The business, the backers and the next big things are coming to Calgary June 6 - 8, 2018.

Calgary, Alberta, Canada - Guy Kawasaki, a recognized pioneer in evangelism marketing and a driving force behind the success of Apple's Macintosh personal computer, is the first keynote announced for the INVENTURE$ innovation experience coming to Calgary June 6 - 8, 2018.

Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva, a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz, and an executive fellow of the HAAS School of Business at UC Berkeley. Canva is the free online graphic design tool was launched in 2012 that has more than 10 million users worldwide and is valued at $1 billion.

Kawasaki is an expert on entrepreneurship, social media, and marketing. He will speak about the art of innovation and entrepreneurship based on his experience at Canva, Apple, and Google He has authored 13 books including The Art of the Start 2.0 and How to Drive Your Competition Crazy.

"Innovation occurs when you jump to the next curve of technology. Gatherings like INVENTURE$ create the conditions for likeminded engineers, venture capitalists, and dreamers to create the future," said Kawasaki.

"My presentation will provide as much information as one can get in an hour about how create innovative products, build a team, raise money, and evangelize your product.," said Kawasaki.

More than 150 speakers are expected to contribute expertise in research, innovation, commercialization, capital access, and entrepreneurship at INVENTURE$.

INVENTURE$ 2018

INVENTURE$ will bring research, innovation, capital access, commercialization, experiential learning and entrepreneurial communities together. The unique conference experience will attract venture capitalists, angel investors, early adopters, startups, business educators, service providers and more from Alberta and around the world. Themes for INVENTURE$ include: health, clean energy (emissions reductions, water), food and fiber (forestry, agriculture, biotech), sensor technology, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), Green building and construction technology, autonomous vehicles, gaming/software/ICT, nanotechnology and omics (genomics, etc.).

The Main Stage component will feature high-profile keynotes, executive panel discussions and major announcements. Interactive Break-out Sessions will provide opportunities to connect one-on-one and collaborate with like-minded influencers. An Innovator Showcase will host live pitch events and a Youth Entrepreneurs Showcase will display the best in student innovation, technology and business success.

Media inquiries may be directed to:

Michelle Gurney
Communications and Marketing
Alberta Innovates
587.783.4420
michelle.gurney[at]albertainnovates.ca

ALBERTA INNOVATES

Alberta Innovates is a provincially-funded Corporation with a mandate to deliver 21st century solutions for the most compelling challenges facing Albertans. We do this by building on our province's research and technology development strengths in the core sectors of health, environment, energy, food and fibre and platforms such as artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and omics. We are working with our partners to diversify Alberta's economy, improve our environmental performance and enhance our well-being through research and innovation.