(Editor’s note: News releases are published unedited, unless they contain factual errors.)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mike Saucier mike@evanscommunications.com
347.834.7476
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona (October 6, 2016) — Entrepreneur Steve Case, chairman and chief executive officer of Revolution and co-founder and former CEO and chairman of America Online, will bring his Rise of the Rest tour to the Phoenix market and Scottsdale on Friday, October 7, with a stop scheduled at SkySong, The ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center.
Revolution’s “Rise of the Rest” with Case is a nationwide effort to work closely with entrepreneurs in emerging startup ecosystems, with the belief that this is the beginning of a new era for entrepreneurship across the U.S. and that high-growth companies can now start and scale anywhere, not just in a few coastal cities. The effort has been praised by President Obama, leading Republicans, and business leaders across the country.
The bus tour featuring Case will make stops around the Valley. Case will visit SkySong for a community conversation and, as with other stops, take questions from media. The event is open to the media but not the public, and will be held at the new 1951@SkySong in SkySong 1. Please contact Mike Saucier at the number above if you are interested in attending. Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane is expected to join Case during this conversation as well.
Earlier that morning beginning at 8, Case will have breakfast with dozens of local leaders at the Desert Botanical Gardens to kick off his Phoenix market Rise of the Rest bus tour. Case will make remarks and lead a discussion on the next wave of growth companies across the region.
Throughout the day Case will visit the fastest growing Valley startups and will hear directly from innovators and spend time learning from local policy and business leaders.
The day continues with stops throughout the Valley. It culminates with a party and pitch competition, showcasing the best startups in the Valley, with the winner receiving a $100,000 investment from Case.
In over two years, “Rise of the Rest” has traveled 4,000 miles to 19 cities and invested $2 million in local startups.
“We are extremely honored to host Steve Case, a titan of innovation, and are thrilled to be able to showcase some of the entrepreneurial spirit that is so alive and well here in the Valley
and at SkySong,” said Sharon Harper, President & CEO of Plaza Companies.
“Steve is an extraordinary advocate for entrepreneurs across America,” said Sethuraman Panchanathan, Executive Vice President of Knowledge Enterprise Development and Chief Research and Innovation Officer at Arizona State University. “ASU and SkySong are glad to be a part of the vibrant and diverse greater Phoenix entrepreneurship ecosystem that thrives on collaboration, accessibility, innovation and impact. The Rise of the Rest tour is an opportunity to showcase all of the great work we’ve accomplished together.”
Case, a pioneer in making the Internet part of everyday life, is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book, “The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future.” In his role at Revolution LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based investment firm he co-founded in 2005, he partners with visionary entrepreneurs to build significant “built to last” new businesses. Case is also founding chair of the Startup America Partnership— an effort launched at the White House to accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation. Case was the founding co-chair of the National Advisory Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and a member of President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, where he chaired the subcommittee on entrepreneurship.
Plaza Companies is the developer of the project in partnership with the Arizona State University Foundation, the City of Scottsdale and Holualoa Companies.
SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center is home to a global business community that links technology, entrepreneurship, innovation, and education to position ASU and Greater Phoenix as global leaders of the knowledge economy.
SkySong is a 42-acre mixed use development designed to:
* Create an ecology of collaboration and innovation among high-profile technology enterprises and related researchers;
* Advance global business objectives of on-site enterprises;
* Raise Arizona’s profile as a global center of innovation through co-location of ASU’s strategic global partners; and
* Create a unique regional economic and social asset.
Companies located at SkySong enjoy a special relationship with Arizona State University, which has more than 90,000 students studying across four metropolitan Phoenix campuses, in Lake Havasu and online. ASU is one of the largest public universities in the nation.
In addition to locating its own innovative units at SkySong, through ASU’s on-site operations, tenant companies have a single point of contact for introductions to technology transfer, enterprise and innovation initiatives, researchers, faculty and programs to address their specific needs.
For more information on SkySong, visit www.skysong.com
