We are seeking speakers, panelists, moderators and leads for the 2023 Diversity and Equity Accelerator through Learning for Startups (DEALS) workshop. We aim to bring together diverse individuals who have already made the transition from engineer to entrepreneur provide valuable insight on their learnings and journey. We expect to have a diverse audience and hope to have them respresented by our speakers. 

Please submit a speaker proposal by August 10, 2023 through the DEALS Call for Speakers Form

We encourage speakers to have their proposal cover multiple topic areas.  Speakers can select the “other” category, if their proposal does not fall directly under the five topics listed below. We have openings in our program for:

• Keynotes
• 101 Talk Overview
• Panels
• Interactive Activities

Please view the two day DEALS workshop program here. 

The topics for the workshops are: 

• Start-Up Journeys: This session will focus on how speakers began their start-up journey, the ideas that went behind it, the process involved, the obstacle and challenges, and their next steps.
• Getting Started: This session will focus on how an engineer can move toward an entrepreneur career and will include topics such as what makes a good idea, what to do once you have an idea and want to turn it into a business, and best practices and lessons learned. We’re looking for a speaker who has successfully navigated this journey and can share their experience with aspiring entrepreneurs.
• Available Resources: This session will focus will be on resources available for engineers who want to start a business — from government programs to university technology transfer centers and everything in between. The speaker for this session will have insights to share on what’s available and how to access various resources.
• Strategic Business Plan Development: This session will focus on when and how to develop a successful strategic business plan and include highlights of various tools and models to apply. The speaker for this session will be able to guide the participants through the process of developing a business model.
• Regulatory and Legal Landscapes: This session will focus on how to navigate both the regulatory and legal landscapes as you move your idea from inception to startup. Topics will include determining the right legal business organization type (sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, and corporation), licensing, and legal considerations.

The speaker proposals will be reviewed by the organizing committee. You will be contacted with next steps once your submission is reviewed. Please contact - mahia@aiche.org with any questions or concerns.