Thursday, February 28, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, the McAllen Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the Entrepreneur Summit at the Embassy Suites in McAllen. The event is powered by Texas Regional Bank, Texas A&M, Burton McCumber & Longoria LLP and the Federal Reserve Bank Dallas – San Antonio.
The summit will support our efforts in developing a dynamic entrepreneur ecosystem in McAllen and throughout South Texas. Fostering innovation and new ideas is a foundation for creating wealth for a community or a region. So many times, groups and cities focus only on what I call the ingredients – incubators, accelerators, angel investor funds, and grants.
The real challenge is figuring out how to create and blend the “right” recipe for success.
The most critical elements and the most significant “X” factors for success when creating an entrepreneur ecosystem are people. Are we bringing the right people together that can help entrepreneurs move an idea from concept to the marketplace?
Our goal for the summit is to continue to drive connections and create networks of people that can help drive ideas forward.
So many communities want to be the next Silicon Valley, but that is not going to happen again. Some experts would even argue that the elements that created Silicon Valley no longer exist in Silicon Valley. The opportunities for our communities are around creating paths forward that blend the unique talents, skill sets, and resources we have right now. What excites me more than anything else is that we control our own destiny.
We don’t need Austin or Washington, D.C., to make things happen for us today. One of our primary goals is to drive down the “transactional costs” of getting an idea started.
Here are just a few highlights you can expect from this year’s summit:
- The Federal Reserve Bank will provide an economic snapshot of the South Texas Economy and what impact the Federal Government Shutdown had on the economy.
- Jon Roberts with IP Strategies will be discussing “Disruptors” and the challenges and opportunities that come with recognizing true disruptors and how communities can take advantage of changes happening in the economy.
- Market Pathways will be a discussion by three local entrepreneurs about how they are bringing their ideas to the marketplace and making money.
- Jordana Barton from the Federal Reserve Bank will discuss “Digital Inclusion and the Ecosystem for Entrepreneurship.”
- Developing and creating Makerspace will be a panel discussion with Texas A&M, McAllen ISD, and McAllen EDC.
- The journeys of three local food startups and what has worked for them and what they have learned will be discussed.