A leader of a group of business accelerators throughout the south is the keynote speaker for the upcoming annual meeting for Rochester Area Economic Development, Inc.
Peter Barth, the founder and CEO of The Iron Yard, is scheduled to speak at RAEDI's annual luncheon on March 6 at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel. His presentation is titled, "Transforming Your City into an Entrepreneurial Community."
Barth launched The Iron Yard business accelerator program in Greenville, South Carolina. The Iron Yard has been described as being at the heart of the economic transformation in Greenville. In recent years, Greenville has often been highly ranked in lists of cities that are economically vibrant and attract young professionals.
The Iron Yard also has locations in Charleston, S.C., Spartanburg, SC; Atlanta, Georgia ;and Asheville, North Carolina. Iron Yard also has projects in the works for Durham, South Carolina and Tampa, Florida.
Barth is very familiar with Rochester's Mayo Clinic, which serves as a partner of Iron Yard.
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James Rogers, the chair of Mayo Clinic Ventures and the director of Mayo Collaborative Services, offers his experience as a mentor to young start-up companies that work with The Iron Yard.
Rochester has a public/private incubator in the Mayo Clinic Business Accelerator, which is in the Minnesota BioBusiness Center downtown.The goal is to take advantage of the influence of Mayo Clinic's efforts to spin off related businesses and generate more local jobs.
The luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m. The $30 cost includes lunch and the program.
Space is limited for the event. People are asked to register online at www.raedi.com by Wednesday, if they'd like to attend. For more information, contact Molly Schmidt at RAEDI at 288-0208 or mschmidt@raedi.com
