July 16, 2014 AlphaLab Gear 6024 Broad Street Pittsburgh, PA 15206 Join the Pittsburgh Chapter on July 16th when Dr. Susan Cohen, co-author of the paper behind the TechCrunch ranking of accelerators, will discuss the state of the accelerator movement across the US and compare the impact on various innovation communities. Additional guest speakers, including Dr. Kit Needhan, CMU Associate Director of Project Olympus, will discuss the local innovation ecosystem, and where and how accelerators fit. Testimonials from large company employees who have served as mentors for startup accelerators will also be discussed. Register to attend: http://www.pdma.org/p/cm/ld/fid=1346

1. WHAT ARE STARTUP
ACCELERATORS
PDMA Pittsburgh Presents:
& why established
companies should care
Presenters
Susan Cohen, PhD
Kit Needham
Schedule of Events
Registration/Networking
4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Accelerator Movement
Susan Cohen, PhD
5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Innovation Ecosystem
Kit Needham
6:00 – 6:30 p.m.
Practitioners’ Panel
6:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Q&A
7:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Advanced Ticket Prices
Members: $25
Non-members: $40
Students: $10
AlphaLab Gear
6024 Broad Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
Dr. Susan Cohen, co-author of the accelerator ranking
published in TechCrunch, will discuss the state of the
accelerator movement across the United States.
Kit Needham, CMU Entrepreneur in Residence at
Project Olympus, will discuss the local innovation
ecosystem, and where and how accelerators fit.
Representatives from established companies who have
worked with or mentored startup companies will
comment on their experiences.
State of Accelerator Movement
Local Innovation Ecosystem
Practitioners’ Panel
REGISTER TODAY
The June Pittsburgh Chapter event sold out.
Register early to reserve your seat!
pdma.org > Chapters > Pittsburgh > Events
AlphaLab Gear July 16, 2014 5:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Learn how and why established companies
can benefit from joining forces with startup
accelerators.

2. About The Speakers
Susan Cohen is an Assistant Professor of Management at the Robins School of
Business at the University of Richmond where she teaches courses on corporate
strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Cohen's research focuses on organizational learning, both by early stage
entrepreneurial firms participating in seed accelerator programs and by incumbent
firms that want to accelerate internal new business development. Her research has
been cited by The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch and several
other media outlets. Cohen also co-directs the annual U.S. Seed Accelerator
Rankings project.
Susan earned her PhD in Strategy and Entrepreneurship from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
where she received the Tanner Award, the most prestigious university-wide teaching award given to graduate
students. She received her B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Michigan and her MBA from the Kellogg
School of Management in entrepreneurship and marketing.
Prior to joining academia, Dr. Cohen worked in new product development for multiple software and technology
firms. Most notably, she was the director of marketing and on the founding team of Priceline.com.
Kit Needham is Entrepreneur in Residence at Project Olympus and Associate Director for
the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She provides students and faculty start-up
advice, business strategy planning, connections to industry experts, advisors and the
business community. She is a technical advisor to BlueTree Allied Angels and serves on
the Screening Committee. She is an Advisory Board member of Chatham University's
Center for Women's Entrepreneurship and teaches in Chatham’s MBA program. She also
provides consulting services to promote economic growth to Chambers of Commerce,
individual entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations.
Kit was formerly Senior Vice President for the Allegheny Conference on Community
Development where she developed the Conference’s strategy to expand business
opportunities in the region’s target sectors of Life Sciences and Information Technology,
as well as the strategy to support innovation and entrepreneurship.
Kit was brought to Pittsburgh by Mellon Financial Corporation to serve as the Chief Operating Officer for Mellon
Lab, a new unit being established to spark innovation in the creation of revenue-producing businesses for Mellon.
She has held senior positions in BITS, a division of the Financial Services Roundtable, and the American Bankers
Association where she developed and implemented strategies to maintain the industry’s competitiveness and
security in the face of rapidly changing technology and managed a number of for-profit products and services.
She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Maryland with a B.S. She later obtained a Masters of
Technology Management degree from American University, receiving The Graduate Scholarship Award, which is
periodically awarded by the faculty for outstanding scholarship.
She serves on the Board of the Women’s Center & Shelter for Domestic Violence, and The Neighborhood
Academy and is a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh XIX.
Susan L. Cohen, PhD
Assistant Professor of
Management, Robins
School of Business
University of Richmond
Kit Needham
Entrepreneur in
Residence, Project
Olympus