Innovate New Albany

Welcome to “Finance City”: A Real Nice Place for Decision-Making
2025-07-09 11:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
NEW! Early Start Time for EXTRA connecting opportunities.
Feel free to arrive as early as 11:00 am.
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Tom Rutledge, and your fellow participants.
Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
In this TIGER Talk, Tom Rutledge – a 30-year veteran of the institutional debt markets on Wall Street and active advisor/investor to start-ups – will discuss the value of using decision-making tactics borrowed from the financial markets. He will cover:

The mindset and thought processes that result from years of analyzing and structuring investment products (a.k.a. “Finance City.”)

A handful of basic tactics that can be applied to a wide range of decision-making challenges, including some problems far beyond the city limits of the investment world

Examples of how to financialize career decisions, household decisions, business decisions outside of finance, and how financialization can spur innovation in a host of other industries.

Trends in financial deal-making that are emerging from today’s headlines, such as opinion polling, digital currencies, increasing energy demand, retirement savings, and multiple applications of AI.

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Tom Rutledge‘s Wall Street career spans thirty years of debt markets roles at Merrill Lynch, Deutschebank, and JP Morgan, as well private credit fund management at Magnetar Capital and his current position on the Executive Committee at Jade Mountain Partners. He has also been an active angel investor, with a portfolio of investments that includes two Columbus-based companies: HonestJobs and Aunt Flow.
At Magnetar, Tom authored a whitepaper examining how the interaction between start-ups and the private credit industry has become an engine for innovation: Assets as a Service: Credit Investors and the Tech Economy.
Tom grew up in Clintonville, graduated from Whetstone High School, earned his BA at Amherst College and his MBA at MIT. He was also board chair of charity evaluator GiveWell.org from its early years in 2008. Finally, he was a one-day champion on the TV show Jeopardy!.
Tom currently lives in Boston, but frequently returns home to visit Columbus.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing.
11:30 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Tom
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

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Our Business World - Driven by Fear? A frank talk about channeling our emotions in business.
2025-07-25 11:00 - 13:00 | OH
JOIN US …
… on the 10th anniversary of the 1st-ever TIGER Event.
Festivities will include prizes & giveaways.
Doors open at 11:00 am.
Come early & interact with our featured speaker, Hugh Cathey, and your fellow participants.
Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
In this TIGER Talk, accomplished business leader Hugh Cathey will discuss:

Why fear exists in our work lives.
What does fear look like?
Controlling that fear.
Using fear to guide you?
Do you ever lose that sense of fear?

Don’t miss this fresh take on a topic that many business leaders prefer to ignore but would do well to confront and learn how to control.
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A serial entrepreneur, Hugh Cathey has just embarked on his 10th early-stage company. From his early career in a family business to working for a Fortune 20 company, to going back into the start-up arena, Hugh has experienced some wins, and a number of losses.
After leaving AT&T, and going through several start-ups on the West Coast, Hugh moved to Columbus in 1996 to start a tech company financed by a single high net worth investor.
After going through an IPO in 1997, he was president of the launch team of another highly-financed company that fell apart during the ‘dot-com bubble burst’ of the early 2000’s.
This was followed by a series of tech company start-ups that met with some success and some real challenges. Along the way some lessons were learned that may be helpful to others.
Today, Hugh is CEO of a health-tech company based in Columbus.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Social Time
11:30 am – Lunch & More Social Time
11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (Your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Hugh
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Social Time

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

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Unleashing the Power of Generative AI: Navigating the Future of Work - 2025 Edition
2025-08-01 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 8/1/25, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Christopher Slee, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
“Unleashing the Power of Generative AI: Navigating the Future of Work” is a concise yet insightful talk that demystifies generative AI for a diverse audience.
Chris originally created and delivered this popular presentation in 2024. And now he’s significantly updated and enhanced what he’ll be sharing to reflect the dramatic advances over the past 18 months in AI tech and how it’s being applied.
Come explore the transformation of AI from simple tools to systems capable of learning and creating like humans.
Discover the importance of “prompt engineering” and “workflow engineering” as essential skills for harnessing AI’s potential. Envision a future where multiple AI models collaborate to enhance decision-making and problem-solving.
Join us for this mind-expanding TIGER Talk to unlock the power of generative AI and prepare for a thriving future of work in the age of AI.
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From our featured speaker, Christopher Slee:
Hi I’m Chris, the Principal Technologist at Transform Labs (formerly AWH) and the CTO of IncludeHealth, a healthcare start-up changing the face of Virtual Physical Therapy.
When I speak about technology, I like to keep it accurate and relatable. I share stories and insights that matter to tech enthusiasts and anyone interested in how technology intersects with our daily lives and work. It’s about making sense of tech and making it understandable.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:30 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Chris
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

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Growing Pains: How Growth Can Break Your Business
2025-08-22 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Rob Young, and your fellow participants.
Doors open at 11:00 am.
Come early & interact with our featured speaker, Rob Young, and your fellow participants.
Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
Most business advice glamorizes growth and suggests that it should be one of a business’s top priorities. While growth can be great, it has a dark side. Growth will amplify and exploit weakness in a business. Without a solid foundation, a business can crumble under the weight of growth.
In this TIGER Talk, we will explore the dangers of growth, consider practices to manage it, and discuss easy-to-implement tools you can use to ensure that your company is a growth-ready business.
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Rob Young is a former executive who never planned to have a business career. He spent two decades in senior leadership roles in companies ranging from a VC-backed startup to a global corporation.
Having burned out on corporate life, Rob traded his briefcase for a tool belt and spent five years renovating historic houses. Days spent doing hands-on construction side by side with talented craftspeople were some of his most enjoyable.
It was during this time that Rob recognized a consistent pattern: the business owners he worked with had never been trained to run a business and struggled to navigate growth. After watching several businesses fail, he founded Stage 3 Group, a consulting firm dedicated to helping business owners navigate the challenges of growth with clarity and confidence through simple tools, practices, and rhythms.
Rob is the author of Stage 3 Success, a practical guide for owners of growing businesses who want to scale without losing control.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:30 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Chris
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

From Prompts to Partners: How AI Is Changing the Way We Work and Think
2025-09-12 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Kristy Wedel, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive early. Doors open at 11:00 am.
Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
AI adoption isn’t about chasing the latest model or expecting instant transformation from a single tool. As AI evolves, the real shift is happening beneath the surface in how we think, decide, and work together. The question isn’t just what AI can do, but how we adapt our processes.
This TIGER Talk will explore how to move beyond early experimentation by rethinking how decisions are made, how insight is shared, and how real value is created. It highlights common pitfalls like strategic drift and pilot purgatory, and offers practical ways to design AI workflows that prioritize clarity over speed.
Whether you’re leading a team or just beginning to explore AI in your day-to-day life, you’ll leave with a clearer understanding of how to use it more thoughtfully and effectively.
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Kristy Wedel, Founder of ReMemora, has over 15 years of experience in developing and democratizing analytics solutions that drive transparency and efficiency across various industries including healthcare, banking and government.
At the forefront of AI adoption and instructional design, Kristy’s strategic acumen ensures that AI is leveraged effectively and responsibly. She is a staunch advocate for robust AI governance. Kristy is a member of the Women in Analytics (WIA) team, and is also a doctoral student at Franklin University in the Doctor of Business Administration program.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.

Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:30 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Kristy
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

Sales Versus Growth - Why They’re Different and What’s Needed To Achieve Both
2025-09-26 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
NEW! Early Start – Extra Time for Connecting. Arrive as early as 11:00 am.
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Dana Allender, and your fellow participants.
Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
Join us for this TIGER Talk by Dana Allender.
While “sales” often focuses on short-term wins — generating leads, closing deals and meeting quotas — “growth” requires a deeper, systemic approach that aligns your entire business including sales, marketing. product/service delivery, customer success and, most importantly, executive leadership.
Sales is the key ingredient in growth! However, true growth is not just about increasing revenue but having the right people doing the right things across the organization. By understanding the difference between “driving sales” and “achieving growth”, leaders can focus on stage-appropriate actions and strategies to transform their businesses, wherever they might be in their journey!
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Dana Allender is Founder of SUN (as in, “Here Comes The Sun” by The Beatles), a firm he created to help companies sell their “stuff” and grow their businesses with a “customer first” approach.
Dana’s interest in this came from his own early sales experiences, needing to “build the airplane while flying it” like many founders, business owners and sales leaders do – with the urgency to generate sales today while still learning what works (and what doesn’t) to generate repeatable, scalable revenue tomorrow.
As a proud member of Sandler Sales President’s Club, he’s been “classically trained”. With that, he’s also found from speaking with hundreds of founders, business owners and sales leaders that training and creating “off the shelf” playbooks isn’t enough. Learning and growth happens in actual “customer conversations” while having someone you trust (and who’s done it) working alongside you to make it happen – achieving impactful results faster.
In addition to his years of B2B enterprise sales experience, he’s served in the roles of mentor, advisor and Entrepreneur-In-Residence for organizations such as JumpStart/JumpStart Ventures, Youngstown Business Incubator, Alloy Development’s OhioXcelerate, University of Akron Resource Foundation ICorps, Rev1 Ventures, and RevTech Labs Fintech and Insurtech Accelerator, MAGNET and Bounce Innovation Hub. Memberships include the Angel Capital Association, Ohio Angel Collective, and OhioX while also receiving investing certification through VC University. He‘s also worked with economic development partners including Greater Cleveland Partnership, Team NEO, and JobsOhio to drive innovation in the region.
Dana lives in Rocky River, just outside of Cleveland, Ohio with his family and dogs (Lance and Loki, yes, Loki from the Marvel collection!). His coaching doesn’t end with sales, as he coaches kids’ travel basketball as well. He’s also learning (still) to play the guitar, which you can see prominently displayed behind him during a zoom call and is happy to karaoke anytime – just ask!
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing.
11:30 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Dana
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

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Market Validation & Customer Feedback
2025-10-03 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
NEW! Early Start Time. EXTRA connecting. opportunities. Arrive as early as 11:00 am.
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Matt Cynkar, and your fellow participants.
Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
Join us for this TIGER Talk by Matt Cynkar of Rev1 Ventures.
As a start, you’ll learn why Rev1 collects feedback from target users and other target stakeholders. You’ll also see how the Rev1 team helps entrepreneurs use data collected to determine whether or not to pursue a new business idea.
And specifically, you’ll learn:

How to identify the pieces and parts of collecting feedback (target audience, qualitative vs. quantitative, etc.), and an ‘MVP’ (Minimum Viable Product) format.
How to analyze and interpret feedback.
A process that will serve you well for the rest of your career as an entrepreneur.

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With 15 years’ experience in market research and data analysis, Matt Cynkar leads a team focused on applying market intelligence and analytics to accelerate Rev1 Ventures‘ growth strategy. From owning the integrity of Rev1’s internal data, to producing analyses related to specific industries, the team’s work will be an important driver of business insights and strategic guidance.
Matt brings a strong understanding of research methodology and is a proven leader in project management and planning. He identifies and targets the appropriate data sources—both qualitative and quantitative—to support the needs of the entrepreneurs we serve and the portfolio companies they are working to scale. Matt furthers Rev1’s data-driven approach to expand our industry leadership in the region, the state, and beyond.
Matt has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Marketing from Miami University. He enjoys sports and is always up for an adventure, which, with two young sons, is his daily norm.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing.
11:30 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Matt
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

Lead the AI Charge: Building Trust, Ethics, and Strategy for Small Business Success
2025-10-10 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 10/10/25, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Ray Waite, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how small businesses operate, compete, and grow. While AI tools are being adopted at increasing rates, many organizations are doing so without clear direction, ethical guardrails, or leadership oversight.
This TIGER Talk will be a call to action for business leaders to step forward and guide AI integration with purpose. We’ll explore the five core principles that build trust in AI systems, and why these values must be embedded from the top down.
Participants will leave with practical tools to lead confidently, including an AI readiness assessment and a starter plan tailored for small business environments. You’ll gain clarity on your leadership role in governance, risk management, and shaping a culture of responsible innovation.
The time to lead is now! This talk will give you the roadmap to do it with confidence, integrity, and vision.
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Our speaker, Ray Waite, is a futurist, passionate about helping individuals, entrepreneurs, and organizations understand and develop the skills necessary to survive and thrive in the emerging turbulent marketplace. He is the founder of Lighthouse Force (lighthouseforce.com), dedicated to leading businesses in the areas of innovation, artificial intelligence, design thinking, critical thinking and transformation management.
Ray loves taking the complex and explaining it in a practical way that can be easily applied. He brings a valuable blend of corporate and academia experience to his facilitated workshops, keynote speeches and consulting, with over 25 years as senior manager in the business commerce, telecom and banking industries at Citizen’s Bank, IBM, Lucent Technologies, and AT&T Bell Laboratories, and over 15 years as a university instructor. Ray’s talks are fun, informative, and full of audience participation.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Event Schedule:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:30 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Ray
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

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The State of Venture in Ohio® - 2025
2025-10-17 11:00 - 13:15 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 10/17/25, 11:00 am – 1:15 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Lindsay Karas Stencel, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
This is the 2025 edition of Lindsay Karas Stencel’s annual talk on The State of Venture in Ohio ®.
For the 8th year in a row, Lindsay will walk attendees through the status of VC funding in Ohio, discussing new venture fund formation, large exits, and investments and places where the state can continue to develop and grow. She will weave in some pop culture references, leave plenty of time for Q&A, and definitely keep the FUN in FUND.
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Lindsay Karas Stencel is a Partner in the New Ventures practice at the law firm of Thompson Hine and chairs the firm’s fund formation subgroup. She advises entrepreneurs, investors and fund managers on venture capital and startup matters, venture capital fund formation, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, federal and state securities filings and compliance, including public and private securities offerings, and corporate organization and governance matters.
Prior to joining Thompson Hine, Lindsay served as a Partner and Chief Legal Counsel at a Midwest-focused venture capital firm that invests in pre-seed, seed early stage and growth stage technology companies serving several industries. There, her efforts primarily focused on deal structuring, portfolio management, limited partner relations, fundraising and exit transactions.
Simultaneously, she ran her own private practice representing emerging and diverse venture fund managers across the country, startup clients and founders, investors, and small businesses, assisting with venture fund formation and strategy, strategic deal formation, unique deal structuring and other corporate legal matters.
She also acquired significant experience while serving as Chief Operating Officer and Fund Manager, and subsequently Chief Investment Officer, Chief Legal Officer, and Managing Partner for a venture development organization in upstate New York, where she led that firm to have one of the most active seed funds in the country and spearheaded the formation and development of the largest seed fund in the history of the area.
Lindsay’s unique blend of legal, fundraising and operational experience as a founder and venture capitalist provides her with the ability to acutely understand the issues facing her venture and startup clients. She understands firsthand the matters most important to her clients and can creatively solve problems and efficiently design solutions to rapidly close transactions for investors and entrepreneurs alike.
Lindsay teaches “Venture Capital and Dealmaking” at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where she also frequently guest lectures on contract drafting and preferred securities issuances. Lindsay is a national speaker on topics of women and diversity and inclusion in finance, venture capital, venture capital deal structuring and startup investing.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Event Schedule:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing – Please come early; we expect a large crowd for this popular annual event.
11:30 am – Lunch & More Socializing
WE EXPECT A CROWD OF 100, so we’ll be taking a week off from our usual “15 Seconds of Fame” introductions.
12:00 pm SHARP – Hand-off to Lindsay
1:15 pm – Wrap & Even More Socializing (Given strong interest in our speaker & topic, we’ve run past 1:00 pm each of the past few years. We’re anticipating our crowd will want us to allow that again.)

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

The Founders’ Firewall: Building Cybersecurity into Your Startup
2025-11-14 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 11/14/25, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Warner Moore, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
Seasoned cybersecurity expert Warner Moore, Founder of Gamma Force, will lead this TIGER Talk, sharing his insights on the challenges and strategies that startups face in cybersecurity today.
In an increasingly digital world, cybersecurity is no longer a luxury reserved for large enterprises. For startups, securing your business, data, and customer trust is critical from day one. This event, tailored for founders, will provide essential insights into safeguarding your startup from cyber threats, building a security-first culture, and understanding the key cybersecurity steps every founder should take.
Target Audience:
● Founders and Co-founders of tech startups
● Early-stage entrepreneurs looking to strengthen their cybersecurity knowledge
● Startup leaders interested in protecting their business and data from cyber threats
Key Takeaways:
● The fundamental steps to secure your startup from day one
● The legal and financial implications of neglecting cybersecurity
● Practical insights into affordable and effective cybersecurity tools and strategies
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Warner Moore is a strategic executive leader with deep and broad experience in technology and information security. Through most of his career, Warner has worked with entrepreneurial growth organizations where technology is their business and their product. Within these organizations, Warner has an accomplished record of building successful cybersecurity programs and high performing teams who embrace DevOps culture and practices.
As an international speaker, Warner has presented to university students, technology professionals, and business leaders including at conferences like Startup Week, CloudDevelop, Path to Agility, InfoSec Summit, CodeMash, Security BSides, DevOpsDays, and Abstractions. Warner is passionate about culture, innovation, and community. His commitment to these values is demonstrated through his work leading organizations such as Ohio LinuxFest, LOPSA, and Toastmasters, of which he is currently District 40 Division B Director.
The culmination of this work was the founding of Tech Community Coalition in 2016, a non-profit organization whose mission is to enable the greater tech community.
After building security and privacy capabilities for numerous organizations across industries at companies such as CoverMyMeds and Bold Penguin, Warner founded the cybersecurity strategy firmGamma Force. Through Gamma Force, Warner serves as a virtual CISO for clients that include Deep Lens and Smart Columbus and advises startups to help them them through concept and growth phases.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Event Schedule:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:30 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Warner
1:00 pm – Wrap & Even More Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

AI and The Future of Programming - 2025 Edition
2025-11-19 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH 43054
Wednesday 11/19/25, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Chris Slee, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
AI coding tools have gone from “interesting demos” to actually useful in the past year. But this isn’t just about new frameworks. It’s about a fundamental shift in how software gets built and who can build it.
In this TIGER Talk, tech leader Christopher Slee will explore what AI can actually do for developers right now, the new agentic frameworks being used in production, and why the craft of software development has genuinely changed—not in some distant future, but today.
This isn’t hype—it’s a clear-eyed look at what works, what doesn’t, and what it means for how you build products.
You’ll leave with:

An understanding of what AI can actually do for you right now (and what it’s still really bad at)
A realistic view of whether you need a full dev team or can build your MVP yourself
Insight into how development workflows are changing in practice

If you’re a founder trying to figure out how much you can reasonably do yourself, a developer curious about these tools, or someone tired of “vibe programming” your ideas into existence and want to know what’s actually possible—this talk is for you.
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From our featured speaker, Christopher Slee:
Hi I’m Chris, the Principal Technologist at Transform Labs (formerly AWH) and the CTO of IncludeHealth, a healthcare start-up changing the face of Virtual Physical Therapy.
When I speak about technology, I like to keep it accurate and relatable. I share stories and insights that matter to tech enthusiasts and anyone interested in how technology intersects with our daily lives and work. It’s about making sense of tech and making it understandable.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:30 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Chris
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

Trust by Design: The Leadership Blueprint for High-Performance Teams
2025-12-12 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 12/12/25, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Dr. Kallol Biswas, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
When teams lose momentum, most leaders add more process. But performance rarely breaks because of system …. it breaks because of trust.
In this TIGER Talk, Dr. Kallol Biswas reveals why trust is the hidden design variable behind every high-performing culture. Through real stories from the FDA, biotech, and the boardroom, Kallol will show how to make trust measurable and actionable using the ALIGN™ Framework. Align is a practical model for diagnosing misalignment and rebuilding belief.
Attendees will leave with clear strategies and one practical action they can apply immediately to restore alignment, connection, and performance within their teams.
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Dr. Kallol Biswas is a scientist turned executive with over 20 years leading scientific, regulatory, and innovation teams. Kallol helps organizations rebuild alignment, trust, and execution. Over a 20+ year career spanning Eli Lilly, FDA, Charles River Laboratories, and NAMSA, he has led global teams and driven performance through people-first leadership and scientific rigor.
Known for his engaging “Bill Nye meets Simon Sinek” style, Kallol blends data-driven insight with human-centered leadership to inspire practical change.
Kallol’s work bridges science, people, and performance, helping leaders move from misalignment to momentum.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:30 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Kallol
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

INVINCIBLE 2026: Three Shifts You Can’t Afford to Ignore
2026-01-16 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
Our 1st TIGER Talk of 2026
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 1/16/26, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
Ready to make 2026 your most strategic year yet?
Join Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva for this TIGER Talk, a fast-paced, highly interactive briefing on the trends redefining how we live, work, and grow.
Building on insights from a turbulent 2025, Nadya will reveal:
– What’s truly driving the shifts ahead
– What last year taught us about resilience and reinvention
– How to stay disruption-ready in 2026
– The three trends every leader needs to master — now
If you’ve joined Nadya’s past TIGER Talks, you know: this session is engaging, practical, deeply researched — and one you don’t want to miss.
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Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva is the founder and Chief Reinvention Officer of the Reinvention Academy and co-founder of the Reinvention Summit.
Known as “The Reinvention Guru,” Dr. Nadya is a scientist, business theorist, fractional mining executive, serial entrepreneur, and award-winning author specializing in resilience and reinvention.
She has helped global leaders and Fortune 500 companies—including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Coca-Cola, IBM, Cisco, L’Oréal, Henkel, and Knauf Insulation—reinvent their business models, leadership, and culture.
A four-time TEDx speaker and author of The Chief Reinvention Officer Handbook: How to Thrive in Chaos, her work has reached over one million people and has been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes, where she is a regular contributor.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:15 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Dr. Nadya
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

The Founder’s Bottleneck: Why Growth Stalls When Everything Depends on You
2026-01-23 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 1/23/26, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Natalie Hoop, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
Every founder hits a point where growth slows, not because the market shrank, but because they became the system. When every decision, deal, or fire still runs through you, it’s not a revenue problem it’s an operational one.
This TIGER Talk will help founders recognize when their business is scaling them instead of scaling up and shows how to build the systems, roles, and rhythms that let the company grow beyond their personal capacity.
Key Takeaways:
The 3 early warning signs your business is scaling you instead of scaling up
How to separate people problems from process problems (and fix the right one first)
A 90-day playbook to reclaim time, margin, and momentum—without losing visibility or control
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Natalie Hoop is a Fractional Strategic Operations Partner who helps founders turn growth chaos into scalable systems. With 15+ years of experience leading operations, revenue, and delivery across SaaS, DTC, and manufacturing companies, she’s known for helping startups strengthen foundations, improve margins, and scale sustainably.
Her operational rebuilds have driven +238% sales growth in 30 days, +68-point margin gains in four months, and 3x team capacity improvements—by aligning people, process, and data into a clear, repeatable system.
Through her work with both early-stage and growth-stage founders, Natalie’s become an expert in diagnosing the hidden operational bottlenecks that stall revenue and burn out teams. She also coaches fractional leaders through The Fractional Launch Lab, helping them build businesses that last instead of just survive.
Natalie’s mission is simple: to help leaders stop being the system and start building one.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:30 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Natalie
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

The Accidental Marketer Discovers the Latest Generation of SEO
2026-01-30 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 1/30/26, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, James Brenza, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
Marketing SEO seemed straight forward – until AI “moved the cheese.”
The SEO game has been upended and continues to morph. Unfortunately, you can’t ignore the changes if you want your products or services to be discovered by your customers. Coming from the perspective of a business owner that is not a marketing expert, this TIGER Talk will focus on the difficult lessons learned while recalibrating marketing strategies to adapt to the shifting AI landscape.
This talk will help define some of the basics of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) marketing. We’ll then explore how AI has changed it to create GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization). We’ll also discuss some simple content changes you can make to your website now to help ensure you get the visibility you deserve. Lastly, we’ll explore other strategies to leap over the SEO/GEO/AEO challenges. While it may seem daunting, AI and automation will work in your favor to win the game.
Who is this session for?

Owners that are struggling with the shifting digital marketing landscape and are tired of losing traffic.
Non-marketing leaders that are confused by marketing TLA’s (Three Letter Acronyms) and how it impacts their business.
Leaders that may need to refine how they’re selecting marketing agencies to ensure they are focused on the latest marketing hotness.
Business owners that need to quickly adapt their marketing plans to remain relevant.

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Our speaker, James Brenza, is a serial entrepreneur after leaving a career in global Fortune 100 companies. While most of his career has been dedicated to optimizing IT and operations, his journey as an entrepreneur made him face into the headwinds of marketing. He leads both Greenest Grow (a grow automation platform) and Done With Pain (a pain management company).
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:30 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to James
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

Beyond Buzzwords: Making Innovation Work for You
2026-02-06 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100
New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 2/6/26, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Prasad Khadkikar, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
TIGER Talk description in the words of our speaker, Prasad:
“Innovation isn’t just about ideas; it involves understanding your risk appetite, developing strategic foresight, building your team, and collaborating across organizations to create value.
As I reflect on my innovation journey over 30+ years, I recognize several common themes that transcend product types, industries, and geographies. I will share a real-world success story to illustrate key insights that may help you innovate sustainably to grow your business.”
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With a Ph.D. in Engineering and an MBA, Prasad Khadkikar combines technical expertise with strategic insight, enabling him to lead global engineering teams and manage P&Ls across the US and Asia.
Prasad is deeply committed to people and product development, fostering collaboration, and connecting the dots to drive innovation for business success
As a business strategy advisor, Prasad views innovation not merely as a process but as a guiding philosophy—one rooted in strategic vision, team building, and the pursuit of meaningful growth.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:15 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:45 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Prasad
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

From Invisible to In-Demand: How Founders Actually Win on LinkedIn
2026-02-20 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100
New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 2/20/26, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Allison Ditmer, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
Most founders know LinkedIn “matters.” Very few know what actually moves the needle, especially when time, energy, and confidence are limited.
In this TIGER Talk, Allison Ditmer will break down how founders and business owners can use LinkedIn as a real business asset, not another platform that feels noisy, awkward, or overwhelming.
You’ll learn:

What your LinkedIn profile is signaling right now (and how to fix it fast)
How to balance personal content vs. company content without burning out
Why scores, metrics, and trends (like SSI) matter less than clarity
Simple content prompts you can use immediately…no “influencer energy” required

You’ll leave with clear priorities, practical examples, and a smarter way to show up on LinkedIn that actually supports your business growth.
If you’ve ever thought, “I know I should be doing more on LinkedIn, but I’m not sure what,” this session is for you.
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Allison Ditmer, MBA, is a graduate of Bowling Green State University, a content strategist, and a founder with 20 years of experience in digital marketing.
After leaving her corporate role at Abbott Nutrition, where she led marketing and ecommerce initiatives across the pediatric, therapeutic, and performance brands, Allison built her own content business from the ground up. For the past 3+ years, she has helped founders, fractional executives, and growing businesses turn LinkedIn into a platform for visibility, connection, and inbound opportunities.
Allison specializes in helping business owners clarify their message, show up with confidence, and create content that actually supports growth, without chasing trends or burning out.
She is also a member of the Denison Edge team, where she teaches college-level courses focused on digital marketing and content creation.
When she’s not working with clients or teaching, Allison can be found cuddling with her two mini-Yorkies, traveling to national parks, or cheering on her kids at travel sports games.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:15 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:45 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Allison
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

CES 2026: Life-Changing Gadgets vs. AI Robotics Hype
2026-02-25 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100
New Albany, OH 43054
Wednesday 2/25/26, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Brad Griffith, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
CES 2026 (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show) was the most exciting of these annual shows in years, but not for the reasons you might think.
While the world waited for AI robots to take over, our presenter, Brad Griffith, discovered practical, accessible tech that is ready to change your life and business today!
In this TIGER Talk, Brad will share photos from his 20th trip to CES in Las Vegas and provide live demos of the newest innovative gadgets he brought home with him.
This talk focuses on cutting-edge hardware and software that prioritizes real-world connection and efficiency over mere hype.
Join us to discover the tools that will shape your year and help you become a tech visionary at work and at home.
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Brad Griffith is a technology innovator and a champion for equitable opportunity. His life’s mission is to close equity gaps by creatively applying software and design.
Brad is the Founder and President of Buckeye Innovation, the web engineering and design team he started in 2009 to amplify the impact of innovative businesses and organizations. His team of 12 includes designers and developers who love building and supporting websites, web applications, and mobile applications.
Prior to starting Buckeye Innovation, Brad built web applications at JPMorgan Chase, QUALCOMM, and the Go Big Network. He earned his MBA and his BS in Engineering with honors from The Ohio State University. He lives in New Albany with his wife and two daughters where he is an active Girl Scouts “Troop Cookie Dad” in addition to other community volunteer roles.
Brad was selected in 2020 to the inaugural class of the Columbus CEO Future 50 and was also a finalist for the 2019 and 2023 Small Business Leader Awards from the Columbus Chamber of Commerce and won the award just recently – in January 2026. Buckeye Innovation was recognized in the 2022 and 2023 Inc 5000 as one of the country’s fastest-growing private companies and in 2023 was selected as one of Inc’s Best Workplaces.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:15 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:45 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (10 seconds please)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Brad
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

While AI Steals the Spotlight, Cyber Risk Keeps the Score
2026-02-27 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100
New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 2/27/26, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, J.R. Kunkle, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
AI has taken center stage in much of the tech and business worlds for the past 3 years. Let’s discuss the state of Cybersecurity now in the early part of 2026.
Computer Breaches and Incidents continue to increase by almost every metric according to Verizon and their annual Data Breach Incident Report (DBIR). We all play a part in reducing the chance of our data being compromised. Cyberattacks are enabled by every one of us. The reality is we’ll never “solve cybersecurity” until we bring everyday people into the solution.
Come to this TIGER Talk by JR Kunkle to learn the most reliable methods of protecting your business and personal information.
JR will cover:

What is Cybersecurity?
Is the Sky Falling? (how many Incidents, Breaches, and Ransoms happen annually)
Breach Facts/Industry Targets
What are the Regulations & Frameworks in cybersecurity?
What are Best Practices you can implement to protect your business and personal data

“Cybersecurity discipline is doing the boring things right—before they become expensive.” – attributed to John Dwyer, a prominent cybersecurity leader/researcher, currently serving as Head of Research at Binary Defense
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JR Kunkle works with small, medium, and large businesses to help them protect their information and understand their investment in Cybersecurity. He has 20+ years of in-depth IT experience, primarily in IT management, Project Management, Consulting, and IT Risk and Assurance. His current primary areas of focus are Cybersecurity and, of course, Artificial Intelligence (AI).
JR’s industry experience includes: Manufacturing, Retail, Industrials, Financials, Utilities, and Government. Recently, he’s been working with Healthcare, FinTech, and E-Commerce companies (cloud applications).
JR has a Masters Degree in MIS & Finance from the University of Dayton and a Bachelor Degree in Accounting and Economics from Wittenberg University. In addition, JR earned the Certified Information Systems Auditor (“CISA”) certification.
Passionate about life, business, and information technology. In his free time, he likes traveling with his son and coaching sports.
This will be JR’s 2nd TIGER Talk. His previous TIGER, on Ransomware, was presented in the fall of 2024. Access the slides from that talk HERE.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:15 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:45 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to JR
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

Avoid Overpaying for AI: How You Can Skip Expensive Vendors & Build Your Own AI Solutions
2026-03-04 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100
New Albany, OH 43054
Wednesday 3/4/26, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
In the current market, entrepreneurs and leaders of small to mid-sized businesses must use AI to compete with industry giants.
Yet renting generic, costly SaaS solutions can drains crucial cash flow and offer zero competitive differentiation. These expensive “black box” tools frequently fail because they force small, agile teams to change their specific, proven workflows, leading to frustration, internal resistance, and quick cancellation—a devastating blow to the bottom line.
Please join us for this TIGER Talk and learn how to stop financing giant vendors and start building lasting value.
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts, provides an essential blueprint for creating proprietary AI agents customized to your unique product, service, or niche.
You achieve this using accessible no-code and low-code platforms that your current non-technical employees master quickly. If your team can manage a spreadsheet, they can learn no-code AI tools.
You will walk away with a rapid deployment roadmap to replace crippling vendor contracts with AI tools that perfectly fit your operations. Crucially, you will learn the behavioral science strategies that turn your employees into AI creators and innovators, transforming staff anxiety into enthusiasm, and building a high-value, defensible competitive moat against larger rivals.
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Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, called the “Office Whisperer” by The New York Times, helps tech-forward leaders replace expensive vendors with staff-built AI solutions. He serves as the CEO of the future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts.
Dr. Gleb has written seven best-selling books. His forthcoming book with Georgetown University Press is The Psychology of Generative AI Adoption (2026).
Prior to that, he wrote ChatGPT for Leaders and Content Creators (2023). His cutting-edge thought leadership has been featured in over 650 articles in prominent venues such as Harvard Business Review, Fortune, and Fast Company.
Dr. Gleb’s expertise was built through over 20 years of consulting for Fortune 500 companies from Aflac to Xerox and over 15 years in academia as a behavioral scientist at UNC-Chapel Hill and The Ohio State University.
Dr. Gleb is a proud Ukrainian American. He lives in Columbus, Ohio.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:30 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Dr. Gleb
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

Cash Flow & Value Creation
2026-03-13 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100
New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 3/13/26, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Eric Rucinski, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
In this TIGER Talk, Eric Rucinski will lay out the inherent deficiencies in relying solely on accounting information, and the unique benefits of higher-powered financial analysis.
Going far beyond mere accounting (which is necessary, but not sufficient, for informed decision-making), Mr. Rucinski discusses cash flow and value creation in a comprehensive manner, synthesizing strategic, financial, and economic analyses and insights.
Mr. Rucinski uses easily-understood analogues (e.g., buying a house) to provide a powerful, memorable framework for thinking about and improving complex business decisions. Participants will leave with an enhanced understanding of cash flow, what drives it, why it is fundamental to value creation, and how it differs from often-used (but highly-flawed) metrics like EBITDA.
Participants will leave with a deeper appreciation for the importance and unique benefits of in-depth, fact-based financial analysis in making a wide range of high-dollar, high-impact, high-emotion decisions related to both their day-to-day operations and long-term term strategic objectives. Participants will be empowered to ask key questions of their employees and advisors that they previously never considered or knew how to articulate, resist the urge to accept superficial information and conclusions, and create and maintain a focus on value creation.
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Eric Rucinski is Founder and Principal of Advanta Consulting LLC, an independent consulting firm that focuses on strategy, corporate development, growth initiatives, M&A, financial modeling / valuation, investment decisions, capital structure, and special projects. He is a trusted senior adviser to top executives (including CEOs at public and private companies) and owners (including high-net-worth individuals and families).
His 25+ years of experience includes high-impact full-time strategy, corporate development, and M&A roles at The Wendy’s Company, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, Limited Brands, Borden Capital (private equity), and Salomon Smith Barney (Wall Street investment banking).
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:30 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Eric
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

Designing a Company for Success in the AI Era
2026-03-20 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100
New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 3/20/26, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Ryan Frederick, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
Join us for insights on achieving business success in the AI era – from one of our very popular and valued speakers over the past several years, Ryan Frederick.
Among the timely topics Ryan will cover:

What it means to be AI first
Why AI adoption is the wrong objective
Why humans are often the bottleneck (not the solution)
Winning when everyone else has the same AI

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Ryan Frederick is an AI advisor, investor, and national speaker who has shared his insights on artificial intelligence and its macro impacts at more than 50 conferences and events across the country in 2025 alone.
As Principal at Transform Labs, he helps organizations leverage AI, automation, and intelligent systems to drive efficiency, productivity, and growth. Ryan works closely with executives, founders, and boards to translate AI’s potential into practical strategy, bridging the gap between emerging technology and business transformation.
Through the AI Transform Fund, Ryan invests in category-defining AI companies reshaping industries and business models for the next decade.
Ryan’s unique vantage point advising clients implementing AI today while investing in the AI of tomorrow gives him a rare, pragmatic perspective on what’s working, what isn’t, and where opportunity truly lies.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:15 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:45 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (10 seconds please)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Ryan
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

Δ

Science and Storytelling: Turning Data and Evidence into Understanding and Belief
2026-03-27 11:00 - 13:00 | OH
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100
New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 3/27/26, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speakers, Andrew Summerfield & Laura Cree, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
Join Andrew Summerfield & Laura Cree for this important TIGER Talk.
You can change lives with science. But you change minds with story.
In science-based industries like biotech and medtech, data is essential, but it’s not enough. Whether you’re seeking investment, recruiting talent, entering the clinic, or bringing a product to market, you need more than mechanisms of action and proof points. You need a compelling narrative that makes people care.
This session explores the strategic role of narrative and visual storytelling in the life sciences. We’ll look at how stories shape perception, unlock understanding, and inspire belief. You’ll walk away with a clearer sense of why story matters in science, what it makes possible, and how to use it to amplify your impact at every stage of the innovation lifecycle.
Who It’s For:

Founders, CEOs, and CMOs in scientific, technology-based, or data-driven fields

Teams preparing to fundraise, launch, or enter a new market

Scientists and innovators looking to build belief around their work

Anyone who needs to explain complex science or technology to non-scientific audiences

Key Takeaways:

The neuroscience behind storytelling: what story does that data alone can’t

How visual and verbal storytelling work together to make complex science understandable, memorable, and credible

How to frame your science through story without losing rigor (or risking compliance)

The role of storytelling across the lifecycle, from pitch to product

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Andrew R. Summerfield is a brand strategist, creative director, and agency founder with more than 30 years of experience helping organizations clarify who they are and how they communicate. He is President and Creative Director of Summerfield Advertising and a Founding Partner of Genetica Creative, where he brings strategic brand clarity to biotech, medtech, and life sciences organizations by shaping how they define, position, and express their brands.
Shaped by a career in design and visual communication, Andrew brings a strategy-first, clarity-driven approach to branding and storytelling. He has worked with startups, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 companies at key moments such as fundraising, market entry, and product launch, helping teams frame and communicate their value, vision, and purpose. A graduate of the Columbus College of Art & Design, Andrew has been active in education and community service, including serving on the CCAD Board of Trustees. His work has earned national recognition, along with local recognition from Columbus Business First’s Forty Under 40 and 20 People to Know in Advertising & PR.
Laura Cree is a B2B writer and science storyteller with more than 30 years of cross-industry experience in marketing, content strategy, and communication. From the pharmaceutical and medical device industries to neurotechnology and public health, she brings technical subjects to life through white papers, case studies, blogs, lead-generation campaigns, and trade articles. At Genetica Creative, she partners with biotech, life sciences, and medtech organizations to translate complex science into clear, credible, and compelling narratives that support growth, adoption, and trust.
Grounded in a background in educational publishing and edtech, Laura brings a clarity-first, audience-centered approach to science communication. Over the past 15 years, she has focused her work on science- and technology-driven industries, helping organizations explain complex ideas without oversimplifying them. She combines strategic insight with deep respect for scientific rigor, supporting teams across the innovation lifecycle.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:15 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:45 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (10 seconds please)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Andrew & Laura
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

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Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

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The AI Symposium: The Path to Artificial General Intelligence
2026-04-24 10:45 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100
New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 4/24/26, 10:45 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, David Staley, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 10:45 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
What happens when artificial intelligence systems engage in dialogue? Join us for this TIGER Talk and find out!
This presentation by David J. Staley, PhD will report on a groundbreaking experiment: three Large Language Models (LLMs) brought together in conversation with David.
As the AI models interact with each other, they grapple with profound questions: What is insight? Can AI be creative? What constitutes consciousness? What role do assumptions play in cognition? What is responsibility? Drawing inspiration from ancient philosophical traditions, this experimental work pushes the boundaries of how we think about artificial intelligence.
Based on anthropologist David Graeber‘s observation that “real thought is almost entirely dialogic,” the presentation investigates whether LLMs in conversation with each other can achieve “dialogic artificial intelligence,” a path to artificial general intelligence.
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David J. Staley is a writer, designer, futurist, historian, presenter, educator, advisor, public intellectual, and has been described as an “avant garde scholar” and “eclectic academic.”
He is an Associate Professor in the departments of History and Design at The Ohio State University.
David is the author of several books, including:

The AI Symposium
Alternative Universities: Speculative Design for Innovation in Higher Education
Knowledge Towns: Colleges and Universities as Talent Magnets
Anticipatory Biographies: Personal Histories of the Future
Visionary Histories, a collection of his essays about the future

David is the host of the “Voices of Excellence” podcast, and president of Columbus Futurists, a local think tank. In 2022 he was awarded “Best Freelance Writer” by the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists for his “Next” futures column with Columbus Underground.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
10:45 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:15 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:45 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (10 seconds please)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to David
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

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Beyond the Transaction: Using Web3 to Convert Customers to Stakeholders
2026-05-01 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100
New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 5/1/26, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Shaun Pannell, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
Learn how Web3 technologies can help brands move beyond a transactional mindset to a relationship-centric approach.
Discover strategies to transform passive consumers into a collaborative community of stakeholders.
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Our TIGER Talk presenter, Shaun Pannell, is an experienced marketing and business development professional at an Am Law 200 corporate law firm.
Shaun is adept at leveraging digital marketing techniques, data analytics and data visualization to drive tangible business growth. He is also passionate about exploring emerging technologies and their potential impact across various sectors.
Shaun’s commitment to making a meaningful difference extends beyond his professional roles. He serves on the board of directors for HERO USA, Inc. and Conscious Capitalism Columbus. HERO USA helps disadvantaged youth to experience outdoor recreational and adventure sports. Conscious Capitalism champions the adoption of stakeholder-focused and purpose-driven business practices.
Shaun is equipped with certifications in blockchain, digital assets, and product management, and possesses a comprehensive understanding of innovative technologies and their transformative potential in today’s evolving business landscape. He is eager to connect with professionals who share his passion for advancing the forefront of emerging technologies.
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:15 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:45 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Shaun
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

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MCP vs. AI Agents - learn the difference & what large enterprises are using to scale AI adoption & drive business impact
2026-05-08 11:00 - 13:00 | INNOVATE NEW ALBANY – NEW LOCATION, 7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100, New Albany, OH, 43054, United States
7775 Walton Pkwy, Suite 100
New Albany, OH 43054
Friday 5/8/26, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Brandon Levine, and your fellow participants.
Please arrive at 11:00 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.
Please join us for this cutting edge TIGER Talk focused on how AI Agents and MCP infrastructure are enabling large enterprises to deliver meaningful impact on business results.
Note: MCP = Model Context Protocol
Our presenter, Brandon Levine, will cover:
1. The Fundamental Difference
Clear explanation of what AI Agents are (the “who”) vs. what MCP is (the “how”)
2. Enterprise Adoption Challenges
The three critical blockers enterprises face: security governance, integration chaos, and ungovernable access
3. Real-World Solutions
How large enterprises are successfully scaling AI through enterprise-grade MCP infrastructure with:

Multi-system orchestration capabilities
Granular permission scoping
Production-ready scale (5,000+ requests/second)

4. Practical Use Cases
Including:

Multi-system AI orchestration (complex workflows across Salesforce, Gong, Gmail, Snowflake, etc.)
Personal AI assistants at scale (1,000+ employees with controlled access)

During the session, Brandon will provide live demonstrations of:

Sales AI Agent – Showing autonomous multi-step workflows and decision-making
Data MCP Server – Demonstrating governed enterprise data access with security controls

These real-world examples will illustrate exactly how MCP and AI Agents work together in production environments.
The key message: MCP isn’t competing with AI Agents – it’s the critical infrastructure layer that makes enterprise AI agent deployment safe, scalable, and governable.
Brandon has also incorporated insights from recent enterprise implementations showing how companies are moving from “AI experiments” to “AI in production” by solving the governance and integration challenges.
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Brandon Levine works at the intersection of emerging AI technology and real-world business transformation, guiding Fortune 500 companies through the practical adoption of agentic systems.
As VP of Agentic AI at Workato, Brandon leads a specialist team helping enterprises deploy AI agents and automation at scale. Brandon brings both hands-on technical depth and executive-level perspective to the rapidly evolving AI agent landscape, making him a trusted voice on how organizations can harness AI agents for measurable business impact.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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Like all TIGER Events, this talk is FREE.
Timeline:
11:00 am – Coffee, Snacks, & Socializing
11:15 am – Lunch & More Socializing
11:45 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (10 seconds please)
12:05 pm – Hand-off to Brandon
1:00 pm – Wrap & Resume Socializing

Name*

First

Last

Email*

Company*Consent to Use My Image & Voice*By registering for & participating in this event, I am consenting to the recording of my image and/or voice. I am also authorizing Innovate New Albany to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing my image and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.

I AGREE

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