Detroit isn't yet on the national circuit for most tech industry speakers, though that didn't faze the 20-year-old local organizer of an event series launching this week.
Brian Wong, 22-year-old CEO and co-founder of a mobile rewards network, speaks downtown Friday.
Delane Parnell is the energy behind an ambitious set of business lectures called Fifty Founders, which "has the potential to be a must-attend event in Detroit," as Karen Dybis puts it at Detroit Unspun.
Fifty Founders will hold its inaugural event from 6-9 p.m. July 26 at Bamboo Detroit, a members-only co-working space on Brush Street. Its first speaker is Brian Wong, co-founder and CEO of Kiip, a mobile rewards network. . . .
“It won’t be just a business-card exchange. You’ll get actual knowledge,” Parnell promises. . . .
The format will be like a fireside chat, giving the main speaker the majority of the floor time. There also will be an open discussion period as well as a question-and-answer session. Plus, there will be beer and pizza.
Wong, 22, started Kiip (pronounced "keep") with two friends about three years ago and raised more than $15 million in funding, Dybis writes. The firm has offices in San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Tokyo and London, according to Wong's Wikipedia page.
Friday evening's three-hour inaugural gathering is nearly sold out. As of mid-afternoon Wednesday, the ticket-selling page at Eventbrite has two general admission seats ($20) left and four VIP tickets ($30) remaining.
It's presented by Core Detroit in partnership with Bizdom, Detroit Venture Partners and Brand Camp University.
And yes, the series name suggests the number of venture capital and app development speakers Parnell hopes to draw. He's clearly someone who thinks big.
-- Alan Stamm
