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CHICAGO, IL -- (Marketwire) -- 10/09/12 -- More than 120 entrepreneurial leaders from 35 different states will gather at the Startup America Regional Summit October 9-10 in Chicago, IL. Hosted at Chicago's innovation center 1871, the summit provides the opportunity for representatives from the Startup Regions to focus on the importance building successful local startup ecosystems and share best practices on how to do so.

"The most effective thing we can do as a nation to support startups is to focus on creating regional communities that foster innovation and allow companies to succeed, regardless of where they are located," said Donna Harris, Startup America's Managing Director of Startup Regions. "The Summit attendees are passionate about making their hometowns great places to start and scale a company and I can't wait to see what ideas they bring to the table and the collaboration that will take place between them."

These regional champions, who promote their startup communities from the ground up, will discuss the unique challenges they face in their home states and the best practices for increasing the network density needed for a successful startup ecosystem. Combined, the attendees have raised $2.5 Billion in capital, with each person having run an average of 3.6 companies with 2 successful exits.

A few programmatic highlights of the two-day Summit include:

•The launch of Brad Feld's new book, startup+communities">Startup Communities: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Your City, with a Media Roundtable featuring Brad, Scott Case and Kevin Willer. •Keynotes from Steve Case and Jean Case. •Tours of successful Chicago startup GrubHub and media arts academy Tribeca Flashpoint. •Meet and greets with Chicago startup luminaries including Matt Maloney, Brad Keywell, Jason Fried, and Howard Tullman

"A year and a half ago, Startup IL was the first Startup Region to launch, and we could not be more excited to host the Summit at 1871with representatives from the 29 other regions that have launched since," said Kevin Willer, president and CEO of Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC). "Chicago is a perfect example of how a community can rally to create a vibrant startup ecosystem, and the many young, successful companies we have here now are testament to that fact."

The Summit begins Tuesday morning and concludes Wednesday afternoon Stay up-to-date with what's going on in real-time in Chicago by following @startupamerica on Twitter.

About the Startup America Partnership
The Startup America Partnership is a growing national movement of thousands of founders, experts and resources providing startups access to the corporations, investors, and services they need to grow. Launched at the White House in early 2011, the Partnership brings together startups and local champions from around the country focused on creating successful networks for young, high-growth companies to thrive. AOL co-founder Steve Case chairs the Partnership and the Kauffman and Case Foundations are its founding partners. American Airlines, American Express OPEN, Dell Inc., Intuit Inc., Microsoft and NYSE Euronext are corporate sponsors. For more information on the Partnership, visit www.s.co and follow us at startupamerica">www.twitter.com/startupamerica and startupamerica">www.facebook.com/startupamerica.



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Media Contact:
Chris Roche
Startup America Partnership
202-445-8717
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