BINGHAMTON, NY – Binghamton University will host a Southern Tier Hot Spot Ideation Workshop from 6-7:30 p.m. Monday, March 9, in Room 2001, in the Center of Excellence at the Innovative Technologies Complex, 85 Murray Hill Rd., Vestal. This event is free and open to the public.
The workshop will feature Binghamton and Southern Tier entrepreneurs-in-residence speakers who will discuss how they turned their business ideas into game-changing concepts.
Speakers will include:
Ken Rother: A proven entrepreneur who has built and exited two successful tech/media startup companies. He offers a unique blend of experience leading web and mobile technology teams, as well as in-depth operations expertise in organizations ranging from a few people to a few hundred. In addition to his role as entrepreneur-in-residence at Launch NY, Rother also leads Discovery Communications’ Digital Media Technology group, where he is responsible for the strategy, development and ongoing operations of the systems required to support Discovery’s 16 U.S. websites, over a dozen mobile and tablet applications, and the delivery of Discovery’s hit shows to digital distribution platforms, such as Netflix, iTunes and others.
Tony Frontera: A goal-oriented individual with 25 years of sales and management experience in specialty retailing and manufacturing. His work includes leadership roles at McIntosh Laboratory, which is recognized worldwide as the premier manufacturer of luxury consumer electronics products. He was also president and owner of the largest retail photo specialty store in the Binghamton area, responsible for financing, sales, marketing and strategic planning for nearly 20 years. He holds a master in business administration and a bachelor of art degree from Binghamton University, and is currently a faculty member in the Binghamton University School of Management.
Brad Treat: An instructor in practical entrepreneurship at Ithaca College and Cornell University. He has also served as the entrepreneur-in-residence at Cornell University. Treat was most recently the founding CEO of Mezmeriz, a high-tech company making interactive projectors and reality capture cameras to embed into mobile phones. Mezmeriz’s cutting-edge technology was spun out of materials science and MEMS research at Cornell University. Treat was also the co-founder and CEO of SightSpeed, an innovative video and voice communications company. SightSpeed grew from a university research project at Cornell into the world’s premier video calling software. SightSpeed was profitably acquired by Logitech for $30MM. Earlier in his career, Treat worked for eight years in the automotive industry in both the U.S. and Spain at Bowles Fluidics and GKN Automotive. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State, and an MBA from the Johnson School at Cornell.
Brian Bauer: A seasoned international energy industry executive with extensive experience in oil, natural gas, chemicals and renewables in the United States, Asia and Europe. Bauer has a bachelor of science in chemical engineering from Cornell University and a master of business arts in operations and finance from the University of Chicago. Bauer ran several businesses during a 30-year career in the energy industry and has expertise in operations, strategy, business development, mergers and acquisitions, major project management, corporate governance and organizational change. Bauer recently retired and relocated to Ithaca to build the next phase of his career, where he is interested in startups and tech innovation, with a particular interest in the area of energy innovation. Since returning to Ithaca, he has served as an advisor to several startup companies in the energy and consumer services spaces.
Learn about additional workshops that will be available to Southern Tier entrepreneurs in the coming months.
The event is being held in conjunction with the Launch NY program, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit venture development organization whose mission is to identify, support and invest in high-growth, high-impact companies and catalyze the entrepreneurial culture of upstate New York through regional collaboration with ecosystem partners. They collaborate with organizations whose purpose is to assist entrepreneurs and encourage entrepreneurship. In doing so, they continuously support, and assist in sponsoring, regional events that seek to inform, educate and provide networking opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Go online (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/southern-tier-hotspot-ideation-workshop-tickets-15874199157) to register in advance. For more information, contact Jessica Miller at jlmiller@binghamton.edu.
