Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Innovator Summit features Nathan Furr

The following is from FamilySearch. I did already post a similar announcement. I didn't realize the official press release provided more information. 

FamilySearch Press ReleaseDecember 15, 2014

Nathan Furr, PhD, Coauthor of The Innovator’s Method, to Headline the RootsTech Innovator Summit
Nathan Furr
Salt Lake City, Utah—For the second year in a row, the world’s largest family history and technology conference, RootsTech, is getting a jump-start a day early with Innovator Summit, a full-day event featuring Nathan Furr, coauthor ofThe Innovator’s Method and Nail It Then Scale It. The event, sponsored by Ancestry.com, will be held onWednesday, February 11, 2015, at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Nathan Furr is a recognized expert and a professor of innovation and entrepreneurship at Brigham Young University and a visiting scholar at INSEAD and ESSEC. His new book, The Innovator’s Method (Harvard Business Review Press, Sept. 2014) combines the two, bringing the radical “lean start-up” approach to innovation into established organizations. His previous book, Nail It Then Scale It (NISI Institute, 2011), underscores that the seeds to entrepreneurial success are sown before you build anything. He will kick off the day with his keynote address titled “How to Apply the Innovator’s Method to Increase Your Success and Decrease Your Risk.”

By bringing in keynote speakers such as Furr, Innovator Summit aims to inspire new ideas, new discussions, and new connections that will drive technology and business opportunities both inside and outside the traditional genealogy marketplace. “We are excited to bring technology leaders, innovation experts, and entrepreneurs together once again to better understand and discuss opportunities in a rapidly growing market segment,” said David Pugmire, event manager. “RootsTech Innovator Summit is a one-of-a-kind event. Thought leaders like Furr can distill their recipe for success and those interested in this space can network with others that can help bring projects to reality.”

The Innovator Summit offers developers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs access to the latest content and resources that provide insight on family history data, services and inspiration for current and future projects. A full lineup of classes are offered on Wednesday, February 11, with additional classes offered on Thursday and Friday. The Wednesday event includes the keynote address, a lunch combined with the semifinal round of the RootsTech Shark Tank, an evening mingle, and a late-night hack-a-thon event. In addition to Furr, other business and technology speakers at Innovator Summit include:
  • Harrison Tang, cofounder and chief executive officer of Family.me.
  • Mike Davis, cofounder and chief executive officer of StoryPress.
  • Robert Charles Anderson, FASG, director of the Great Migration Study Project at the New England Historic Genealogical Society.
Though Innovator Summit innovation competitions have been included in the past, this year RootsTech is upping the ante with $25,000 in total cash prizes. This RootsTech Innovator Showdown event will include a live audience; judging by genealogy, technology, and business gurus; and a people’s choice award. New apps, software, or other products will be unveiled, and three winners will receive cash prizes and the chance to show their winning entries to media, bloggers, and thousands of RootsTech attendees. Past winners, such as last year’s grand prize winner, Harvey and Jane Baker of Saving Memories Forever , have gone on to successfully capitalize on the $4 billion family history market and stake a claim for themselves.

For more information about Innovator Summit or to get registered for the conference, please visit RootsTech.org/innovator.

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