Seeking Innovators for the StartupHPC Workshop at SC16

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Cydney Ewald Stevens of StartupHPC

Cydney Ewald Stevens of StartupHPC

In this special guest feature, Cydney Ewald Stevens writes that Salt Lake City will soon host the return of the Supercomputing conference along with the third annual StartupHPC Workshop.

On Monday, Nov. 14, StartupHPC will kick-off a weeklong immersion in High Performance Computing for 10,000 supercomputing professionals. While the SC16 conference covers the breadth of research occurring across the world, StartupHPC focuses on the entrepreneurs and their prospective ideas that may one serve the broader research HPC community and their endeavors.

As a single-day event, StartupHPC is being held at the Grand America Hotel offering another packed agenda of industry heavy weights and up-and-comers. As in years past, this is surely not to be missed session. So get registered and get ready to StartupHPC!

StartupHPC’s aim is to encourage entrepreneurialism from within the supercomputing community. Because of the uniqueness of the HPC industry, organizers have taken a different approach than typical startup focused programs.

People come together at StartupHPC to learn from each other,” said founder Shahin Khan. “These are all leaders in their own right. From successful CxO’ and serial entrepreneurs to industry influencers these leaders come together each year to impart their wisdoms and experiences, share their own ‘journeys’ and help others prosper as a result.”

Shahin Khan, OrionX

Shahin Khan from OrionX is the founder of StartupHPC

This year’s focus is on ‘disruption’ with an agenda as reflective of the theme as the line up of presenters who are noted for their willingness to challenge convention. Industry influencers like John Gustafson, Gary Grider, Debra Goldfarb and Earl Joseph are joined by several up and coming startups sharing their experiences in what it takes to get off the ground. The UberCloud team make a return appearance with their progress report on new lessons learned in their pursuit of funding since their first appearance at the debut StartupHPC session. Veterans Mark Canepa and Bruce Gilpin will share what it takes to be a successful CxO while angel investor and HPC practitioner Meghan McClelland will provide pointers on funding sources.

This year the organizing team turns the focus toward two important initiatives including an interactive session fon what it takes to create an HPC focused startup fund. Hint, it’s more than just money. For anyone interested in becoming an Angel or anyone who as the same passion for the genius that “is HPC” this may be the session to start your week in Salt Lake City.

startuphpcOrganizers will also lead discussion on their Champions program focusing on aiding an emerging startup with some business basics. Under the Champions program startups have the opportunity to collaborate with a diverse group of individuals helping with everything from their online presence to prospectus packaging and polishing the pitch and more.

A startup itself, StartupHPC continues to gain momentum. Even giants like the Intel Corporation, one of the initiatives key sponsor this year, are beginning to take notice. What is clear in the three years since the program was introduced is its dedication to helping prepare the HPC community plan and prepare for the fast pitch by bringing together the best of the industry to share advice on how to ignite and manage success. For more information, to join StartupHPC and register for the November event visit: StartupHPC.com!

See our complete coverage of SC16, which takes place Nov. 13-18 in Salt Lake City.

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