Inaugural citywide event ‘for difference makers and disruptors’ March 13-16
Local company, Innovate Pasadena, has a slated a weekend for difference makers and disruptors in mid-March. This four day event will feature inspiring lectures and panels with innovation leaders, a civic hack-a-thon called “Hack for Pasadena,” a series of fast-pitch competitions from clean tech, bio tech, and digital media startups, coding events, and mixers in collaboration with local institutions including Caltech, Art Center College of Design, and City of Pasadena among others. Activities will kick off on Thursday, March 13 with a nighttime mixer where Bill Gross, CEO of Idealab, will speak about idea generation, building a business off an idea and Idealab’s first IdeaDay, where he recently shared 10 new ideas with the entrepreneurial community. Festivities will conclude on Sunday, March 16.
“We’ve spent the last year, creating networking events to connect the tech and design minds of Pasadena with each other, but we’ve always envisioned offering a series of events brought together by a collaborative group of leaders and organizations throughout the area. These events are a great way to bridge the people, places and ideas that make Pasadena a fantastic source of innovation,” said Andy Wilson, CEO of Rexter and Co-Chair of Innovate Pasadena.
“We are excited about the unique opportunity that CONNECT provides to showcase the design and technology innovation in Pasadena,” said Mike Giardello, CEO of Materia and Co-Chair of Innovate Pasadena. “With a slate of events that includes a hack-a-thon, fast-pitch competitions, and panel discussions on art, science, technology and crowdfunding, people will experience the breadth and depth of innovation that is at the center of Pasadena.”
“The City of Pasadena is home to over 100 tech and design companies changing the way we live, work, connect and play. Connect Weekend will highlight the depth and diversity of the institutional and entrepreneurial wealth that make Pasadena a premier place to do business,” said Eric Duyshart, Economic Development Manager, City of Pasadena.
Key weekend activities include:
Thursday, March 13 at 6:00 p.m. Connect Weekend Kick-off Mixer
Friday, March 14 at 1:30 p.m. Big Ideas – Connect Weekend Edition
Saturday, March 15 & Sunday, March 16 Hack for Pasadena
Sunday, March 16 at 6:00 p.m. #GeekNight at the Ice House
Idealab and Materia are sponsors of CONNECT, additional “collaborator” events will be hosted by independent organizations throughout the weekend. For a complete list of the entire weekend’s events, visit www.innovatepasadena.org/connect. Join the conversation with #connectpasadena
