As part of the 2011-2012 Chair’s Initiative on Growing State Economies, the National Governors Association is hosting four regional summits across the country. These summits provide states an opportunity to learn from experts and business owners about the best strategies to create an environment focused on the importance of high-growth businesses in all its forms—startup firms, scalable enterprises, and transformational corporations. The second regional summit was held in Nashville, Tennessee on November 14-15, 2011. Session highlights included:

  • Michael Burcham, president and CEO of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center and Startup Tennessee, on how regions can use accelerators to boost the number of scalable start-ups that emerge in industry clusters that are already thriving in the region.

  • Jack Brittain, vice president of technology ventures at the University of Utah, on how to use “small-light-fast” investments in R&D to attract talent and expertise, transform the traditional university technology transfer process, and meet the needs of both small and large companies. And how a new strategy tied University of Utah with MIT in number of annual start-ups two years in a row.

  • Doug Rothwell, president and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan and founding CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, on what states can do to structure economic development agencies so they are entrepreneurial and responsive to business.

AGENDA

PRESENTATIONS:

Plenary Session—What Makes State Economies Grow: The Myths, the Evidence, and the Opportunities

  • John Horn, expert in the strategy practice, McKinsey & Company

What It Takes To Start and Grow Start-Up Companies

  • Amy Dasch, co-founder & CEO, Abazyme

Enabling Successful Start-Ups: Best Practice Case Study

  • Michael Burcham, president & CEO, Nashville Entrepreneur Center
  • Landon Gibbs, director, Clayton Associates
  • Shawn Glinter, principal, B&G Holdings
  • Jackson Miller, founder & CEO, Bizen
  • Chris Sloan, shareholder, Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

Developing a State Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

  • Abdul Ali, associate professor of marketing, Babson College
  • Mark Heesen, president, National Venture Capital Association
  • Erik Pages, president, EntreWorks Consulting

Supporting High-Growth Companies: Best Practice Case Study

  • Dan Berglund, president and CEO, State Science and Technology Institute
  • Steve Earley, CEO, Cross Company
  • Marc King, deputy director, North Carolina Small Business & Technology Development Center
  • Daniel Parks, director, strategy & organization development, North Carolina Small Business & Technology Development Center

The Role of Universities in Business Development

  • Jack Brittain, Vice President for Technology Venture Development, University of Utah
  • Anthony Green, vice president of technology commercialization, Ben Franklin Technology Partners Southeastern Pennsylvania
  • Terri Lomax, vice chancellor of research, innovation & economic development, North Carolina State University
  • Miles Wright, CEO, Xanofi

The View from Industry—What It Takes To Transform Existing Companies

  • Jeff Lavers, vice president of Corporate Communications, 3M

Spurring Innovation from Within: How to Transform Existing Companies into New Job Generators

Evaluating the Return on Investment

Entrepreneurial and Effective: Key Characteristics of a New Kind Of Economic Development Agency

  • Ted Abernathy, executive director, Southern Growth Policies Board
  • William Hagerty, commissioner, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
  • Doug Rothwell, president  & CEO, Business Leaders for Michigan