The Startup America Partnership CEO Scott Case to Keynote Governor's Conference on Economic and Community Development
Case to Address the Role of Entrepreneurship in Creating Jobs at Commissioner’s Luncheon
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty today announced the Startup America Partnership Chief Executive Officer Scott Case will keynote the Commissioner’s Luncheon on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011 during the 58th annual Governor’s Conference on Economic and Community Development in Nashville.
The Startup America Partnership is a private organization working to help young companies succeed in order to grow jobs, and it has announced more than $500 million in private-sector commitments to support startups since launching in January.
“Through his own experience as an entrepreneur and now leading the Startup America Partnership, Scott can offer conference attendees an expert perspective on what can be done in their communities to support entrepreneurship and drive the economy,” Haslam said. “Business startups are an important generator of new jobs as we work to make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”
The Startup America Partnership is focused on bringing together some of the country’s most successful organizations to provide valuable resources to young companies with high growth potential. Those resources fall into five key areas that are critical to an entrepreneur’s success: talent, services, expertise, customers and capital.
Case joined Haslam, Hagerty, and Entrepreneur Center President and CEO Michael Burcham in June to announce the formation of Startup Tennessee, Tennessee’s statewide initiative to support entrepreneurs and help startups create jobs. The program is a part of the INCITE Initiative, designed to support innovation across the state and a key component of the Governor’s Jobs4TN economic development plan. Led by the Entrepreneur Center, Startup Tennessee leverages the best practices and national network of the Startup America Partnership to enhance and grow the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“The Startup America Partnership and Scott Case are great partners for our state as we work together to help Tennessee’s entrepreneurs find the support, resources and mentoring they need to be successful and grow,” Hagerty said. “I am grateful Scott will be speaking at the Governor’s Conference, and I know attendees will benefit from his knowledge and experience.”
“Tennessee is well positioned to become one of the leading entrepreneurial ecosystems in the country, and I am excited to be joining Gov. Haslam and Commissioner Hagerty for this year’s Governor’s Conference,” Case said. “They understand that startups create jobs and fostering entrepreneurship is what’s going to drive our economic prosperity.”
Case was the founding Chief Technology Officer of Priceline, the “Name Your Own Price” company that was one of only a few startups in U.S. history to reach a billion dollars in annual sales in less than 24 months. As CTO, Case was responsible for building the technology that enabled Priceline’s hyper-growth.
Prior to joining the Startup America Partnership, Case served as CEO of Malaria No More, helped build a portfolio of intellectual property at the Walker Digital Invention Laboratory and is a named inventor on dozens of U.S. patents including the underlying portfolio for Priceline. Case also co-founded Precision Training Software, a software company that developed the world's first PC-based simulated flight instructor and photo-realistic flight simulator.
In addition to serving on the Startup America Partnership Board, Case serves as the Chairman of national nonprofit Network for Good and is on the Advisory Board of By Kids for Kids, Tickets-for-Charity and ThreeJars.
Hundreds of state and local officials, business leaders and economic developers will convene at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel on Sept. 22 and 23 for the 58th annual Governor’s Conference on Economic and Community Development for a series of educational sessions, networking and sharing of best practices. Attendees will have the opportunity to find out more about the state's Jobs4TN economic development plan that is focused on leveraging and aligning existing assets, encouraging innovation and reducing government regulation.
Case will provide the keynote address at the Commissioner’s Luncheon on the 22nd, while Haslam will keynote the following day at the Governor’s Luncheon on the 23rd. Registration and more information on the 2011 Governor’s Conference on Economic and Community Development is available online at http://www.tn.gov/ecd/GovConf11/index.html#.
About the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s mission is to develop strategies which help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. The department seeks to attract new corporate investment in Tennessee and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth. To find out more, go to www.tn.gov/ecd.
###
Contact: Laura Elkins, ECD
Office: (615) 532-1910
Email: laura.elkins@tn.gov