We're kicking off TechWeek here in Akron with //NEXTOhio!

This event is made possible by our key sponsor:

NEXTOhio is a one night startup conference in Akron where startup enthusiasts come together to celebrate what's next for startups in Ohio. Last year we saw over 300 people including founders, investors, and support organizations come together to learn how to build better companies, raise capital, and meet influential people in the local startup community. This year our goal is to be even bigger!

We've pulled together an impressive lineup of speakers from successful founders, to investors, and those who've helped shape the startup ecosystem in Ohio.

We're hosting a pitch critique to give everyone a better idea of what investors look for. You will hear pitches from three startups, as well as feedback from our panel of investors. This is a unique behind the scenes look at the how investors critique a pitch, and a great opportunity to learn what investors look for.

Finally, we'll have a lengthy networking session with food, an awesome local DJ, and cash bar.





Itinerary

5:00 - Doors open

5:45 - Speakers begin

6:45 - Startup pitch critique

8:00 - Networking

11:00 - Doors close





Speakers





Ron Seide - Founder of Summit Data Communications

Ron will be detailing his experiences scaling Summit Data and will speak on what it takes to scale a company from inception to exit in Ohio. Ron has nearly 25 years of marketing, product management and senior management experience in the information technology industry at companies in California and Ohio. As Kingston Technology’s seventeenth employee, Ron participated in driving the company from a startup to a billion dollar company in nine years. At Aironet Wireless Communications (later acquired by Cisco Systems), Ron played a role in advancing WiFi from an infant technology to the ubiquity it enjoys today.





Rich Langdale - Managing Partner at NCT Ventures

Rich will be speaking about his firm's investment thesis for the Midwest and what it takes to become an investable startup. Rich is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor. In 1986, while attending The Ohio State University, Mr. Langdale founded Digital Storage, Inc. ("DSI"). Since that time he has founded a total of eight companies and has co-founded, acquired or invested in several more under the umbrella of NCT Ventures. Mr. Langdale, through his capacity as a Managing Partner of NCT Ventures, is still actively involved with several of these portfolio companies.





Falon Donohue - Executive Director at VentureOhio

Falon will be speaking on growing the startup ecosystem in Ohio. As the Executive Director of VentureOhio, Falon is committed to bringing people together to create a collaborative and resourceful statewide entrepreneurial ecosystem that allows high-potential companies in Ohio to grow and prosper without leaving the state.





Jon Grimm - Cofounder of Knotice (acquired by IgnitionOne)

Jon will be describing his experiences investing in, growing, and exiting a startup in Ohio. Jon was the CFO/COO and the primary investor in Knotice, which was sold to IgnitionOne in March of 2014. Knotice was a digital marketing software and services firm in the data management arena which grew significantly over a ten year period. Prior to Knotice, Jon was an investment banker, private equity investor and management consultant.





Alan Gilbert - VP of Engineering at CoverMyMeds

Alan joined CoverMyMeds in 2012 as VP of Engineering, responsible for product development, support, and management. His team has grown from a handful of engineers to over 100 in less than four years. Still an engineer at heart, he has been developing and commercializing medical devices and software for over 25 years, holding positions at IBM, DuPont, Codonics, and CoverMyMeds. He has served on or led teams that brought dozens of medical products to market in over 100 countries and holds five patents. Alan also volunteers at community tech events and has served on tech-transfer committees at CWRU and OSU.









Pitch Critique

We're hosting a pitch critique to give everyone a better idea of what investors look for. We've selected three startups that will give their pitches in front of a panel of investors who will walk you through their thinking as they critique each pitch. This is a unique way to get into the mind of the investor and learn how to answer questions before they're even asked.

The three startups were selected from a pool of local companies. After the pitches have finished, you, the audience, will have the opportunity to vote on who you thought gave the best startup pitch. The winner of this will receive a cash prize and all three teams will win coworking memberships to OSC Tech Lab, Akron's coworking space.





Sponsors

NEXTOhio is powered by





and is sponsored by





Feel free to park in parking lot 70 and enter through door number 6.