Schedule

Speed Networking

Start your targeted networking early at this special kick-off event. All attendees are invited to participate in a rapid-fire, but highly structured meet-and-greet, where you'll share your networking objectives and make quick connections with business prospects for further conversations over the next day.

Sponsored by Learning.com

Innovation Incubator Business Profiles Presentations

Discover your next product or opportunity for partnering, acquisition or investment. Hear the participants of the Innovation Incubator Program give a short introduction to their innovative idea, product or service for the K-12 or postsecondary market.

Innovation showcase and Welcome Reception

Meet your colleagues and the Innovation Incubator participants at this opening reception. R&D entities and pre-revenue companies will showcase innovative solutions they've developed for the K-12 and postsecondary markets. Especially useful for first-time attendees for meeting the seasoned execs and for all attendees to catch up with colleagues.

Registration, Breakfast and Networking

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Welcome by Karen Billings, VP Education Division, SIIA

Remarks by Ken Wasch, President, SIIA

Program Overview by Michael Johnson, President, Full Potential Associates

Where Are We Going to Spend Money? A View from Education Customers

Join three administrators from educational institutions as they describe how they make their Ed Tech investment decisions. Hear about the challenges they face in today's education funding environment and what they want you to do to help them overcome those challenges. Find out how they are changing their business and educational practices and even their RFP's over the next three years.

Moderator:

Myron Pincomb, President & CEO, Triumph Learning

Panelists:

Wayne Brown, Vice President of InformationTechnology, Excelsior College

Mike Pitroff, Chief Information Technology Officer, Baltimore City Public Schools

Joel Rose, CEO, School of One, New York City Department of Education

Networking and Refreshment Break

You Want Me to Invest in What? A View from the Financial Community

Join three investment experts as they explain how investment decisions are made and how they expect these decisions to change over the next three years. What are the investors seeking and what are they trying to avoid?  Learn what business models they think will offer the right solutions to customers AND be positively viewed by private equity investors, investment bankers, acquiring companies, and stockholders.

Moderator:

Robin Warner, Managing Director, DeSilva + Phillips, LLC

Panelists:

Sari Factor, Managing Director - Education, Weld North

Chad Johnson, Managing Director, Cherry Tree & Associates, LLC

Sita Vasan, Director, Intel Capital

How We Are Reinventing Our Business Models: A View from Ed Tech Publishing Execs

Join three senior executives as they discuss the necessary and sometimes painful changes they made to  adapt to new business realities. Discover best business practices in the age of cloud computing, personalized learning, and open education resources.  What do these major industry trends mean to your business models over the next three years?

Moderator:

Michael Bijaoui, Managing Director, East Wind Advisors

Panelists:

James Behnke, Chief Learning Officer, PNA, Pearson Education

Gregory DuMont , Executive Vice President of Corporate Development & Operations, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Hendrik Kranenburg, Group President for Higher Education, Professional and International, McGraw-Hill Education

Lunch and Innovation Incubator Finalist Demonstrations
PreK-12 Market Survey Data Preview

Receive full-on demonstrations by the Incubator finalists who make the first cut after the previous night's round of voting for the ed tech product or service that is "Most Innovative" and "Most Likely to Succeed".

Also get a sneak preview of industry data gathered by SIIA's PreK-12 Market Survey.

John Richards, President, Consulting Services for Education

From Research to Revenue: Turning a Great Idea into a Product or New Business

A few key people say you have a promising concept, but how can you be certain your great idea will be the next best thing in ed tech? Attend this session to find out what vital research is required before you make the big investment in a company or product launch. Learn how to develop a solid plan for proof of your concept and how to test the viability of your planned business model.

Moderator:

Mitchell Weisburgh, Managing Partner, Academic Business Advisors, LLC

Panelists:

Berj Akian, CEO, ClassLink, Inc.

Andy Van Schaack, Assistant Professor of the Practice, Vanderbilt University

From Stable to Invigorated: Growing Your Customer Base into Engaged Users

When and why do you reinvent your business model when your customer-base is large and stable? Find out how smart companies stay competitive year after year by doing the right research and taking the right risks at the right time. Learn how mid-to-large sized companies can reinvigorate their customer base. Look at the key factors that drive decisions to change the business model.

Moderator:

Daniel Kinnaman, President & Publisher, District Administration Magazine

Panelists:

Anil Hemrajani, Chief Executive Officer & Founder, Big Universe Learning, Inc.

Mr. Edward Hopper, Senior Director, Business Development, Blackboard Inc.

Ms. Crystal Jones, Manager, Business & IT Markets, American Public University System

One-to-One Business Connections Meetings

SIIA's One-to-One Business Connections program facilitates pre-scheduled meetings between ed tech companies seeking revenue, distribution, and strategic partnership opportunities. Presenting companies gauge licensing and distribution opportunities for their products and services. Listening companies discover new products or companies with business models that fit their strategic relationship needs, and discuss content and technology licensing possibilities with potential partners.

Registration is required. Onsite requests to participate will not be accepted.

Sponsored by Educational Systemics

Networking Room

Visit this dedicated networking space to continue conversations and solidify business connections initiated earlier in the conference. Use this room to meet with potential business partners.

From Idea to Financing: Securing the Funding You Need to Grow Your Business

This session will help small to mid-sized companies understand how and where to get funding for their idea or product.  Discover  the different levels of financing and the key benchmarks required to secure funding. Learn where to find Angel, Venture and Private Equity investors, and how to speak with them and gain their interest.

Moderator:

George Cigale, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Tutor.com

Panelists:

Kevin Custer, Founding Principal, Arc Capital Development

Clement Erbmann, Managing Director, First Analysis Corp.

Donald Greenberg, COO & President, eGenio Education Solutions

From Print to Digital: Using Emerging Channels to Help Education Customers Make the Transition

As educational institutions continue to transition from print-to-digital, the ed tech market is rife with opportunity. But how can ed tech vendors harness the ongoing momentum around Cloud Computing, Personalized Learning and other strategic shifts? Find out how to reach customers using emerging channel models while protecting or enhancing your current channel, both domestically and internationally.

Moderator:

Neal Goff, President, Egremont Associates, LLC

Panelists:

Mark Hammer, VP, Digital Markets, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Isabella Hinds, Director, Digital Strategy and Products, CafeScribe

Randy Wilhelm, Chief Executive Officer, Knovation (formerly netTrekker)

From Planning to Spending: Investing Your Marketing and Sales Dollars Wisely

Where do you invest your time and dollars when trying to gain market traction? You have a limited budget and unlimited advice on how to spend it.  What parts of the elephant do you eat first and what do you save for last: out of conferences/trade shows, advertising, PR, sales channels,and others,   How do you scale up to get the benefits from the dollars spent? 

Moderator:

Joyce Whitby, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Headsprout Early Reading

Panelists:

Frank Catalano, Principal, Intrinsic Strategy

Paula Maylahn, Consultant, Paula Maylahn Consulting

From Print to Digital: Transforming Your Company to Help Employees Make the Transition

How do you transition your corporate culture, product, customers and channels to the digital age without having to start all over?  Digital can't be something new you do....it needs to be part of everything you do.  How do you get to that stage in your company?  Learn what it takes to become a digitally competent company.

Moderator:

Michael Johnson, President Chief Potential Officer, Full Potential Associates

Panelists:

Vineet Madan, Senior Vice President, New Ventures & Strategic Services, McGraw-Hill Education

Douglas Stein, Principal, MemeSpark LLC

Closing Keynote

Keynote:

Mr. Harold Levy, Managing Director, Palm Ventures

10th Anniversary Celebration and Closing Reception

Sponsored by Academic Business Advisors