Arkansas Venture Center to Host Tech Cocktail’s Frank Gruber and National Startup Visionary, Michael Burcham Arkansas’ Startup Week 2014
October 27, 2014 / Share:


LITTLE ROCK, AR–(Marketwired – October 24, 2014) – Coinciding with a week-long series of events such as the ARK Challenge Demo Day, the Arkansas Technology Summit, Tech Cocktail’s Arkansas Celebration Mixer and other events commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the Clinton Presidential Library, the Arkansas Venture Center will host Frank Gruber, author and co-founder of national startup media company Tech Cocktail and national startup community visionary Michael Burcham, the President & CEO of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center and co-chair appointee of the Secretary of Commerce’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Gruber will discuss his new book, Startup Mixology: Tech Cocktail’s Guide To Building, Growing and Celebrating Startup Success.
“Michael and Frank have each built incredible organizations that have significantly contributed to the economic growth of our country through the programmatic development of startups and the celebration of entrepreneurship respectively. I’m thrilled to host these leaders in Little Rock at a time when our entrepreneurial community is young and rapidly developing,” said Lee Watson, President of the Arkansas Venture Center.
Frank Gruber, CEO & Co-Founder of Tech Cocktail
Tuesday, November 11, 5:30 pm, Ron Robinson Theatre, Little Rock
An entrepreneur, new media journalist and investor, Gruber co-founded Tech Cocktail in 2006, which has grown into a hub for the creative class, offering tech startup focused news, events, and resources. He is the author of Startup Mixology: Tech Cocktail’s Guide To Building, Growing and Celebrating Startup Success. Gruber has built and launched products for the masses while at AOL, Tribune and Classified Ventures along with startup efforts like Thankfulfor, Splog Reporter and more. As a journalist, his works have been featured in a number of top media publications including TechCrunch, Fortune, ReadWrite, HuffPo, etc. He was named by Forbes as one of the most connected people in Tech. Frank is also a Venture Partner with Crystal Tech Fund. His alma maters include Purdue and Northwestern respectively.
Michael Burcham, President & CEO of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center
Friday, November 14, 10:00 am, Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce
Burcham is a serial entrepreneur, healthcare executive, strategist, and adjunct professor at Vanderbilt who began his career at Hospital Corporation of America. Burcham served as President of Paradigm Health from 2000-2007. In prior years, he was President of Theraphysics, a venture-backed, specialty rehabilitation firm he founded in 1992. Burcham is credited with leading the momentum in Nashville entrepreneur to make the city one of the top cities in the country for entrepreneurship. Burcham is a member of the Nashville Capital Network. He serves of the Board of Nashville’s Technology Council, Nashville’s International Business Council, and Nashville’s Small Business Council. He is also a Special Venture Partner with Galen Partners Investment in New York. Burcham is also a strategic advisor and Board Member to a variety of startup firms and venture capital funds involved in healthcare and technology.
Burcham received a BS from the University of Mississippi Medical Center and an MBA from Belmont University, Nashville. He completed a Doctorate in Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina and is a frequent national speaker on executive leadership, entrepreneurial thinking and innovation. Burcham led Tennessee to form Startup Tennessee as part of the Startup America Partnership.
About the Arkansas Venture Center
Founded in 2013, the Arkansas Venture Center is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization serving entrepreneurs and the corporate community with nationally-recognized educational, networking and mentorship programs proven to amplify startup success. An annual membership includes access to the weekly speaker series, access to a national mentor network, and discounts to a myriad of entrepreneurship curriculum. To learn more, visit VentureCenter.co.
See the full run-of-show and register for events here:
http://startuparkansas.com/startupweek2014/
#ARStartupWeek and #ARidea