After spending many years writing about Fortune 500 companies, Petzinger, author and 21-year veteran of The Wall Street Journal, discovered that the most important players in our economy are not industry giants but the entrepreneurs who are starting and running small businesses. Petzinger will share his insights about fundamental changes taking place in the workplace and the marketplace, trends for the future, and the role of business incubation in the 21st century economy at a keynote luncheon. Amazon.com rated his latest book,The New Pioneers: The Men and Women Who Are Transforming the Workplace and Marketplace, one of its top three best business books of 1999. Petzinger is a recipient of the Gerald Loeb Award for business and financial journalism, the highest award in his field. After his talk, Petzinger will sign copies of his book for attendees.

Sponsored by the Council of Smaller Enterprises(COSE).

Network and Take a Load Off, Cleveland Style

NBIA's 15th Anniversary Party

Join us for an NBIA take-over of the House that Rock Built and network like a Wild Thing. Meet colleagues and make important contacts in front of John Lennon's glasses, Jimi Hendrix's velvet patchwork jacket, or Janis Joplin's Porsche. This anniversary bash will be free for all conference attendees. Sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Major League Baseball

If you're arriving Friday, take yourself out to the ballpark for the American League Champion Indians vs. New York Yankees match. Chat with newfound colleagues over a 'dog and a brew at the new Jacobs Field. Tickets are limited and will be offered on a first come, first served basis, so register early! Ticket price: $19. Limited to two per registered attendee. Pick up your tickets between 5 and 7 p.m. at the third floor conference registration desk. If you arrive after 7 p.m., pick up your tickets at the hotel front desk. The stadium is within walking distance–simply take the walkway from Tower City Center to Jacobs Field.

University Circle and The Heights: A Tour of Cleveland

For a lovely introduction to our host city, sign up for this afternoon tour of an area once called the cultural center of Cleveland. University Circle and The Heights offer glimpses into the history and artistic splendor of the region. The first stop is Lake View Cemetery, a 285-acre outdoor museum and one of the most impressive horticultural spots of the region. A docent will guide you through the Garfield Monument–the sanctuary for the 20th President of the United States and his family–and the Wade Memorial Chapel with its Tiffany-designed Venetian glass mosaic. The tour continues on through Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights, neighborhoods renowned for some of the most opulent mansions and landscaping in the country. Along the route, a guide will tell the story of Cleveland and its industrial roots. At the final stop, the Cleveland Art Museum, you'll experience an art collection that is ranked among the best in the world, with its more than 30,000 works of art that represent more than 5,000 years of art history. You may also see the newly renovated Severance Hall, home of the renowned Cleveland Orchestra, and the Fine Arts Garden, a 15-acre public landscaped park.

Ticket price: $45 per person. Includes bus transportation, guides, and admission fees. Please register by April 11. Pick up your ticket at the third floor registration desk and meet your tour guide in the hotel lobby at 12:45 p.m. The bus departs the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel at 1 p.m. and returns at 5 p.m.

Networking Dinners

Make new contacts and pick up where you left off with friends before conference formally opens. At our networking dinners, we'll designate separate dining rooms based on four major program types: technology, mixed-use, for-profit, and revitalization.
Ticket price: $35 per attendee. Please designate program type on the registration form.

Host Incubator Reception and Tour Edison Technology Incubator and BioEnterprise

Visit two incubation programs that have helped make Cleveland one of the country's technology hot spots. First opened in 1986 with a mission to ignite entrepreneurial activity in the area, both programs combined have fostered the growth of more than 50 hi-tech companies that have created, among other innovations, the first artificial human chromosome, sensing devices for “smart” tires that warn drivers when pressure is too low, and medical devices that make surgery less invasive. As you tour this 1999 NBIA Incubator of the Year Award winner, enjoy a taste of Cleveland with dishes representing the cultural diversity of the city.

Edison Technology Incubator and BioEnterprise are part of Enterprise Development Inc., which also runs the Lewis Incubator for Technology (LIFT). If you are interested in visiting LIFT, join the extra-curricular Tour of Regional Incubators on Tuesday, May 23.

ETI and BioEnterprise Reception and Tour are free to conference attendees and registered guests. Attendees may begin boarding busses at 3:30 p.m. The last bus will leave the hotel at 4:15 p.m. The last bus will leave ETI and BioEnterprise at 5:30 p.m. Note that dinner is on your own tonight before the party at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum at 7:00 p.m.