access card as “the end of no” for America’s un- and under-banked. In 2006 he co-launched MPOWER Ventures, a double bottom line venture capital fund created to make investments in early stage companies whose products and services financially empower the underserved. As President of MPOWER Labs, Bertrand oversees the portfolio’s business strategy, including global management of product development, advertising, and marketing. Bertrand is passionate about entrepreneurship and is one of the founders of RISE.
See you there!
Thom
