The Ozarks Small Business Incubator will host its seventh annual National Small Business Week celebration on May 12.
Current and aspiring entrepreneurs, business owners and community leaders will come together at the incubator and be inspired by the journey of successful entrepreneurs and network with other business owners during Entrepreneur Potential and Innovation Collaboration 22.
The public is invited and encouraged to attend this event.
Entrepreneur Potential and Innovation Collaboration 22 will feature keynote speaker Sarah Hill, CEO and Chief Storyteller at Healium, the world’s first biometrically-powered VR/AR immersive media channel controlled by the user’s brainwaves and heart rate via consumer wearables.
Hill is a former interactive TV news journalist for the NBC, ABC, & CBS affiliates in Missouri. She has also been featured by Google for pioneering a new interactive brand of news broadcasting, utilizing Google Hangouts to facilitate audience participation. She will be delivering a keynote speech titled “ Mental Fitness for Entrepreneurs in the Stress Olympics.”
“We’re excited to bring Sarah to OzSBI for EPIC 22,” Heather W. Fisher, OzSBI’s Executive Director, commented. “We know that she will be an incredible source of inspiration and energy for the business community.”
Attendees will also hear the journeys of three Ozark Innovators at a round-table discussion. This year’s featured innovators include Omar Galal of CarbonCycle in Mansfield; Bobby Walker of Devil’s Backbone Knives in Dora; and Jenny Long, Psy.D., L.D. of Midwest Counseling & Assessment in West Plains. Innovators will discuss what they faced when starting their own business, their rewards and pitfalls along the way and what it took to become a successful entrepreneur.
A Business Pitch Competition will be held after the round-table discussion.
Finalists from OzSBI’s preliminary pitch competition will present their business pitch to a panel of judges for a chance to win a first-place prize $1,000 cash, professional mentoring sessions and one year of coworking space at OzSBI. Fans of the popular television show Shark Tank will likely enjoy the Pitch Competition at Entrepreneur Potential and Innovation Collaboration 22.
OzSBI will also host a Mix & Mingle networking opportunity during the event.
Guests will be able to enjoy beverages and appetizers while networking with like minded entrepreneurs and business owners.
During the Mix & Mingle, attendees can also visit with local artist Karen Pitts, who currently has an exhibit featured in OzSBI as a part of a rotating art display. In addition to networking, attendees will be available to visit with different EPIC sponsors set up as vendors during this portion of the event.
Entrepreneur Potential and Innovation Collaboration 22 tickets can be purchased online at www.ozsbi.com/events/epic-22. For more information, visit OzSBI’s Facebook page or website at www.ozsbi.com, or call 417-256-9724.
