ASU Venture Catalyst hosts Techiepalooza

Silicon Valley has Sand Hill Drive, Austin has Research Boulevard, and Boston has a short stretch of surface street called Massachusetts Avenue, that connects MIT and the Harvard Business School, and Phoenix has ... what again? Connectedness has always been a challenge in the Phoenix tech community and this week ASU Venture Catalyst is hosting Techiepalooza, an event that will bring the tech scene together.

Hosted by ASU Venture Catalyst and partners Co+hoots, Gangplank, Launchspot, and TechCocktail, Techiepalooza will highlight and bring together the growing community of techies and entrepreneurs in the valley. Techiepalooza runs from 4-11 p.m., June 7, at ASU SkySong. To register for the event, visit www.asuventurecatalyst.org.

“Building up the ecosystem in Arizona is a prime concern of ours, along with linking the different communities of technologists, coders, entrepreneurs and innovators,” says Gordon McConnell, assistant vice president for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Venture Acceleration. “We are delighted to be doing this inaugural event with so many partners from across Arizona and hope this will be the start of regular Techiepalooza events in the future.”

Techiepalooza is a recruiting fair, technology conference, and entrepreneurial mixer all fused into one. The afternoon and evening event has a variety of speakers and workshops designed to help startups at every stage. Every attendee is encouraged to bring their laptop, or iPad, and will leave at the end of the night with tools or apps that can be applied to their business the very next day. The speakers offer diverse perspectives and help bridge the gap between the tech and business worlds. Featured speakers include Derek Slife and Christopher Wharton, who will discuss their startup experiences through founding Chow Locally. Michael Hool and Jonathan Coury from the Hool Law Group will shed light on financing opportunities through online funding solicitations and crowdsourcing under the newly signed JOBS Act. Paul Kenjora from Aware Labs will offer lean startup lessons learned from Arizona businesses.

Additionally, Shaun Hirschman from Microsoft will showcase Windows 8 and its new features. Developers attending Techiepalooza will learn how to leverage the platform to build applications on PCs, tablets, and phones. This presentation will give them a first-hand opportunity to see Windows 8 and develop business ideas that could turn into startups.

In addition to speakers, there will be concurrent workshops running throughout the event. These Do-It-Yourself workshops will cover a wide range of topics including building websites, going mobile, and using online tools to grow startups.

“We want to give budding entrepreneurs the basic tools they need to launch their ventures” says Neetu Rao, co-organizer of the event. “With developers in high demand, early stage startups may not have a tech member on their team, so these workshops will be helpful in beginning the process of turning their ideas into reality.”

At the heart of Techiepalooza is offering students, professionals, and community members an opportunity to network with one another. With more than 350 people already registered for this free event, and many companies looking to recruit talent, Techiepalooza is a must attend event for techies, entrepreneurs and the Phoenix business community.

Sponsors of the event include MyList, Ecotality, Go Daddy, Safari Books Online, Stremor, Popchips, Arizona Technology Enterprise, Bazookapps, Employee Benefit Exchange, and Microsoft.  ASU Partners are ASU Career Services, Changemaker Central at ASU, Career Preparation at the Polytechnic Campus, and Engineering Career Center at Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.

Media Contact
Wiley Larsen, Wiley.Larsen@asu.edu
Venture Manager
ASU Venture Catalyst
480-884-1803