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Eastern North Carolina Entrepreneurship Summit

The 2nd annual Eastern North Carolina Entrepreneur Summit took place October 29th in Greenville, NC, drawing entrepreneurs from across the region and state.
The keynote address was delivered by Dave Berkus, managing partner of two private equity investment funds and chairman-emeritus of the Tech Coast Angels, one of the largest angel investing networks in the United States. Berkus shared his experiences in forming and managing successful businesses and discussed what factors make angel investors and entrepreneurs successful.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for local entrepreneurs to learn from Berkus as well as our region’s top entrepreneurs in an intimate environment where discussion is encouraged and questions can be answered,” Marty Hackney, director of ECU’s Berkus has received numerous awards recognizing his achievements. He is one of only 30 individuals inducted into the Hospitality “International Hall of Fame” and was awarded the 2013 U.S. Early Stage Venture Capitalist of the Year. His companies have been recognized in the Inc. 500.
At the entrepreneurship summit, Berkus was on an afternoon panel to discuss how to select the members for one’s business team. Other topics covered at the summit included funding, social media and risk management for tourism entrepreneurs.
East Carolina University, the Kenan Institute, Greenville Hilton, NC Eastern Region, Pitt County, McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP, and many others sponsored the event.
Judith Cone, Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at UNC-Chapel Hill and LaChaun Banks, Economic Development Coordinator with the Kenan Institute attended the summit. Cone said it was a great example of how entrepreneurs, economic development agencies, universities, angel investors and policy makers can work together to create a supportive environment for those interested in becoming entrepreneurs or growing their companies. “I like to say that entrepreneurs are dreamers who do. And, the successful ones make the most informed decisions and have luck on their side. As you have heard ‘Luck favors the prepared mind,’ and this summit was all about entrepreneurial preparedness,” said Cone.
Banks found that the summit was a great way to connect entrepreneurs with successful entrepreneurs. She said, “The summit was an open environment and the speakers were honest about successes and failures of starting a business. We were able to ask questions and really learn from people who have been in the game for a long time.”

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