April 13-May 13: City as Canvas with free art and innovation programs
May 11-12: Ticketed Music Festival with 50+ bands

Innovation:

Candidate Forum - Start Up C’VILLE

Website: http://cvillebic.org/

THE POLITICS OF INNOVATION
7PM - Forum
6PM & 9PM - Beer & Live Music

In preparation for November elections for City Council and County Supervisors, Tom Tom Founders Festival and the Charlottesville Business Innovation Council are launching a Candidate Forum to discuss the Politics of Innovation and Start-Ups in the region.

In a unique format, the twelve candidates will hear from leading voices in Central Virginia's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Presenters will include top entrepreneurs, angel investors, University of Virginia administrators and students, and emerging start-ups. The forum will present a context of how startup hubs are built, and perspectives on zoning and regulation, Town-Gown engagement, and municipal promotion of the community as a start-up hub.

The entrepreneurs presenting will include:

Blake Sirach, Co-founder of WillowTree Apps, one of the largest and most respected mobile development companies in the US. Founded in Charlottesville, WillowTree is an Inc. 500 company, recipient of CBIC's 2013 Spotlight Award, winner of four Webby Awards, and its apps have been downloaded over 1,000,000 times.

Sandy Reisky, founder of five renewable energy companies in Charlottesville, including Greenlight Energy, Inc., a wind energy company acquired by BP in 2006, has developed over $1 billion of wind and solar generation facilities now operating in the United States and Canada.

Kathy Carr, co-founder and managing director at Tall Oaks Capital Partners, has invested in numerous biotech and life sciences businesses. In 2012, Kathy became the director of the i.Lab Incubator at U.Va., operated by the Batten Institute at U.Va.'s Darden School of Business. This summer, Kathy helped lead 25 start-ups (13 Darden-based, 5 U.Va.-based, 7 community-based) through an accelerator curriculum.

Martin Chapman, former UVA faculty member and CEO of Indoor Biotechnologies, which provides biological products and services to allergy markets worldwide. He has been active in promoting growth and expansion of a biotech sector in Charlottesville.

Tracy Danner, Director of the Charlottesville Business Innovation Council, an advocate for Charlottesville business for over a decade, will open the forum with a presentation of the regional context.

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At 6PM & 9PM a beer and live music mixer will occur on the patio, featuring the music of Ashley McMillen



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The event will kick off a Tomtoberfest weekend that includes block parties, concerts, innovation talks, and pitch competitions on U.Va. Grounds and Downtown on Sept 25 - 28.

Schedule:

September 25:

Time: Event Venue: Price:
6:00 pm Candidate Forum - Start Up C’VILLE Old Metropolitan Hall

See Full Schedule >>