FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2010
Contact: Emerging Technology & Leadership Center
(646) 450-4688

The Business of Innovation In The Suburbs

There Beneath the 'START-UP' Suburban Skies... INVEST-FEST is a Conference of innovation, start-ups, entrepreneurship, private equity and venture capital, of launching businesses and business investments: Yes, all happening in the suburbs, on Main Street, in garages, from kitchen tables and business plans drafted on napkins. Welcome to our times: Times of innovation, uncertainty, change, resiliency, business fluidity and new rules of engagement.
The Inaugural Conference will bring together regional leaders in the fields of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Finance for a comprehensive overview of the rapidly expanding development of regional innovation capacity.

The Conference will be held in Uniondale, New York on November 15, 2010 at the Long Island Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, Uniondale, New York, 11553.

"This conference is particularly important," said conference Chair Alexandra Zafra, a Technology executive and Founder of the Emerging Technology & Leadership Center (ETLC), the Conference organizer. "Advances in regional research are rapidly bringing technology closer to important and practical applications. In addition to the regional growth in basic research activities related to clean, green, high, information and bio technology, we are also seeing increased interest from both the domestic and international business and venture capital sectors seeking to turn the results of that research to real-world uses." Through its Conference, ETLC aims to bring a comprehensive and holistic approach to the area’s start up development network. “There are a number of regional projects, institutions and organizations which ETLC is collaborating with and as a collective this thought leadership will start to raise the region’s Innovation Index ranking. Constrained by the approximate 1,200 square mile Nassau/Suffolk land footprint, regional growth will only occur through embracing a strategy of sustainable dynamic competitive advantage, an economic approach that has time and time again facilitated world economies to shift patterns in their trade and investment. This is smart growth and this is what is occurring on Long Island”, quoted Ms. Zafra.

Over the next few decades, the Long Island region is expected to undergo a profound change. With a long standing history of significant investiture by technology firms, an above national average per capita income, boasting diverse arts and cultural outlets, a suburban quality of life, a strong technological talent pool, significant R&D activity, an increasing number of patents per square mile, this part of New York is rapidly becoming the successor to Silicon Valley. The suburbs inherently offer the environment that is conducive to innovation and professionals from all sectors are realizing the many advantages of living and working in suburbia, in contrast to not that long ago when many of these same professionals endured the two to four hour daily roundtrip commute to where the jobs where--in overbuilt and high cost of living metropolitan areas. These tech jobs are starting to emerge in the Long Island area and offer college graduates, young professionals, returning servicemen/women, among others, the option to live and work without foregoing quality of life. Many of the existing revitalization initiatives in Long Island such as the ‘Cool Downtowns’ and ferry service from Long Island’s North Shore to Manhattan, Westchester and Connecticut have already begun to create that mobility and egress/ingress capability previously constrained, and an in-vivo social network in which suburban professionals can easily gather, socialize, live and synergize. “The West coast had Silicon Valley, the East coast now has Innovation Island”, said Ms. Zafra.

The conference and break-out sessions will focus on a cross section of issues affecting the Entrepreneurial life cycle including the role of virtual businesses and social media as an enabling force, challenges for governments and the private sector, opportunities for R&D institutions and the complexities of promoting and protecting start up ventures. It will also feature a Venture Capital Pitch Roundtable and a forum to research consumer behavior in positioning start ups for the Female Buyer and the Luxe/Premium markets. At the conference workshops, Entrepreneurs, thought leaders and companies will help individuals learn ways to effectively organize, finance, launch and manage their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Admission to the seminars, workshops and EXPO Hall is complimentary with pre-registration.

Additional Information Available on the Web

For more information on the conference, see the conference Web page at: www.etlcenter.com.