Huge entrepreneurship gathering happening in The Magic City right now

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In Birmingham, hundreds of people who spend their days focused on entrepreneurship and small business development are descending on The Magic City for “Forging the Future Together.”

UAB is the Host Academic Sponsor of this annual conference of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). They are joined by an impressive list of sponsors and supporters, including Regions Bank and Innovate Alabama.

Keep reading to learn all about the conference and why it matters to Birmingham and beyond.

But first, why did USASBE choose Birmingham?

Curious about what made these folks want to come to our fair city, we asked Julienne Shields, President of USASBE:

“USASBE chose Birmingham because it is having its next entrepreneurial revolution. It has a rich history of innovation and entrepreneurship since its inception, and is now leading the region along with Huntsville and Tuscaloosa.”  

Forging the Future Together: know before you go

The conference takes place near Uptown (USASBE)

Participants can attend the conference either in person or virtually.

• What: An opportunity to share tools, technologies and talents while building community and forging the future of the entrepreneurship development field.
• Theme: Forging the Future Together
• When: January 10-14, 2024
• Where: Sheraton Birmingham Hotel, Westin Hotel + BJCC, with learning journeys farther afield
• Cost: Events range from free to $995 for the Champion Ticket
• Register to attend

Regions is proud to support Forging the Future.

Six Alabama universities are core sponsors of the event, including:

• UAB, J. Frank Barefield, Jr. Entrepreneurship Program | Dr. Patrick Murphy
• Alabama Entrepreneurship Institute, The University of Alabama | Dr. Theresa Wellbourne
• Auburn University | Dr. Franz Lorhke, Lou Bifano
• The University of Alabama in Huntsville | Dr. Jason Greene
• Samford University | Dr Chad Carson, Dr. Matthew Mazzei
• Birmingham-Southern College | President Daniel Coleman + Sara Robicheaux

What to expect: highlights

Dr. Patrick Murphy of UAB’s Barefield Entrepreneurship Program shared highlights of what participants can experience while they are in town.

Wednesday, January 10: pre-conference activities

• Seven learning journeys—including a Porsche Driving Experience at Barber Motorsports; a focus on Civil Rights in downtown, Birmingham; Name Image Likeness at The University of Alabama; and Space and Tech Entrepreneurship hosted by the University of Alabama in Huntsville—allow participants to explore the state.
• Networking event at Innovation Depot from 4-6PM.
• 2023-24 Innovate Alabama Entrepreneurship Hackathon: The Entrepreneurial Exchange Roundtable at the BJCC at 6PM, where teams of aspiring entrepreneurs from universities across the state pitch to judges from Alabama and around the country on the theme of rural entrepreneurship. All are welcome. Register now.

Thursday, January 11: Day one

This is the day the standard academic/professional conference kicks off full-speed, featuring:

• Panel discussions
• Plenary sessions at lunch + breakfast
• Breakout sessions

Friday, January 12: Day two

In addition to other events that day, Dr. Murphy will moderate a lunchtime plenary on the theme of culture and community as it relates to building Birmingham’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Featured speakers at the lunchtime plenary include:

• Alycia Levels Moore, Founder of POLARIS BHM and CEO of ASL Creative
• Jennifer Traywick Carlson, Founder/CEO of Real & Rosemary
• Je`gil Dugger, Founder/CEO of Pye

Saturday, January 13: Day three

After a full three days of conference programming, participants can let their hair down Saturday evening.

An Enchanted Alabama Evening is the theme of the Gala, which is sponsored by the Alabama Entrepreneurship Institute at The University of Alabama. It’s from 6:30-8:30PM in the BJCC Ballroom.

Sunday, January 14: Final day

Participants will close out the weekend with Sunday morning programming—featuring research sharing—before heading home.

Why USASBE’s Forging the Future conference matters

At one level, the conference gives the host organizations and sponsors a chance to showcase some of the best of what Birmingham—and the state—has to offer in terms of its excellence and best practices in entrepreneurship education.

“By bringing people together, there are all the benefits great networking and exposure can bring. This will translate into a lot of positive impact for Alabama because we have people coming in from across the state to participate.”

Dr. Patrick Murphy, Goodrich Chair + Professor, UAB’s J. Frank Barefield Entrepreneurship Program

Participants will be coming in from across the globe

On that note, we spoke with Floresha Watkins, with Regions, to find out what the conference means to the company, and why it chose to support university attendees:

“At Regions, we believe small businesses are—and will continue to be—the lifeblood of any community.

To help advance entrepreneurship education possibilities among our university partners, we provided grants to faculty or support staff from several schools across our footprint to attend this world-renowned conference.

By providing this access today, we will help more entrepreneurs of the future succeed and grow their businesses.”

Floresha Watkins, Community Relations Officer, Regions Bank

There’s still time to participate in Forging the Future Together—register now.

Regions is happy to be one of the organizations bringing USASBE—and university participants—to Alabama.

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