UPSTART, the event connecting entrepreneurs to resources, employees and ideas will take a new spin this year with a gathering on September 10 from 4-7 p.m. at Short W Pike in Covington where there will be a discussion of the entrepreneur ecosystem and how everyone plays an active role in it.
This event is presented in partnership with Cintrifuse, BLDG, eZone, Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and Skyward.
Food and beverages will be available.
The evening will close with a keynote speaker, Geoff Hargadon aka Cash For Your Warhol, who will make a presentation 6:30 at BLDG, 30 W Pike Street.
Hargadon is a wealth management advisor in Boston by day and stealthy street artist by night. He is the genius behind Cash For Your Warhol (CFYW), a street art campaign that began in response to the financial crisis of 2009. Installations in Boston, Miami and New York City re-appropriated bandit signs announcing ‘Cash For Your Gold,’ with quirky messages such as “Cash For Your Warhol – Higher Prices – Lower Fees! – 617-553-1103” or “Cash for your Warhol – Free Authentic Services!”
The elaborate prank gained him international acclaim and served as a poignant commentary on the consumption and commodification of art.
Fund Your Startup! is an extension of the CFYW campaign and focuses on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. In partnership with BLDG a guerrilla-style street campaign, complete with messages proclaiming ‘Fund Your Startup!’ will pop-up throughout the region.
The concept for UPSTART began as a Leadership NKY project called LiNKs, a program focused on fostering entrepreneurship in the region, transformed into a committee of passionate NKY professionals whose goal is to help foster and connect local resources to the entrepreneurs they serve. Through collaboration the group created UPSTART.
In 2013 UPSTART brought over 500 entrepreneurs, supporters and investors together through a street fair with booths. Tony Lamb from Kona Ice delivered a keynote speech about starting a successful business. In 2014 UPSTART again brought entrepreneurs, supporters and investors together in the same street fair style with booths, beer and music.
For more information on the event, visit http://bit.ly/UPSTART2015.