About the Summit

The entire ASU and Arizona entrepreneurial community is invited to attend the ASU Student Startup Summit + Demo Day at ASU SkySong in Scottsdale on January 26th and 27th, 2012. This year's Summit is entirely FREE to attend and will feature a Demo Day event during which established ASU student-run companies will be selected to pitch to a panel of judges and compete for sponsored funding. Demo Day pitches will focus on the progress made by each company over the past six months of operation.

Additionally, ASU Innovation Challenge applicants, along with all ASU students interested in entrepreneurship, will be featured guests at the Demo Day pitches, as well as the "plug and play" concurrent workshops scheduled throughout the Summit. The Summit will feature an opening session, networking opportunities, a keynote speaker, and a closing awards ceremony where the Innovation Challenge finalists and Demo Day pitch winners will be announced.

Startup Sessions

    Thursday, January 26

  • 11 amCheck-In + Welcome
  • 12 noonOpening Session + Complimentary Lunch
  • 1 pmNetworking: Classifieds Live
  • 2 pmConcurrent Startup Sessions
  • 3 pmConcurrent Startup Sessions
  • 4 pmConcurrent Startup Sessions
  • 5 pmReception Featuring Entrepreneur of Year Finalist and Winner

    Friday, January 27

  • 9 amCheck-In + Breakfast
  • 10 amDemo Day Pitches + Concurrent Startup Sessions
  • 11 amDemo Day Pitches + Concurrent Startup Sessions
  • 12 noonKeynote Address + Complimentary Lunch
  • 1 pmDemo Day Pitches + Concurrent Startup Sessions
  • 2 pmWhat's Next for Startups @ ASU?
  • 3 pmInnovation Challenge Finalists + Demo Day Winners Ceremony
  • 4 pmClosing Remarks, Treats, and Tables
  • 5 pmOff-Site Reception

Featured Speakers

Opening Session

Pat Sullivan is widely recognized as a pioneer and visionary in the high-tech industry. He was the co-founder and former CEO of ACT!®—the best-selling contact management solution used by millions of business professionals around the world. Sullivan was named as one of the “80 Most Influential People in Sales and Marketing History,” among the ranks of Henry Ford, Walt Disney, Jack Welch, Donald Trump and Bill Gates. Sullivan was also honored with the prestigious Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” award not once, but twice.

Keynote

Courtney Klein Johnson is an Arizona native and graduate of Arizona State University’s Barrett Honors College where she received her undergraduate and Master’s degree in Nonprofit Management. During her time at ASU, Courtney was also a member of the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative’s inaugural cohort of student-led startups. In 2009, Courtney was named “One of 12 Women Who Move the Valley” by Arizona Foothills Magazine. In 2008, Courtney received the first Athena Award for young professionals, and was honored by bizAZ as one of “35 Entrepreneurs under 35”. In 2007 she was named one of “20 Woman to Change Arizona by 2020” by Arizona Woman Magazine and the Arizona Republic.

Demo Day

The entire ASU and Arizona entrepreneurial community is invited to attend the ASU Student Startup Summit + Demo Day at ASU SkySong in Scottsdale on January 26 and 27, 2012. This year's Summit will feature a Demo Day event during which established ASU student-run companies will be selected to pitch to a panel of judges and compete for up to $7K in sponsored funding. Demo Day pitches will focus on the progress made by each company over the past six months of operation.

All ASU student-led ventures, established after January 1, 2010, are eligible to apply to pitch at Demo Day. While ventures may have members of their management team who are not ASU students, the team leader who registers to participate in Demo Day must be an ASU student or have been an ASU student at the time of company creation. We have obtained $15K in prize money from the Hool Law Group, the Summit’s title sponsor, to be distributed among the three ventures that have shown the most progress within the past 6 months.

To apply, please fill out the following web form, which includes the following fields:

  • Venture name
  • Web link showing proof of incorporation (via any state’s corporation, public service, or public utility commission)
  • Name, email address, company position, and ASU Affiliate ID # of a founding team member enrolled in at least one credit hour of coursework at ASU during at least one academic term between spring 2010 and spring 2012
  • 300 word (maximum) summary of what the venture has accomplished within the past six months

Apply here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WJ53XBL

The Demo Day application submission deadline is January 16, 2012 at 12 midnight

Up to fifteen companies will be selected to give a 10 minute presentation (no Q&A) to a neutral panel of 5 judges picked jointly by ASU Venture Catalyst and the Hool Law Group. Ventures chosen to pitch will be notified and provided with a presentation template by January 18, 2012.