News release from the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center:
Northeast Indiana Innovation Center Nabs Legendary Sports Marketing Pioneer for Event
J.B. Bernstein, the Inspiration for the Disney Hit Film, Million Dollar Arm, to speak on “Hey, Where’s My Big Idea?”(February 5, 2016) – The Northeast Indiana Innovation Center (NIIC), a business incubator and entrepreneurial resource center (www.niic.net) based in Fort Wayne, Indiana today announced the signing of J.B. Bernstein as the keynote speaker for their annual signature Ideas@Work event on April 26, 2016 at 11:30 a.m. The annual event, to be held at the Parkview Mirro Center for Research and Innovation, celebrates Northeast Indiana entrepreneurs and supports funding for NIIC’s Student Venture program. The Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute led by Mr. Bernstein will follow the event at 1:30 p.m. at the Manchester University College of Pharmacy.
Portrayed by Jon Hamm in the Disney movie, Million Dollar Arm, J.B. Bernstein is one of the most respected marketing experts in the world of sports. A few years ago, inspired by the increasing popularity of reality television in the United States and the global phenomena that NBA player, Yao Ming generated, Bernstein saw an untapped opportunity to change the game. He then traveled to India, motivated to find the first Indian born player in professional baseball history and created a contest that would reward one lucky contestant with $1 million and a chance to play for a professional baseball team in the U.S. As the President & CEO of Access Group of Miami, LLC and the Managing Director & Cofounder of Seven Figures Management, Bernstein has represented some of the greatest athletes of all time, including Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith and Barry Bonds and is responsible for several ground-breaking marketing campaigns with these and other clients including Wayne Gretzky and Dan
Marino.“We are extremely happy to be able to secure Mr. Bernstein” said Karl LaPan, NIIC President and CEO. “His exploits are bold and ground-breaking and a perfect fit for the kind of thinking our community and our entrepreneurs need. We are also very excited that he will be leading the first-of-its-kind Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute following the event. It will allow participants to put his words into action by acting on their own big idea”. Go to: www.niic.net/ideasatwork for more info and to purchase tickets.
About the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center (NIIC)
NIIC is a non-profit, community-based entrepreneurial resource center that assists in the growth and development of technology-based companies in Northeast Indiana. Formed in 1999 by a consortium of community and government leaders and organizations, NIIC was recently recognized by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the top four under-the-radar incubators in the country. The Innovation Center is the country’s only ISO9001:2008 certified business incubation & acceleration program, serving entrepreneurs, business owners, and existing businesses who want to launch (or expand, or re-invent) a company.