As the world works to establish a “new normal” in the wake of the pandemic, great resignation, and looming threat of a recession, there has never been a more pressing time for Missouri innovators to collaborate on charting a more competitive course ahead for the Show Me State. The AMPLIFY Missouri Innovation Summit is doing just that this fall, September 16 and 17, in St. Charles.

Hosted on the Lindenwood University campus, the inaugural summit is funded in part by the Missouri Technology Corporation and presented by the Plaster College of Business and Entrepreneurship, ITEN, and TechSTL. Striving to bring together thought leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs from across the state, AMPLIFY is eager to break the mold on what an innovation event should be.

Kicking off the two-day event on Friday, September 16, will be a pre-summit session for students from area high schools, focusing on entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as the launch of the MentorUP Statewide Mentoring Certification program hosted by ITEN, and the first Velocity St. Louis Pre-Accelerator cohort.

Following the pre-summit events, there will be an Evening Reception on Friday night at Scheidegger Center with a keynote from Tom Snyder, Executive Director of RIoT, the economic development powerhouse and R&D lab in the Research Triangle. Snyder will share insight on running one of the strongest startup accelerators in the country, which is hosted in partnership with the Wireless Research Center of Raleigh. His keynote will discuss how “The Future was Yesterday: Keeping up in a Fast Moving Economy,” offering front-line advice for competing in the world of emerging technologies.

On Saturday, September 17, the full-day summit will start with an opening keynote presented by Fay Horwitt, CEO of Forward Cities on “Radical Inclusion: How Diversity is Revolutionizing Innovation Ecosystems.” Horwitt will share best practices from her work leading the Kauffman Foundation ESHIP program and driving the E3 Institute in cities across the country, building more equitable frameworks for entrepreneurship and innovation.

Immediately following Horwitt’s keynote, AMPLIFY will present four tracks of speakers and panels on Launch, Scale, Capital, and Ecosystems. Attendees will have the chance to connect with other entrepreneurs, investors, and ecosystem champions from across the Midwest, as well as hear directly from the innovators themselves on how the world of technology is shifting right now.

“Lindenwood University is committed to growing a culture of innovation throughout the campus and our region,” Dean of the Plaster College of Business and Entrepreneurship Molly Hudgins said. “The AMPLIFY Summit is a powerful way for us to bring that work to life for the state. As we embark on figuring what’s next, having the chance to connect with big thinkers and big doers from across the state can be game-changing. We are honored to host this event on campus and bring the brightest innovators of Missouri here to St. Charles.”

The opportunity to host the summit originated from Lindenwood’s five-year strategic plan initiative, Destination Lindenwood. Hosting the summit will showcase Lindenwood’s campus and supports the University’s effort to grow startup culture throughout the Plaster College of Business and Entrepreneurship. 

Registration is required and ticket are available for the Evening Reception and the full-day Saturday Summit. There is no charge for high school students, and scholarships are available for entrepreneurs, Lindenwood students and employees.  A limited number of complimentary hotel rooms are available for those traveling more than 75 miles. For more details and the schedule of events visit the AMPLIFY Summit event page. Funded in part by the Missouri Technology Corporation, AMPLIFY is supported by Lindenwood and ITEN’s Missouri Rural Entrepreneurship (MORE) Initiative, as well as the U.S. EDA Sprint Challenge Grant awarded to TechSTL.

TechSTL Executive Director, Emily Hemingway explains, “The AMPLIFY Summit couldn’t come at a better time for Missouri and the St. Louis region. Tech innovation and regional connectivity is no longer a ‘good to have,’ it’s now a ‘need to have.’ And communities across the Midwest are racing to reengage their innovation hubs to get the engine fired up again. I’m excited to see how this Summit can help charge up the data economy efforts and get more tech leaders to gather in our side of the state!”