By Lacie Blankenship
The Center for Entrepreneurship (C4E) is excited to announce that the 4th annual Vanderbilt Entrepreneurship Conference (VEC) will take place on Friday, February 18th 2022. Attendees can participate in person at Vanderbilt or virtually through a streaming service.
Stacie Pawlicki
“The Entrepreneurship Conference is the C4E’s annual marquee event,” says Stacie Pawlicki (BA’08), C4E Director. “It’s an incredible opportunity that brings together a variety of industry experts, alumni, entrepreneurs, and investors to share their stories and insights as it relates to business creation and growth.”
Students interested in pursuing a career in the startup field, as an entrepreneur, and within the investor/venture capital space are encouraged to attend. The conference is open to all: Vanderbilt University affiliates can attend in-person or online, free of charge; non-Vanderbilt-affiliated visitors may attend online for free or in-person for a $25 fee.
The conference will feature a diverse group of speakers and panelists from around the country, including renowned company founders, expert investors, and startup partners. Keynote speakers include Jerome Edwards (MBA’04), Co-Founder, President & CEO of CardioNXT; gold-medal-winning Olympic gymnast and New York Times best-selling author Shawn Johnson East; and NFL athlete, Redirected podcast host, and Vanderbilt alumnus, Andrew East (BA’14, MBA’15).
In addition to keynote speakers, the VEC will feature 2 dynamic panel conversations and a student pitch competition, where participants have a chance to win a $1,500 or $500 equity-free cash prize. The Wond’ry Innovation Center will host an afterparty to further fuel conversation and connection.
Michael Burcham
“The C4E presents the VEC as a means to facilitate innovation, collaboration, and learning,” says Professor Michael Burcham, C4E Faculty Director. “It enables us to connect Vanderbilt to the tremendous economic growth happening in Nashville and bring together our trans-institutional audience of students, parents, alumni, and key stakeholders.”
The VEC will be hosted at the Student Life Center on Vanderbilt’s campus and will practice recommended health and safety procedures with a limited in-person capacity, a mask requirement, and attendee registration. Safety protocols will evolve as necessary.
Those interested in attending VEC should register on Eventbrite. The registration deadline to attend the conference in-person is Sunday, February 13; those interested in attending online can register up until the start of the event.
“The Vanderbilt entrepreneurial ecosystem is vast and impressive. It says something about the community that we have speakers and panelists willing to come from across the country to share their expertise, to connect with and advise VEC attendees,” says Pawlicki. “We look forward to seeing the innovative ideas and relationships that are fueled through this Conference and the continuous efforts of the C4E and our partners.”
To read about last year’s conference, click here.
