{"id":117066,"date":"2026-02-18T13:17:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T13:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/117066\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T13:17:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T13:17:11","slug":"first-speakers-workshops-and-tickets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/117066\/","title":{"rendered":"First speakers, workshops and tickets"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than a dozen and a half US states are represented among the first group of announced speakers for this year\u2019s Technical.ly Builders Conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Did you know? This is the only conference focused specifically on storytelling for entrepreneurs, ecosystem builders and place-based marketers. The annual event this year takes place May 6-8 in Philadelphia, timed with the US Semiquincentennial and Philly Tech Week. We expect more than 300 people to join us from around the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Early-bird tickets are available through Feb. 28, when the cost jumps a bit, so get yours now<\/a> to lock in the discount.<\/p>\n

As ever, a ticket is not just professional development for you, but supporting our local journalism and ecosystem storytelling.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the plan, in broad strokes:<\/p>\n

Wednesday, May 6 (5 to 7 p.m.): Opening reception<\/p>\n

Thursday, May 7 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.): Conference programming, including workshops, discussions and podcasts<\/p>\n

Friday, May 8 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.): Conference programming, including a special interactive element to celebrate the US Semiquincentennial<\/p>\n

Friday, May 8 (5 to 10 p.m.): Drexel Square activation and skyscraper gaming \u2014 To help close Philly Tech Week, we\u2019re bringing back the Guinness-certified world\u2019s largest video game for the first time in 12 years alongside an outdoor, interactive party\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conference programming kicks off Thursday morning with the first-ever live recording of Builders Live<\/a>, Technical.ly\u2019s podcast on ecosystem building with co-hosts Victor Hwang (Right to Start), investor Brian Brackeen (Lightship Capital) and Rae\u2019Mah Henderson, most recently of Techstars.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AAttendees during a break at the 2025 Builders Conference (Beau Monde Originals)<\/p>\n

Throughout the two days that follow, expect dedicated rooms for workshops on applied AI (bring your laptop), plus interactive high-growth founder \u201cfishbowl\u201d discussions. Planned sessions include \u201cCentering (and Funding) Entrepreneurship,\u201d \u201cAI Analytics: What We\u2019re Tracking\u201d and \u201cExplaining the Sciences as Economic Strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our confirmed speakers include:<\/p>\n

Victor Hwang, Right to Start<\/a> founder\/CEO (California)<\/p>\n

Brian Brackeen, Lightship Capital<\/a> founding partner (Ohio)<\/p>\n

Nicola Corzine, Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center<\/a> (California)<\/p>\n

Rae\u2019Mah Henderson, Techstars<\/a> (Alabama)<\/p>\n

Hollie Mackey, NSF AgTech Engine<\/a> CEO (North Dakota)<\/p>\n

Scott Nissenbaum, Ben Franklin Technology Partners<\/a> CEO (Pennsylvania)<\/p>\n

Tim VanReken, Headwaters Tech Hub<\/a> Executive Director (Montana)<\/p>\n

Kendrick Alridge, Nexus Louisiana<\/a> ecosystem development (Louisiana)<\/p>\n

Steve Wray, City of Pittsburgh<\/a> economic development director (Pennsylvania)<\/p>\n

Taylor Eubanks, Midwest House<\/a> chief strategy officer (Kansas)<\/p>\n

Tiffany Henry, ACC Capital Foundation<\/a> executive director (Arkansas)<\/p>\n

Fay Horwitt, WayBuilders<\/a> founder (North Carolina)<\/p>\n

Aaron Weiskittel, Center for Research on Sustainable Forests<\/a> director (Maine)<\/p>\n

Andy Stoll, ESHIP Alliance<\/a> founding director (Nebraska)<\/p>\n

CJ Bell, State of DE Small Business<\/a> director (Delaware)<\/p>\n

Amy Beaird, Ecosystem Edge<\/a> founder (Florida)<\/p>\n

Jason Rittenberg, Excel Regions<\/a> founder (Ohio)<\/p>\n

Debbie Irwin, Lighthouse Network<\/a> executive director (Virginia)<\/p>\n

Tasia Malakasis, The Company Lab<\/a> (Tennessee)<\/p>\n

Any questions, don\u2019t hesitate to reach out to info@technical.ly<\/a>. We look forward to seeing you there!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than a dozen and a half US states are represented among the first group of announced speakers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117067,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[55609,1756,69,71,70],"class_list":["post-117066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-builders-conference","tag-events","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}