Innovators Club Kick-off

Last night was the kick-off meeting for the Innovators Club, a new networking group put together by Todd Cohen, Jim Worth, and Lynda Esposito. The idea behind the group is to talk about the business side of being a technology entrepreneur or innovator. It will meet the second Tuesday of every month.

As might be expected at a first meeting, everyone there seemed to have a personal connection with one or more of the three founders, but it was still an excellent place to meet and greet, both new and old. I met a few people I had only heard about by name, and I connected with a few others who had crossed paths with me over the past few years.


Chuck Sacco of PhindMe was the guest speaker. I was expecting something of a shill for PhindMe, but Chuck did an excellent job of talking about innovation and the challenges of starting a technology-based company in the Philadelphia area. Chuck said that one of the biggest challenges for starting a technology-based company in Philadelphia is that you have to choose whether you are going to work with the business development resources in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Delaware. All three states are more or less part of the same metropolitan area, but there is little to NO coordination between the business development authorities of the respective states.

All in all, it was a great first start. I will interested to see whether the group takes on an issues-based focus, so that attending becomes a learning experience and a call to action and change as well as a networking experience.