More Than 500 Students to Attend Entrepreneurship Conference

SPRINGFIELD — The 11th annual Grinspoon, Garvey & Young Entrepreneurship Conference will be held Friday, Nov. 6 from 8:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. More than 500 students and faculty representing 14 area colleges are expected to attend the event, which includes hands-on workshops, entrepreneur exhibits, a keynote speaker, and networking.

Organized by the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation and the 14 colleges, the Entrepreneurship Conference is held annually to inspire, motivate, and support college students in turning their ideas into businesses. The event will feature 25 exhibitors, including former Grinspoon student awardees who started their businesses while in college.

Students will begin the day collaborating on teams for the “Team Challenge: Campus Tech Solutions” competition beginning at 9:10 a.m.

Afterward, students may select from five breakout sessions, including “The Shark Tank,” “Pitch Camp,” “The Lightning Round: Idea Jam and Speed Networking,” “Social Entrepreneurshi: People, Planet, Profits,” and “Epic Stories from Grinspoon Award Winners.” In each of these sessions, students will learn directly from successful entrepreneurs, business leaders, entrepreneurship faculty, and each other.

The keynote speaker this year is Jess Lauren, founder of Olive Natural Beauty and winner of the 2015 Valley Venture Mentors Accelerator Awards.

Gold sponsors for the conference are the UMass Amherst Isenberg MBA Program and the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation. The silver sponsor is Bueno Y Sano, and bronze sponsors include Northwestern Mutual, AAA of the Pioneer Valley, and the Springfield Venture Fund.

Participating colleges include American International College, Amherst College, Bay Path University, Elms College, Greenfield Community College, Hampshire College, Holyoke Community College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Springfield College, Springfield Technical Community College, UMass Amherst, Western New England University, and Westfield State University.

For more information, contact Cari Carpenter, director of the Entrepreneurship Initiative, at [email protected] or (413) 335-3535.