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4-11-08

Media Release

Portland Conference Explores How Innovators and Entrepreneurs Find Opportunities

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The leader of one of Entrepreneur magazine’s Hot 500 and Inc. magazine’s list of America’s 500 fastest-growing private companies is the keynote speaker at a conference hosted by Oregon State University Austin Entrepreneurship Program.

The conference, “Finding Tomorrow’s Opportunities Today,” will be held Thursday, May 1, from noon to 4:30 p.m., at the Governor Hotel in Portland. This is the third year OSU has held the conference, which focuses on how entrepreneurs and innovators find business opportunities.

“The conference is a unique opportunity to learn how innovation is driving success in web-based, and traditional industries,” said Christopher Klemm, director of the Austin Entrepreneurship Program. “Where else can you find companies as diverse as TAOW Productions and Precision Castparts side-by-side sharing how they generate and manage innovations?

“The conference is designed to provide value for any company or organization interested in more effectively using innovation to address today’s challenging environments.”

The luncheon keynote speaker will be John W. Morgan, president and chief executive officer of HemCon Medical Technologies Inc. Since joining HemCon, Morgan has helped the company achieve four-digit growth and expand its product offering from military to civilian markets.

Morgan will present the HemCon story. An industrial accident led to the innovation behind the company’s original product, the HemCon Bandage, designed to stop arterial bleeding. Built on the success of this invention, today HemCon is a world leader in advance research and development of chitosan (a class of complex carbohydrates with many commercial and biomedical uses).

Following the keynote lecture will be two panel discussions featuring representatives from both innovative new web-driven businesses and innovative traditional businesses including: Coast Products, GoSeeTell Network, Monaco Coach, Precision Castparts, SplashCast, TAOW Productions, Stahlbush Island Farms, and White Horse; and student presentations by winners of the Austin Entrepreneurship Program New Enterprise Challenge and the OSU MBA Business Plan competition.

Registration is $50 and includes lunch. For more information or to register, go to http://www.bus.oregonstate.edu/programs/2008aep_conference.htm.

About the OSU College of Business: The college prepares profession-ready graduates with expertise in entrepreneurship and sustainable business practices. It is home to the Austin Family Business Program – a national leader in working with family businesses – as well as the nation’s largest residential entrepreneurship initiative, the Austin Entrepreneurship Program.