TechPint founder Paul McAvinchey plans a day of learning, networking and partying at the first Industry Digital Summit.
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Paul McAvinchey, founder of TechPint, plans a grander muster of tech enthusiasts for an Industry Digital Summit on Sept. 5. CLEVELAND, Ohio --In a city where "industry" evokes images of smoky factories and rusty steel, Paul McAvinchey wants Clevelanders to envision a different working world. This one hums with precision machines, innovation and conversation.
To help animate that scene, McAvinchey, a catalyst for the new economy, is staging a conference aimed at promoting and celebrating digital innovation and entrepreneurship. The Industry Digital Summit is shaping into one of the most anticipated gatherings ever in Cleveland's tech community.
Scheduled for Sept. 5 in Midtown, the summit has attracted a pantheon of industry leaders, speakers like social media guru Amy Jo Martin, who in turn are drawing a wide audience. More than 500 people from several states are expected to descend on a day of workshops, an evening pig roast and a warehouse party.
McAvinchey, the product innovation manager for Cleveland-based MedCity Media, hopes the experience encourages more Clevelanders to think of work in a new way.
"Really, what we're saying is that industry is inside of us," he said in a brogue that reflects his native Ireland. "It's not about rust and steel. It's about what we can do with digital technology."
"We're intent on making it very informal and very fun," he added. "We know that a relaxed atmosphere helps people to do cool new things."
McAvinchey speaks from experience. He's the creator of TechPint, a popular series of networking receptions in the local tech community. Launched last June, TechPint attracted more than 400 people to its latest event at the Agora Ballroom.
He said the crowds and the collaboration he witnessed convinced him the region was ready for something bigger and more transformative. While talk of a Cleveland edition of South by Southwest may be overly optimistic, observers note that McAvinchey has a record of success at social engineering.
Some say his latest venture, aimed at changing a region's mindset, is his most important yet.
"The Rust Belt is not just a geography, it's a mentality," said Jennifer Thomas, an innovation consultant in Cleveland and Akron and the principal of Jennifer Thomas Advisors.
By bringing together company founders, investors and technology innovators, she said, the summit will help illuminate the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship in the Midwest.
Capital is in short supply, she said, but talent and enthusiasm are working wonders.
"Despite the odds, we see the strides," she said. "Founders are slogging through and making it happen."
One of the young change agents is John Gadd, who two years ago took over a Cleveland printing company and made it a technology company that prints. HotCards is hosting the summit at its cavernous offices in a former warehouse at 2400 Superior Avenue in Midtown.
Gadd thinks epic tech summits are the kind of attention-getters Cleveland needs to attract more talent and stoke more business.
"We need to take the conversation away from keeping people to drawing people," he said. "People are excited to be here. My friends and I, we don't even think of leaving. How can we draw new people here?"
Conferences with the feel of a happening, like Big Omaha, have the power to wrest attention to unlikely places, he said.
"I think the more we can show the world, 'Hey, this is what we're doing in Cleveland,' the more the world is going to want to be a part of that," Gadd said.
Registration opens at 8 a.m. September 5 and workshops begin at 9 a.m. Speakers include Akron native Ian Sigalow of Greycroft Partners, a leading New York City venture capital firm, and Bob Moesta, whose expertise in the Jobs to be Done method of product improvement makes him a sought after mentor of entrepreneurs.
Twenty young companies will showcase their services and products in a Product Demo Pit.
In another pit, pigs will turn on spits. A BBQ-happy hour in the HotCards parking lot begins at 6 p.m. It's to be followed by Reboot, an open-to-the-public party with live music.
Admission to the summit is $200 but allowances are being made for startup enthusiasts on a Ramen noodles budget. A "Broke Founder Deal" allows struggling entrepreneurs to participate at fees starting at $50.
For more information and to buy tickets, go to indsum.com.