NextThreeDays: Event Display

Community Voices: Bob Summers of Project Blacksburg
Venue: Lyric Theatre, Blacksburg
Directions: Google Map Link
Date: Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Time: 7:00 - 8:00 PM
Event Types: Speaking Engagements
Cost: Free
Description:
On Tuesday, March 27, Community Voices will present Bob Summers, high tech entrepreneurial evangelist and cheerleader in a program entitled "Project Blacksburg: the growing of an open source community" at the Lyric Theatre. Summers, a serial entrepreneur who specializes in Internet software companies for the consumer and enterprise markets, will speak about Project Blacksburg, the growing of an open source community.

Where technology, quality of life and entrepreneurship converge, Bob Summers sees rich opportunity for a surge in Blacksburg's economic development. To that end, Bob founded 460 Angels, a local group of over 30 accredited investors in the Blacksburg/Roanoke region. He then started TechPad, a 6,000 square foot co-working space in downtown Blacksburg serving over a dozen software companies with thirty plus young entrepreneurs.

In his role as entrepreneurial evangelist, Bob serves on the boards of the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC), and the Virginia Tech Entrepreneur Club at Pamplin College. Through the RBTC Pitch Clinic young entrepreneurs have the opportunity to learn how to pitch their technology ideas and projects by making presentations to Bob and some of the 460 Angels investors. In two years, more than fifty companies have gained experience and established crucial relationships with investors.

Bob builds scalable software products. Friendeo, iSpQ VideoChat and BuddyVision have reached over 3.5 million customers in 196 countries. Microsoft published his book, The Official Microsoft Netmeeting Book in 1998. Bob was the Montgomery County Entrepreneur of the year in 2002.

Why does a high tech global entrepreneur like Bob choose to live and actively invest in Blacksburg instead of Cambridge or Silicon Valley? In his Community Voices talk, Bob Summers will present an enlightening vision of Blacksburg, a networked, open source community positioned to advance to the next tier of competitive excellence. What are the resources, the relationships, and the know-how Bob sees? How are the Town, the University, and business working together? What has he learned in the TechPad space where collaboration and cooperation, idea sharing and resource exchange are defining a rich culture for innovation and creativity?

There will be opportunity following Bob's talk for audience member Q & A.

Admission is free.

For more information, visit: http://www.thelyric.com/events/?ID=1095 or call: 540-231-6775.