17th Annual MIT Venture Capital & Innovation Conference to dissect today's changing investment landscape in the emerging innovation economy

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Is VC in a bubble? With soaring valuations and big bets on disruptive technologies, who is poised to win in this red-hot market? How can investors navigate the emerging global innovation economy?

Answers to these questions and more take center stage at the 17^th Annual MIT Venture Capital & Innovation Conference, sponsored by Citi Ventures, being held on December 12, 2014 at Royale Boston. Last year, more than 300 venture capitalists, angel investors, industry professionals, academics and students attended the conference.

This year's conference format has been revamped to feature TED Talks-style keynotes and dynamic panels. The conference also features the highest ratio of female speakers in its seventeen-year history and the highest among any student-run investment conference.

Slated keynote speakers include:

• Dave McClure, Founder & Partner, 500 Startups
• Vanessa Colella, Managing Director and Global Head of Venture Investing, Citi Ventures
• Jeff Raider, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Harry's
• Chris Lynch, Partner, Atlas Ventures
• Jim Kim, Founding Member, Formation 8

The panels will discuss:

• Visas, Non-Competes, and Patent Trolls: Legal Limitations on Innovation
  The rapid growth of the innovation economy begs the question – how do the public and private sector work together to protect the rights of investors, entrepreneurs, and employees? This panel explores the legal issues limiting the speed and spread of new ideas.
• Mad Men to Math Men: The Evolution of Ad Tech
  Today's consumers have endless choices for content consumption through a plethora of channels and devices. The growth of online advertising has led to an explosion of innovative new technologies. Who is poised to capitalize on this growth?
• Alternative Sources of Funding: A Brave New World
  Between angel groups, new investment models, and crowdfunding platforms, start-ups have a multitude of new financing options available. This panel will explore alternative funding vehicles and the impact on the investment community and the entrepreneur.
• Everything is Connected: The Promise of the Internet of Things
  From the smart home to wearables, we live in a world where everything is increasingly connected. This panel will explore the future of the IoT, and the opportunities and challenges for investors, entrepreneurs, and consumers.

This year, the Conference also features a Startup Showcase and MIT Technology Happy Hour, sponsored by PayPal Startup Blueprint, focused on highlighting disruptive and exciting new ideas coming from the Boston entrepreneurial community and MIT Labs. Startups ranging from ideation phase to Series B will showcase their business ideas. In addition, academics from MIT's labs will be showcasing demos of exciting new technologies that are poised to disrupt an industry vertical.

For more information, please visit http://mitvcconference.com.

To register, please visit http://www.mitvcconference.com/buy-tickets/.

Follow the conference and join the conversation on Twitter @mitvcconference.

About the MIT Venture Capital & Innovation Conference:
The MIT Venture Capital & Innovation Conference brings together venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and students around fast-paced panels and hard-hitting keynotes dealing with the intersection of entrepreneurship and venture capital. In its 17^th year, the conference is focused on addressing challenges and opportunities faced by innovators and investors.

About our Sponsors:
Our headline sponsor, Citi Ventures is committed to driving innovation across Citi through three key activities – investing in startups, accelerating product roadmaps, and commercializing new technologies – with the goal of delivering next generation experiences to the bank's customers and transforming the future of financial services. The Startup Showcase host, PayPal and Braintree's Startup Blueprint, is a program that works with high growth startups worldwide by offering free processing and advice. They partner with VC's and Accelerators to offer startups financial benefits and help grow their business with one-on-one support and mentorship. Special thanks to complementary services provided by Guidebook.

For further information, contact:

Paul Denning
Director of Media Relations
617-253-0576
[email protected]

Patricia Favreau
Associate Director of Media Relations
617-253-3492
[email protected]

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SOURCE MIT Sloan School of Management

Related Links

http://www.mitsloan.mit.edu