Going along with the same idea of a Career Fair, Buffalo Homecoming will be hosting the Buffalo Technology and Entrepreneur Conference (BTEC) on June 27th from 9 AM till 2 PM in the Statler Grand Ballroom. You’ll be able to go from the career fair to the BTEC and get even more exposure to great local companies.
With the Internet consistently pervading our everyday lives, it will be an exciting turn of events for the BTEC because the entire event is bring streamed online at BuffaloHomecoming.com, WNYMedia.net, and Ustream.tv. Plus, once the event is over, each presentation will be uploaded to various viral video websites and stored in the BTEC homepage to bring the message of Buffalo’s business future to the world. The 20 presenting companies will send their CEOs who will speak from 5-8 minutes each. Questions from the live audience will be taken, but in an interesting twist, questions can also come from the online community via text, blogs, and Twitter.
You can check out the BTEC website for more info.
Here is some information from the press release:
"It's about building a community of entrepreneurs and young professionals who are looking to generate local wealth which can be used to put people to work, and build the foundation of our community. Instead of looking to traditional power structures and politicians, these are driven companies which seek to build upon Buffalo's legacy of entrepreneurialism. Let's look forward, work together and build the city in our own vision." said Christopher Smith, BTEC Director/Senior Consultant for Sun Microsystems/Co-Founder of WNYMedia.net.
STUDIO llc exemplifies the type of below-the-radar high tech company that promises to surprise attendees. Started In 2002 by Michael and Kevin Dawidowicz and Liz Young, this Buffalo company grew 150% in the past year alone, designing and building custom applications for high profile clients across the nation. More than 80% of the firm's revenue, projected to surpass $2 million in 2008, is generated by clients from outside the area that demand the flexibility and convergence achieved by STUDIO llc's open source mind set. The young company is headquartered In Buffalo and has a field office in Hoboken, representing an interesting reversal that flows revenue into, rather than out of Buffalo.
"BTEC will help build corporate awareness for us," said Michael. "But it will also help us attract the talent we need. Companies like STUDIO llc exist, we're all here. We're not in San Jose or New York. We're the future of Buffalo." Kevin adds: "And the critical mass of this event will bring interest from outside investors into Buffalo. Businesses will learn that they can start here instead of somewhere else. The talent is here." High tech jobs are far less expensive than manufacturing jobs to create, and they help keep our best and brightest, graduates of our many colleges and universities, in Buffalo. The brothers focus on finding the talent they need locally and developing it.
"We'll be featuring many members of our growing trade association at the event, including Synacor, Clever Method, JR Visuals, I-evolve, and TrueThinker. It's really quite incredible that we have so many companies which are growing and thriving in this region. We can't wait to let the world in on our little secret." said Jeff Ross, Director of InfoTech Niagara.
Marti Gorman, Director of Buffalo Homecoming stated, "This is a networking event at which larger companies can show the way to success, mid-level companies can reach out to new customers, find talent and resources and smaller companies that are just starting out can find identify potential investors or simply share their vision."
BTEC will grow into an annual event that showcases the growth of these companies and the additional endeavors that they give rise to. BTEC will allow the business community to watch this emerging sector grow and flourish year over year, capturing the spirit of a new economy in Buffalo and advertising the fact that Buffalo is THE place for IT and creative startups.