NBIA's 20th International Conference on Business Incubation

Highlights & Activities

Sunday, April 30

"Meet Me in St. Louis" City Tour
Noon – 3 p.m.
During a guided tour of St. Louis, the Gateway to the American West, you’ll see the St. Louis Cathedral, historic neighborhoods and Forest Park, the site of the 1904 World’s Fair. Afterwards, the tour will stop at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, where you’ll tour the facility and meet the world-famous Clydesdale horses. Be sure to bring your appetite, as you’ll also have a chance to sample some tasty St. Louis treats.
Fee: $65 (includes bus transportation, guides and admission fees)

Networking Dinner
6 – 8 p.m.
Connect with colleagues from around the globe over drinks and dinner. With live jazz music in the background, this year’s networking dinner will help you get into the St. Louis groove while making new contacts, welcoming old friends and interacting with industry leaders.
Fee: $65 (Price includes dinner and two cocktails)

Opening Reception and NBIA Expo
8 – 10 p.m.
Help us officially kick off the 2006 Conference at the opening reception, where you can mingle with other attendees and enjoy an assortment of desserts. You’ll also have a chance to take in one of the conference’s newest features: the first-ever NBIA Expo. There, you can browse through exhibitor displays and chat with company representatives to learn about the latest products that can enhance your program.

Monday, May 1

Exhibitors Breakfast
7 – 9 a.m.
NBIA is committed to helping conference attendees improve their incubation programs, so we want to be sure you have time to learn about products and services that can help you do your job. Enjoy a good breakfast and take advantage of your last chance to see the exhibits. This breakfast also will kick off the first-ever NBIA silent auction, so don’t miss your chance to get a head start on the bidding.

Keynote Address: Maxine Clark
1:15 – 2 p.m.
As Founder and Chief Executive Bear of Build-a-Bear Workshop, Maxine Clark has been on a mission to infuse fun into the retail industry since she started the company in 1997. Clark was no stranger to the business world before striking out as an entrepreneur: She spent more than 19 years working for the May Department Stores Co. and served four years as president of Payless ShoeSource. Through these experiences, Clark developed keen insight into the minds of consumers and recognized that fun was lacking in the shopping experience. Her resulting vision for entertainment retail inspired the corporation that now has more than 200 stores in 10 countries.

Nidus Center Incubator Tour
4 – 6 p.m.
The Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise is located in a 40,000-square-foot building on the campus of Monsanto, a leader in agricultural biotechnology and the incubator’s sponsor. Don’t miss this chance to tour the architecturally acclaimed facility, which has 20 wet labs and is home to 10 companies, all of which are engaged in the business of life science. This event will include a self-guided tour of the Nidus building, followed by a reception at the state-of-the-art Danforth Plant Science Center, a nonprofit plant science research institute and Nidus partner.

Tuesday, May 2

Keynote Address: Fred Pryor
8 – 8:45 a.m.
When Fred Pryor started his seminar company in 1970, he became a pioneer in the fields of business education and professional development. Until then, business skills training was available only in specific locations at relatively high prices. Pryor, who had developed a reputation as a good speaker, recognized a need for local trainings that would be affordable to all business people. With an entrepreneurial mindset and a willingness to take a risk, Pryor turned this need into an opportunity and founded Fred Pryor Seminars. The company eventually grew to have 200 trainers teaching courses across the country with more than a million people attending seminars each year.

NBIA Awards Luncheon
Noon – 2 p.m.
Join NBIA in recognizing the industry’s top incubators, clients and graduates. Honorees have made significant contributions to their communities, their economies and their industries, demonstrating the tremendous impact business incubation can have.

International Reception: Missouri Botanical Garden
7 – 9 p.m.
Join colleagues for drinks and hors d’oeuvres at the Missouri Botanical Garden. You may choose to enjoy a view of the gardens from the ballroom where the reception is taking place, or you may venture outside to explore winding paths through the lush vegetation. This is your chance to stop and smell the flowers spending time with colleagues and friends.

Wednesday, May 3

Keynote Address: Lesa Mitchell
8 – 8:45 a.m.
Lesa Mitchell understands the intricacies of working with entrepreneurial innovations and technology transfer. For the last three years, she’s been vice president of advancing innovation for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. This philanthropic organization works with educators and researchers to create awareness of entrepreneurship’s powerful economic impact, to develop and disseminate programs that enhance entrepreneurial skills, and to improve the environment in which entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. In her role, Mitchell works on policies to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. Before joining Kauffman, Mitchell spent 20 years in the global pharmaceutical industry, where she led initiatives to shorten the cycle time to commercialization.

Tour of St. Louis Incubators
1:30 – 4:30 p.m.
After learning about business incubation best practices and the latest industry trends, you’ll have the opportunity to see three successful programs in action. These downtown incubators are all within five miles of conference headquarters, and buses will travel in a continuous loop among the facilities. You can travel at your own pace as you tour office and lab space, interact with incubator staff, and chat with clients.

The Center for Emerging Technologies is a technology incubator that currently serves nine start-up companies, most of which are the biotechnology or medical device industries. The facility consists of two buildings – one a renovated car manufacturing plant – with a total of 94,000 square feet of lab and office space.

Operated by the St. Louis County Economic Development Council, the St. Louis Enterprise Centers include four state-of-the-art mixed-use facilities totaling 110,000 square feet of office, warehouse and production space. This tour will take you to the Midtown facility, which can house up to 30 companies.

Located in a Federal Empowerment Zone, the Technology Entrepreneur Center focuses on information technology and telecommunications technology companies. TEC offers a world-class data center, back-up power and connectivity resources, furnished offices and flexible leases.

Fee: $38 The Incubator Tour is currently full. Registration for this event has been closed.