Venture Café Philadelphia Kicks Off with Richard Florida as Featured Speaker

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Venture Café Philadelphia will kick off its first Thursday night gathering on November 29 with prominent urban studies theorist, Richard Florida. The inaugural Venture Café Philadelphia Thursday gathering will take place from 3 – 8 p.m. at the newly opened 3675 Market Street where the University City Science Center is headquartered.

Richard Florida is one of the world's leading urbanists. He is a researcher and professor, serving as University Professor and Director of Cities at the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto, a Distinguished Fellow at New York University's Schack Institute of Real Estate, and a Visiting Fellow at Florida International University.

With a presence in six cities including Boston/Cambridge, Miami, St. Louis, Rotterdam, Winston-Salem, Tokyo – and now Philadelphia, Venture Café offers free high-impact programming, with the goal of amplifying and showcasing the city's thriving innovation ecosystem and partners. Venture Café is building a global movement to create stronger and more inclusive innovation ecosystems and accelerate and enhance the innovation process in cities around the world.

"Venture Café Philadelphia is designed to convene and grow the region's innovation ecosystem through reoccurring, quality programming that is free and open to all," says Science Center President & CEO, Steve Zarrilli. "We're thrilled that Richard Florida will be part of this inaugural event and appreciate that his participation is indicative of the strength of programming we plan to offer each week through Venture Café."

Other sessions that will take place during the November 29 Venture Café will include office hours, musical performances, panel discussions and standup comedy.

November 29 Schedule:
3:00 – 5:00 p.m.    Office Hours (participants TBA)
4:00 – 4:30 p.m.    Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra performance/Orchestrating Leadership Session
5:30 – 6:15 p.m.    Richard Florida discussing Inclusive Growth
6:00 – 7:00 p.m.    Drexel Entrepreneurial Law Clinic – Automation in Legal Services
6:30 – 7:15 p.m.    Panel: So we didn't get HQ2, what's next?         
7:30 – 8:00 p.m.     Startup Standup with Rubi Nicolas and Travis Sheridan
5:00 – 8:00 p.m.    DJ Adam Durant
*additional sessions and speakers to be announced

Venture Café is free and open to the public.

Earlier this year, the Science Center joined the Venture Café Network, a global network founded by CIC, with partner organizations in six cities around the globe. Hosted by the Science Center and powered by Quorum, Venture Café Philadelphia is focused on connecting, educating and community building. Venture Café Thursday gatherings regularly attract 300-500 attendees in its established markets.

About the Science Center
Located in the heart of uCity Square, the Science Center is a mission-driven nonprofit organization that catalyzes and connects innovation to entrepreneurship and technology commercialization. For 50+ years, the Science Center has supported startups, research, and economic development in the life sciences, healthcare, physical sciences, and emerging technology sectors. As a result, graduate firms and current residents of the Science Center's incubator support one out of every 100 jobs in the Greater Philadelphia region and drive $13 billion in economic activity in the region annually. By providing resources and programming for any stage of a business's lifecycle, the Science Center helps scientists, entrepreneurs and innovators take their concepts from idea to IPO – and beyond. For more information about the Science Center, go to http://www.sciencecenter.org.

SOURCE Venture Café Philadelphia