The Silicon Heartland: Buffalos Tech Revolution

The Southwest Festival featured former Congressman Chris Jacobs speaking on gun violence and Rebecca A. Fannin, CNBC special editor and founder of Silicon Dragon Ventures, a media and events platform. Fannin was at the start of a tour for her new book, "Silicon Heartland: Midwest from Rust Belt to Tech Belt." Researched through a long series of interviews conducted in the midst of the pandemic, the book's mission was to explore firsthand the transformative journey of former Rust Belt cities, the rise of the Tech Belt in emerging areas. Jacobs, now president of real estate development firm Avalon Development, was immediately impressed with Rebecca's work, which resonated with her commitment to building technology ecosystems.

Jacob extends an invitation to Fanny and asks her to visit Buffalo. His hope was to report on the city's dramatic transformation from a Rust Belt town to a thriving tech hub, perhaps on his next book tour. Charmed by Fanny's availability, he accepted the invitation. This was the birth of an event that brings together some of the most influential people in Buffalo's broader tech scene : the Silicon Heartland Buffalo event .

Fannin majored in journalism, with a particular focus on covering technological innovations and emerging markets. This background made him an expert at spotting trends. He found himself in the middle of the dotcom boom , a red herring of tech publishing in San Francisco, starting with the Dayton Morning Paper. Later, he was one of the first American journalists to report on China's entrepreneurial growth, providing a unique perspective on the global technology landscape.

His latest book, Silicon Heartland, delves into the tech-rich city trend in Buffalo, which to him feels like a Midwestern city, a prime example. Once known for its industrial past, Buffalo is becoming a vibrant tech hub. Rebecca says Buffalo competes with many other Rust Belt cities in terms of population, education level, poverty rate, new developments like tech parks and startups in terms of accelerators and capital risk.

Rebecca will share her insights on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at the Silicon Heartland Buffalo 2023 event. The event, held at Seneca One Auditorium in Buffalo, NY, will include a presentation, panel discussion and discussion. Book signing and networking reception. Attendees can join the live event or tune into the live stream.

The event will feature a panel of celebrity guests. Bill Maggio of Lorraine Capital Management has a proven track record of building life science focused companies. Also on the panel will be Pastor James Giles, human resources manager at battery manufacturer Viridi Parente and a Buffalo community leader for nearly 50 years. Sara Tanbakuchi , president and CEO of Tech Buffalo, an advocate for home tech talent in Western New York, will bring her insights to the discussion, along with Marnie Lavigne , president and CEO of Launch NY.

This panel will be moderated by Chris Jacobs, who started the event. This wide-ranging discussion promises to shed light on Buffalo's technological revolution and the new opportunities it presents, further cementing Buffalo's position on the new Silicon Heartland map.

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Silky ox

Buffalo Tech Revolution: Here We Go!

General discussion of new opportunities

Tuesday June 20th - 5:30-7:00pm EDT

For more information about the event, visit the event page here.

About Rebecca A. To learn more about Fanny and her work, you can visit her profile and purchase her book here.

Information about the panelists can be found here: Bill Maggio, Pastor James Giles, Marnie Lavigne and Sarah Tanbakuchi.

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