December 12 Launched Event Celebrates Lansing Area Business Innovation, Awards $10,000 in Seed Funding

LAUNCHED 2013 takes place December 12 at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University. It is the Lansing, Michigan region’s premier celebration of local business innovation. This year marks the first collaboration with the business plan competition The Hatching, which will award $10,000 to one startup. LAUNCHED’s keynote speaker is Jerry Clark, director of cloud services for Comlink, and the emcee is Alison Gass, deputy director of the Broad Art Museum.

Lansing, MI, December 07, 2013 --(PR.com)-- December 12 gathering to feature $10,000 startup competition and keynote address on small business cloud services.

In its fifth year, the Greater Lansing region’s premier celebration of local and regional business innovation will be more innovative than ever: LAUNCHED 2013, which will take place December 12 at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, marks the first collaboration between LAUNCHED and the local business plan competition The Hatching, which will award $10,000 in seed funding to one startup company.

LAUNCHED 2013’s keynote speaker is Jerry Clark, director of cloud services for network, voice, and cloud services provider Comlink. He will lead an interactive discussion about how the cloud benefits small and mid-sized business—including examples of the total cost of ownership advantages cloud services offer over on-premises solutions.

Alison Gass, deputy director and curator of contemporary art for the Broad Art Museum, will serve as master of ceremonies for this year’s event.

“There’s an incredible level of activity and success in the Greater Lansing entrepreneurial community, and LAUNCHED offers a great opportunity to celebrate it every year,” said Jason Meyers, founder and president of Live Concepts Media and co-producer of LAUNCHED. “Our excellent keynote speaker and our new partnership with The Hatching will provide tremendous insight into the local startup scene. And we’re thrilled to have the support and involvement of the Broad Art Museum, which is such a tremendous asset to local business development and the community overall.”

The Hatching—a startup competition produced by the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP), Spartan Innovations and the NEO Center—has invited its six monthly winners to present their business plans and compete for a grand prize of $10,000 in seed funding.

“LAUNCHED gathers the best of the local business community every year, so the event is the ideal gathering for the annual culmination of The Hatching,” said Paul Jaques, director of student and community engagement for Spartan Innovations. “We’re pleased to have another opportunity to recognize the momentum in the startup culture of the Lansing area.”

LAUNCHED also will honor one local entrepreneur with the annual Innovator of the Year award, which is presented by City of East Lansing. East Lansing Mayor Nathan Triplett will unveil this year’s recipient at the event.

This year’s sponsors include COMLINK, MSU Federal Credit Union, MLive, the City of East Lansing, Great Lakes Entrepreneur Quest, Pure Promotions, Nicholas Creative, Netvantage Marketing, Anytime Fitness, Capital Area IT Council, Dublin Square Irish Pub, Michigan Creative, Good Fruit Video, Grand River Connection, Rob Buffington, Retro Duck and Supported Intelligence.

More than 200 local business and community leaders attended last year’s LAUNCHED event. The event will be held December 12 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at MSU’s Broad Art Museum. Tickets and more information are available at the LAUNCHED 2013 website, www.LAUNCHEDevent.com.

LAUNCHED is co-produced by Nicholas Creative and Live Concepts Media. For information on sponsorship opportunities, visit www.LAUNCHEDevent.com, or contact the organizers below.

COontacts:
Jason Meyers

Live Concepts Media
jmeyers@liveconceptsmedia.com
773-875-8296
Nicholas Chilenko
Nicholas Creative
nick@nicholascreative.com
517-292-2952
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Jason Meyers
773-875-8296
launchedevent.com
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