FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TOP INNOVATORS AND LEADING MINDS FROM SILICON VALLEY AND CANADA CONVERGE AT GROW 2011 CONFERENCEGROW 2011 Announces Influential Speaker Lineup
May 18, 2011 (Vancouver, BC) – North America is in the middle of entrepreneurial revolution and GROW 2011 is at the forefront of innovation by bringing together leaders in business, finance and consumer technology with top tier next-generation entrepreneurs. GROW 2011 today announced its first lineup of speakers who will present at the second annual conference in Vancouver August 17 – 19.
GROW 2011 showcases the Silicon Valley elite, Canadian success stories and world-class innovators who are turning industries on their heads and engaging consumers in new ways. The conference is an opportunity for hands on mentorship and business guidance for select Canadian startups. From Yelp to Google and StumbleUpon to Kiip, GROW 2011 will feature leaders from some of North America’s top success stories in the entrepreneurial revolution. GROW 2011 also includes a unique hands-on mentorship component where select Canadian startups can receive business guidance via private networking sessions with Silicon Valley investors and CEOs.
“It doesn’t matter if a business is on or offline, today’s entrepreneurs are redefining the way business happens, disrupting age-old markets and leveraging technology to compete aggressively with long-established businesses and creating new never-before thought of markets,” says conference founder Debbie Landa. “GROW 2011 promises to be filled with high-level discourse and cutting edge ideas on doing business in today’s web-fueled world.”
GROW 2011 speakers include:
MUNJAL SHAH, GENERAL MANAGER, GOOGLE BOUTIQUES
Munjal Shah runs the soft goods team at Google (which launched boutiques.com). He is passionate about creating the best fashion and luxury shopping experience in the world. He came to Google when his company like.com was acquired in 2011.
BRIAN WONG, FOUNDER, KIIP
One of the youngest entrepreneurs ever to be funded by a venture capital firm, Brian’s new mission is to bridge the gap between the worlds of gaming and mobile networks. As founder of kiip.me, he is finding new ways to create revenue streams for the gaming industry.
GARRETT CAMP, FOUNDER & CEO, STUMBLEUPON
Garrett has guided StumbleUpon’s development since 2001, from inception to more than 15 million registered users. StumbleUpon is now the largest personalized content discovery engine on the web, delivering more than 1 billion personalized recommendations per month.
JEFF LAWSON, CEO, TWILIO
Jeff co-founded Twilio with over 12 years of entrepreneurial experience, bringing product, engineering and business background to the company. Jeff was awarded a 2010 TechFollows Award for Disruptive Innovation, and was named number 18th on Business Insider’s 2010 Silicon Valley Top 100 List.
MIKE GHAFFARY, DIRECTOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, YELP
Mike Ghaffary joined Yelp in October 2010 as the Director of Business Development. Prior to Yelp, Mike was the Director of Business Development at TrialPay, where he led partnerships with Facebook and a variety of other companies.
Organizers are also expanding the conference’s reach this year by partnering with Launch Party, a networking event designed to connect BC’s growing startup community, to fuel a startup video competition, ‘Launch @ GROW’. Startups are encouraged to produce a short two-minute video presenting their business idea. The video that receives the most number of online votes will have the opportunity to be showcased at the Launch Party opening and conference kick-off reception on August 17.
Additional speakers will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information on GROW 2011, including how to apply to Launch Party, visit www.growconf.com.
About GROW 2011
The next-gen entrepreneur knows where their customers are and how to engage them. The GROW Conference is bringing the best minds of Silicon Valley and Canada together to share lessons learned and inspire action. Be part of this entrepreneurial revolution as individuals and businesses from across Canada work together and with international talent to drive innovation into the future.
www.twitter.com/growconf
For more information or to schedule an interview please contact:
Jasmine Antonick
Dealmaker Media
O: 415 864 2885 M: 415 710 0758
jasmine@dealmakermedia.com
Julie Owen
Weber Shandwick
O: 604-681-7557ext. 201 M: 604-351-4951
jowen@webershandwick.com