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Suppose you needed to grow the business climate in a region or even improve a country’s economic strength. You’re part of the government or perhaps a leader with a large business anchoring the existing business region.
What could you do to encourage and strengthen the future of existing markets and launch new entrepreneurial business? Today’s interview is with a person who is making a difference in over 25 countries through ideas, investments, and nurturing.
Greg Horowitt brings his experience to our show with his insights as a meta-entrepreneur influencing development in over 25 countries.
Greg is the co-founder and Managing Director of T2 Venture Capital, a seed and early stage venture fund and advisory services firm focused on high impact enterprise and the ecosystems that support them. He is also the co-author of the bestselling book, ‘the Rainforest: the Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley’ which examines the dynamics and drivers of innovation ecosystems; drawn from firsthand experiences designing, implementing, and monitoring the innovation ecosystems of more than a dozen regions around the world.
He is a co-founder of the Global Innovation Summit, co-founder of the Rainforest Architects Program, and a co-developer of the Rainforest Index. He is an adviser, speaker, and consultant to development organizations including the World Bank, US State Department, OECD, USAID, Aspen Institute, and the National Academies of Science in addition to his work advising governments around the world on topics of economic development, venture capital formation, and innovation policy. Mr. Horowitt is also the co-founder of Global CONNECT, a think tank based at the University of California, San Diego, focused on the development and growth of innovation clusters worldwide, where he originally came up with the idea for the ‘Rainforest’ as a model for describing and understanding the growth and sustainability of innovation ecosystems around the globe. Under his leadership, Global CONNECT has grown to encompass one of the world’s largest networks of innovation hubs including more than 40 programs in 20 countries, all focused on accelerating global technology commercialization, and the Global CONNECT Summit, the annual gathering of best practice innovation organizations from around the world.
Greg was formerly the interim Managing Director of CONNECT, an organization which is generally credited with San Diego’s success as a technology leader and which helped launch over 300 companies that raised over $600 million in early-stage funding and achieved over $12 billion in market capitalization. Greg has personally advised and mentored more than 200 companies. Prior to CONNECT, Greg’s life was as an entrepreneur and investor, having been involved with a number of Silicon Valley startups and venture capital. Prior to that, he was the President and CEO of the Praetorian Group, a venture-backed software and online media company, and for nearly 20 years before that, he was an executive with a Berkshire Hathaway operating company.
Education/Personal: Greg is a Regents Scholar who holds a degree with high honors in Biochemistry and minors in Economics and Music Performance from the University of California, San Diego.
Leadership Quotes
“If you tell me I’ll probably forget, If you teach me I may remember, but if you involve me I’ll understand.” Ben Franklin
“Innovation is all about ideas having sex. What our job is to do is to promote promiscuity.” Matt Ridley
Current Business
T2 Venture Creation http://www.t2vc.com
Global Innovation Summit (February 17-19, 2014) is the centerpiece of Global Innovation Week (February 17-21)
http://www.innosummit.com
Books – Pick up a copy at our Amazon affiliate link today, just click on the book cover
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