Keynote Speakers

Matt Hunckler, President of Verge

Matt Hunckler is the president and founder at Verge, a community of Midwest software developers, entrepreneurs, and startup investors.  He is a committed business adventurist with a knack for online marketing, branding, and starting up.

With Seed Strategy, a strategic innovation and advertising agency in Cincinnati, he collaborated in the design and development of groundbreaking marketing research technologies and vetted product concepts for global brands, including Kellogg's, Hill's Pet Nutrition, and Wrigley's. 

Matt built and grew a web design and Internet marketing firm, SureSite Design, before selling it to join the sales and marketing team at BlueLock as an Orr Fellow. The aim of The Orr Fellowship is to foster the next generation of entrepreneurial business leaders.

Elected by his peers to be the Online Marketing Director for the Orr Fellowship, Matt led an organization-wide rebranding and redesigned the marketing strategy to position the program for rapid growth.

As the Director of Marketing for Slingshot SEO, an Inc. 500 Marketing Agency, Matt built the Marketing and Communications department-leveraging email marketing, SEO, PPC, social media, and PR to increase site traffic, leads, and sales.

Matt graduated with honors from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University , where he studied Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and Corporate Innovation. 

Jeffery Ready, CEO of Scale Computing

Jeff has served as CEO of Scale since 2008.  Founder of four companies and an industry trade-group before he turned 29, Jeff Ready defines the word "entrepreneur." 

His first company began in the basement of America's top-rated school of engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. There, Ready founded  Terre Haute Internet Services, the first business-class ISP in Larry Bird's college town in 1996.  After building the business to sustainable profitability, Ready sold the ISP and started Aureate Media in 1998. 

Aureate Media developed a unique ad-serving infrastructure and set of technologies that allowed companies to put advertising directly into computer games and other software applications. Internet Venture Capital firm CMGI invested more than $5 million in the company before Ready re-launched Aureate Media as Radiate, Inc.  From there, Ready grew Radiate to become one of the largest internet properties, generating over $20 million a year in sales and reaching with more than 30 million people per month through its technology.  

In 2000 (while still with Radiate), he founded and served as the first Executive Director of the Internet Measurement Initiative (IMI). This non-profit association was a catalyst for defining new ways to measure digital user audience data, and grew to become 22-member industry association that included Microsoft, AOL Time Warner, DoubleClick, Motorola and other major corporations. The IMI now exists as the Advertising Research Foundation's Digital MediaMeasurement Council.

In 2001, Radiate was acquired by a privately-held software firm in Seattle, Washington.  After this successful cash exit, Ready started Corvigo, his latest venture, serving as it's president and CEO.  Developed the first artificial intelligence and self-learning  system for stopping junk email (or "spam"), called Intent-Based Filtering (IBF) technology. Starting Corvigo during the economic doldrums of 2002 (January), Ready led the company to success by doubling revenues every quarter, tightly managing cash-flow, and growing to profitability without raising outside capital.  Then, poised for explosive growth with a proven business model behind him, Sequoia Capital, one of the top venture capital firms in the world, chose Corvigo as its only investment in the crowded anti-spam space in 2003.  

Corvigo's technology was a finalist in the Network World Best of the Test review, won first place in InfoWorld's anti-spam bake-off, and was chosen at the Security Venture Fair as the Most Promising Company of 2004.  Ready successfully negotiated the acquisition of Corvigo by Tumbleweed Communications (NASDAQ: TMWD) in March 2004 for $41.5 Million.  After the acquisition, Ready served as Tumbleweed's VP of Marketing before moving on to seek out his next venture. 

Ready has been interviewed and quoted in the New York Times, Forbes, Business Week, NPR, Business 2.0, U.S. News and World Report and countless other publications. He was nominated as MIT Technology Review's Top Innovators of 2004 and Corvigo was nominated to Red Herring's Top 100 companies of 2004. He's won the Blue Chip Award from the US Chamber of Commerce, the Ziff Davis Best Technology award, the Rose-Hulman Distinguished Young Alumni Award, and has patented multiple technologies. He sits on board of several technology companies, and is a regular advisor to startups.

Panel 1

Beau D'Arcy, Partner of B2 Entertainment Group

Beau D'Arcy founded Effortless Efficiency after completing his MBA at Harvard Business School, where he studied the energy efficiency markets and created a concept and business plan for the company.  Beau is a native of Plainfield, Illinois and holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana.  Beau spent several years working for Eli Lilly & Company in Indianapolis before attending business school and moving from HVAC engineering to general management. During his time at HBS, Beau interned for The Venetian Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of its LEED certification team. He was also actively involved in the Sailing, Greentech, Sustainability, Entrepreneurship, and Energy clubs. After graduating from HBS in May 2010, Beau immediately launched Effortless Efficiency. 

Effortless Efficiency (EE) provided customers with a simple, effective, and affordable path to becoming energy efficient in their homes.  The company moved from conceptual to start-up phase in 2010, began generating revenues in early 2011, and started to scale throughout that year. Marketing deals such as one structured through Groupon helped to fuel growth, but an abnormally mild winter 2011-2012 caused business to dry up. Through his experiences and learnings with EE, he was able to launch Heat Wrangler, Inc. and took another shot at the energy efficient market focusing on consumer products instead of a service-based business model.

The team was able to build and test early prototypes with the help of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and received commitments for sales through both the retail and tradesmen channels. Through a research partnership with Gas Technology Institute, they found that the energy savings would not justify our retail price, and while the opportunity did exist in commercial settings that niche was just too small to warrant continuing down the path.

Beau is  now working on delivering a unique entertainment concept that will change the social scene in Chicago forever.

Yvette Kendall, Shevinci Innovations

Yvette Kendall, who is originally from Chicago, develops Intellectual Property and Creates Products for the market and private individuals globally. Ms. Kendall was the first to invent the concept and lay-out and put efforts into developing what the world knows now as "E-Book Readers" in July of 1998. Ms. Kendall continued on this path and began to nurture her love for making unusual things and things she would like to see on store shelves. In this position, she has had the opportunity to work with a wide range of people in various genres that have helped Ms. Kendall obtain a broader view of what products were on the market and what needed to be on the market.

Ms. Kendall is currently the President of the Shevinci Innovations Group and on the board of several other innovation groups.  Ms. Kendall has filed patent-pending's in the double-digits and has several on the market now; one being labeled her best discovery, which is "Cleencups", the World's 1st Anti-Bacterial Drinking Cups; these cups has a food safe anti-bacterial coating that sanitizes the hands once the users touches them. Other products that Ms. Kendall has invented are "Hatari Helmets" which are motion graphic and animated motorcycle helmets, "Scalers Shoes", fitness sneakers with a built-in body weight scale with digital screen and "Meal Pearls" which is a new food source developed by use of Bio-Polymers, Armor-Tape which is a new Bullet-Proof Adhesive Pad and many others.

Elizabeth Hagerman, Ph.D., VP Rose-Hulman Ventures

Elizabeth M. Hagerman, Ph.D., returned to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, her alma mater, in July 2012 to serve as Vice President for Rose-Hulman Ventures. Located on 180-acres in a 35,000 square-foot facility in a Certified Technology Park on the south Campus, Rose-Hulman Ventures brings together outstanding students with technology-based companies to design prototypes, refine the design of existing products, and expand current engineering capabilities.

Prior to her return to Rose-Hulman, Hagerman held leadership roles at Baxter Healthcare in Los Angeles, a subsidiary of Illinois-based Baxter International Inc., a worldwide leader in patient care products. She most recently led the global integration of a Baxter Biosurgery product acquisition and licensing. While at Baxter, Hagerman also worked with research and development and marketing teams in the United States and Austria for product development, coordinated academic research with Baxter Biosurgery products, managed strategic planning for next generation product launches and brand development, and developed orthopedic sales training materials.

Hagerman earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Rose-Hulman in 2000 and a master's and Ph.D. degree from UCLA in biomedical engineering, with a focus on orthopedic biomaterials. She is an expert on tissue engineering, cell adhesion, bone regeneration and tissue biomineralization, and has two patent applications filed.

Throughout her academic and professional career, Hagerman has been associated with Rose-Hulman. She received the Distinguished Young Alumni Award in 2008 from Rose-Hulman, and was a member of the Board of Trustees from 2009-2012. 

Panel 2

Nick Mahurin, CEO of InfraWare

Nick Mahurin is a successful information technology entrepreneur.  As the CEO & founder of InfraWare, which provides an ASP platform for medical transcription organizations, Nick serves in several key leadership positions within the healthcare documentation industry.  Nick earned a mechanical engineering degree from Rose and has led several technology companies through start-up and growth phases of development. 

Jon D. Speer, Managing Partner

In 2006, Jon Speer founded Creo Quality to support life science start-ups with product development, project management, and operational needs. Jon has considerable experience in the medical device industry. Previously, he worked in quality management, product and business development capacities for Cook, Inc., Theron, Inc., and Maetrics, LLC, leading and managing multiple projects, taking concepts through development, regulatory submission, and to the market. Additional areas of expertise include: corporate product development processes, personnel distribution, and portfolio management; helping implement FDA-compliant quality system procedures for multiple start-up organizations; and facilitating business development activities, including lead generation and business expansion.

With headquarters in Central Indiana, CQ assists medical device companies, particularly start-up and smaller companies, with product development, FDA quality system regulations, and project management needs. Over the years, we have grown and evolved as experts in FDA design controls and FDA and regulatory submissions, such as 510(k) and CE technical files. With this expertise, we have earned a proven track record in taking medical device product ideas from concept to market. We also specialize in project management direction which includes setting the proper timelines and budgets in order to meet your goals.

CQ is prepared to be your foundation in the medical device industry. Our well-developed relationships within the industry allow us access to a solid association of life science resources, partners, and suppliers in Indiana that can help you reach your full potential. Review which CQ services can help you.

Jeremy Clarke, President, Vortex Web Solutions

Jeremy is an Entrepreneur/Software Developer and started his first web development business, Vortex Web Solutions, while he was in high school. With a BS in Software Engineering and a BS in Computer Science from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, he has turned Vortex Web Solutions into a successful business - focusing primarily on B2B web applications. Jeremy is passionate about developing new products that create exceptional value for customers. Through Vortex Web Solutions, Jeremy has launched a number of web startups and takes pride in the whole startup process - taking an idea and creating a product that people love!

Panel 3

Michael Shepard

Michael Shepard is a finance and engineering executive who specializes in working with early stage / growth companies. He raised over $36M dollars in angel and venture capital funding, negotiated $15M in capital leases and $4M in convertible debt. For these companies, he built the corporate infrastructure to enable annual revenue growth rates from 60 - 300%. In addition to running companies, as a Principal at Heron Capital, a life science focused VC fund, he reviewed thousands of business plans, performed due diligence and made investment recommendations. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Ball State University with a B.S. in Finance and subsequently earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Elizabeth Kozman, Associate Director of Strategic and Commercial Development for BioStorage

Elizabeth is currently Associate Director of Strategic and Commercial Development for BioStorage Technologies, a provider of comprehensive sample management solutions to the life sciences industry. Elizabeth is responsible for leading new strategic growth initiatives, including: new services; new vertical markets; geographic expansion; and partnerships/alliances. Prior to BioStorage Technologies, Elizabeth served as a strategic management consultant to a number of early stage technology companies. She started her career as an investment associate for Gazelle TechVentures and Blue Chip Venture Company, two venture capital firms focused on investing in early-stage companies in the life science services and technology sectors. Elizabeth has a BS in mechanical engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and an MBA from Harvard University.

Bradley W. Schwer, Partner of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

BRADLEY W. SCHWER is a partner in the Business & Finance practice group and focuses his practice on complex business and commercial transactions, mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, business advisory services, and general corporate counseling.

He has broad experience with various financing transactions and leveraged private equity transactions where he has represented buyers, sellers and management.

Mr. Schwer has served as outside general counsel for several clients over his career providing both legal and business advice. He regularly advises businesses of all sizes and industries.

Panel 4

Anthony Broadnax, President of Broadnax Enterprises

Restore blighted, urban, Midwestern communities. Working to bring a new brand of restoration the US Midwestern former industrial core. Rather than "starting from scratch", Broadnax Enterprises seeks to draw upon existing community assets and history to create a more sustainable community for the future, without sacrificing the virtues of that community's past. People are a community's most influential asset; therefore BE has developed a training program to facilitate and encourage home ownership and improved home maintenance. BE's Community Credit Exchange is a transformative home ownership training program that will change the path of social entrepreneurism. BE works with stakeholders to bring about positive change.

Dustin S. DuBois, Partner of Ice Miller

Dustin DuBois is a partner with Ice Miller and concentrates his practice in various facets of intellectual property and transactions. DuBois designs strategies for clients' intellectual property portfolios based on their goals as well as market expectations, securing patents, trademarks and other forms of intellectual property. He also assists clients in negotiation of and drafting a variety of commercial contracts such as strategic alliances, joint development and licensing agreements. DuBois assists clients with other complex legal issues including compliance with export control regulations, international privacy laws, and in compliance with a host of other regulatory frameworks.

DuBois graduated from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 1992. He earned his law degree, cum laude, at Indiana University School of Law in 2000. Prior to attending law school, he worked in product development, management and technical advisory capacities for such major U.S. companies as Caterpillar, General Motors and Betz Laboratories. DuBois is admitted to practice law in the state of Indiana and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Gerald Rea, CEO, Stray Light Optical Technologies

Gerald W. Rea is the Chief Executive Officer of Stray Light Optical Technologies, Inc, a high tech firm that focuses on energy efficient luminaire research, design, and manufacturing. He is a Distinguished Alumni from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with degrees in optical and mechanical engineering. Stray Light, with Sandia National Labs, received the Top Technology Transfer Award from the Federal Laboratories Consortium in 2012. Rea is currently engaged in the planning for the Mid America Optics & Photonics Cluster which will asses and link Midwestern public, private, and academic assets. He is a consistent developer of intellectual property relevant to the adoption of plasma lighting. With Stray Light, Rea has raised significant private and public investment into technology development and the business as a whole, as well as participating in the Academy Awards, last NASA shuttle launch, and greenhouse testing for Antarctica.