UT to Host the 2013 Southeast Entrepreneurship Conference Feb. 1-2

A student-entrepreneur pitch competition, networking and national speakers will highlight the 2013 Southeast Entrepreneurship Conference (SEEC 2013), held in the Vaughn Center at The University of Tampa on Feb. 1–2. The conference is hosted by UT Entrepreneurs, UT’s chapter of The Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization.

Known as the premier student entrepreneurship conference in the region, SEEC 2013 will allow students to engage in networking opportunities with students and business professionals from across the nation.

The main event of SEEC 2013 is the Spartan Pitch Competition, in which students will have 90 seconds to pitch their startup business idea to a panel of judges and will be competing for cash prizes to kick-start their venture. The public, as well as members of the media, are invited to attend the final round of the competition, which will be held on Saturday, Feb. 2, at 3 p.m. at the Reeves Theater on the UT campus.

SEEC 2013 is open to students of all academic majors, especially those students who are emerging entrepreneurs and who already have businesses up and running. Community business partners who are interested in supporting the development of entrepreneurial students are also encouraged to attend the conference. SEEC has gained credibility and is now a part of a nationally affiliated movement encouraging young entrepreneurs to start their own ventures.

The conference will feature approximately 20 national speakers from across the country, such as Jeff Hoffman, a serial entrepreneur, CEO and founder of the Priceline.com family of companies; Richard Gonzmart, president of The Columbia Restaurant Group; the founders of Black & Denim, a national fashion company; and UT alumnus Nick Peterson, who competed on the television shows “The Bachelorette” and “Bachelor Pad,” where he won $250,000 towards the startup of his business.

The conference is sponsored by The Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization, the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), Wells Fargo, Working Women of Tampa Bay, PitchBurner and Tampa Quality Logistics.

To learn more about SEEC 2013, including how to register, participate and sponsor, visit www.ut.edu/seectampa.