Moderator: Eric Sosenko, Brinks, Hofer, Gilson and Lione

Panelists:

-Andrea Roumell Dickson, President, ENT Biotech Solutions

-Gene Parunak, Managing Director, in2being, LLC

-Olivier Lecerf, COO, ENT Biotech Solutions

Suite #2
Breaking Down the Doors: Selling to Large Corporations and Government Organizations
This panel of startup sales professionals will discuss market research, picking your targets, making contact, the first presentation, specifications, contracts, and finding your place on the value chain.

Moderator: Steven Wilson, Director, Technology and Commercialization Assistance Program, University of Michigan Institute for Research on Labor, Employment and the Economy

Panelists:

-Dick Beedon, Founder and Chief Advocate Officer, Amplifinity

-Anik Ganguly, Principal, The GAIN Group

-Ryan Michael – Project Manager, MEDC Pure Michigan Business Connect

-Joe Marr – Owner, Ann Arbor Sandler Sales Training

Suite #3
To Fund or Not To Fund
This panel represents a cross section of funding sources available to startups in Michigan, ranging from very early stage micro-loans, pre-seed loans, early stage investors, SBIR and government grants, to late stage funding venture capital firms. Each panelist will discuss their area of funding, how to approach funding organizations and funding strategies.

Moderator: Henry Balanon, Co-Founder, Detroit Labs

Panelists:

-Skip Simms, Sr. VP, Ann Arbor SPARK; Executive Director, Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund

-Mark Hooper, Capital Community Angels, Lansing

-Michael Kurek, Ph.D., Partner, BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting, LLC

-Patty Glaza, Principal, Arsenal Venture Partners

-Mike Morin, Early Stage Venture Strategist, Start Garden

Suite #4
Location, Location, Location: Using Incubators, Accelerators and Services for Startup Success
Hear success stories from a panel of entrepreneurs on how they located and utilized incubators, accelerators and services to help them work through the challenges of starting up their companies.  What is the difference between an incubator and an accelerator?  What are the benefits of being an incubator client? What state program services are available and how did they help? How to apply for grants and competitions?  The panelists will offer a wide variety of useful information to budding entrepreneurs.

Moderators: Megan Reichert Kral, Program Manager U-M Venture Accelerator, and Sandra Cochrane, Technology Business Consultant, MiSBTDC; Former COO/Acting President, Southwest Michigan Innovation Center

Panelists:

-Barry Nowak, CEO, Syzygy Biotech Solutions; Grand Rapids SmartZone

-Marty Sovis, Owner, Sovilok Manufacturing; Mid-Michigan Innovation Center

-Dr. Mark Gurney, Founder and President, Tetra Discovery Partners, LLC; Grand Rapids SmartZone; and Southwest Michigan Innovation Center

-Justin Otani, CEO of Ornicept; Ann Arbor SPARK Downtown Incubator

-Russell Conard, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Research, Ornicept; Ann Arbor SPARK Downtown Incubator

-Neil Sheridan, Chair, MIT Enterprise Forum of the Great Lakes

-Jay Gierak, Co-Founder, Stik.com

-Antonio Luck, Portfolio Manager, MEDC

-Glen Konopaskie, Co-Founder, Future Help Design

Suite #2
Oops, when life did not go as planned. . . When Do You Pivot?
When your business plan did not go as you plan, what should you do? How do you decide what is noise and what is real ? How do you reuse your resources and infrastructure when the budget is limited?

Moderator: Norm Rapino, Mentor in Residence, U-M Office of Technology Transfer

Panelists:

-Gerry Roston, President, InPore Technologies

-Dave Morin, General Manager, Advisory Board Co

-Steve LeBeau, President, Thixomat

-Geoff Horst, Founder, Chief Science Officer, Algal Scientific

Suite #3
Student Idea Forum
The Student Idea Forum provides an opportunity for students from Michigan colleges and universities to present their ideas for new business opportunities and get valuable feedback from a panel of experienced entrepreneurs and the audience.

Moderator: Amy Klinke, Associate Director of Corporate Relations, Business Engagement Center - University of Michigan

Panelists:

-Sandra Cochrane, Technology Business Consultant, MiSBTDC; Former COO/Acting President, Southwest Michigan Innovation Center

-Bill Mayer, Director, Business Accelerator, Ann Arbor SPARK; Entrepreneur, technology and finance sectors

-Wes Huffstutter, Student Entrepreneurship Program Manager, U-M Office of Technology Transfer

-Adrian Fortino, First Step Fund; Co-founder, FlockTAG, SideCar, and Shepherd Intelligent Systems

Suite #4
Early Stage Creative Funding Sources – From Competitions to Crowdfunding to BootstrappingHow do you finance a company beyond friends and family?  Our panel will discuss unique and alternative resources for raising necessary capital to launch your startup.

Moderator: J. Kevin McCurren, Executive Director, GVSU Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Panelists:

-Matthew Clayson, Director, Detroit Creative Corridor Center

-Anik Ganguly, Principal, The GAIN Group

-Ken Kousky, President and Executive Director, BlueWater Angels; CEO, MidMichigan Innovation Center; President and CEO, IP3

-Maria LaLonde, Recruiting and Development Leader, Bizdom

-Miles Smith, Founder, BAHRS, LLC.

Diane Durance, Chair, ACE’13 Planning Committee; Executive Director, GLEQ

MEDC Welcome Remarks

Larry Eiler, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO, Eiler Communications

KeyNote-Terry Cross, Founder, Windward Associates, LLC 

Mr. Cross, founder of Windward Associates, LLC, has been an Angel investor and businessman for over 40 years. He is a past member of the Board of Directors of Great Lakes Angels and a founding member of Michigan Venture Capital Association. While he has served on many boards over the years, his current board memberships include: MIST Innovations as Chairman; and Monarch Antenna, a Delphi Corp. spinout. Mr. Cross serves as the first Executive in Residence for Entrepreneurship at The School of Business Administration at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI, where he administers the prestigious Adams Entrepreneurial Fellowship and received the 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award. Mr. Cross was a co-founder of Sonoma Photonics, which recently sold to Lockheed-Martin. He was a founding investor in three startups from MIT’s tech transfer department and served on the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity. In September of 2007, he was named to the Task Force for A World Financial Center by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, one of Korea’s most prestigious institutions. He was employed by Kidder, Peabody in various financial services and investment banking activities in Detroit, New York and San Francisco for 28 years until his retirement in 1998.

ACE’13 Elevator Pitch Competition
Six entrepreneurs have three minutes to convince investors to select their venture to win the coveted ACE Elevator Pitch trophy.

Introduction

Diane Durance, Chair, ACE’13 Planning Committee; Executive Director, GLEQ

Emcee

Chris Holman, ACE’13 welcomes back entrepreneur, media personality, and President and CEO of The Greater Lansing Business Monthly magazine and radio broadcast company, MichiganBusinessNetwork.

Competition Judges

GLEQ Business Plan Competition Awards
Spirit of Entrepreneurship and Coaching Award:

Diane Durance, Executive Director, GLEQ

Vision to Action Challenge Awards

J. Kevin McCurren, Executive Director, Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation-Grand Valley State University

New Business Idea Awards

Carolyn Cassin, President and CEO, Michigan Women’s Foundation; GLEQ Board of Directors

Emerging Company Awards

Jack Ahrens, Managin Partner, TGap Ventures; Chairman, GLEQ Board fo Directors

Michigan Growth Capital Symposium Award

Mary Nickson, Manager, Michigan Growth Capital Symposium; Marketing Program Manager, U-M Zell Lurie Institute

ACE’13 Elevator Pitch Competition – Winner Announced

Judges’ Comments 

Update on 2012 Winner – 3D Biomatrix

ACE’13 Winner Announced

Emcee:

Chris Holman, President and CEO, The Greater Lansing Business Monthly magazine and radio broadcast company, MichiganBusinessNetwork.