Creating a Startup Economy -- The View From The Street in Stamford CT

Brief:

The Stamford Innovation Center is up and running and growing. Many in Fairfield County are looking at the Innovation Center as the Entrepreneurial Hub of the region. There are startups coworking, 8+ events every month and a startup accelerator starting in March. But there is much more work to do to create a real startup economy in our region. Come hear Peter Propp, VP of Marketing for the Stamford Innovation Center share his views on the startup economy and hear from 2 of the startups working at the Center.

Bio:

Peter is the VP of Marketing for the Stamford Innovation Center in Stamford, CT.

He has spent his career helping consumer and B2B companies develop and execute marketing strategies to address business needs. Based on business and marketing needs, he likes to focus on projects that leverage trends such as mobile apps, social media marketing, and online video to raise awareness and generate sales. An able writer, he has written many websites, biographies, press releases, print ads and radio spots. He's interviewed dozens of tech leaders on his video blog, 10 Minute Strategy and now hosts two monthly Google Hangouts: Pardon My Disruption (with Analyst Jonathan Yarmis) and Tech and Venture Brown Bag (with VC Skyler Fernandes).

In 1995, following early jobs in Public Relations and Sports Marketing, he joined IBM as one of IBM¹s first employees solely focused on Internet business opportunities. He worked in a number of roles in his first years at IBM, including business development lead for World Avenue, IBM¹s online retail mall.

In 1997, Mr. Propp became business development manager on the team that would eventually produce IBM¹s WebSphere product family. He represented the customer point of view to the product team and senior management, helped customers move from earlier technology platforms to the Java standards based products that formed the nucleus of the WebSphere family, now a multi-billion business that supports the Web Business Integration efforts for many of the world¹s most sophisticated web applications.

Mr. Propp sold the first WebSphere licenses and leveraged each successful account into additional sales, including deals at Aetna, Schwab, Fidelity, Fireman's Fund, and many others. During this time, he developed the original marketing and sales approaches, coached sellers and consultants from around the world on how to solve customer problems with WebSphere. He later ran Global Marketing for the WebSphere Application Server and Studio.

In later IBM roles, Mr. Propp developed the initial strategy and then ran the global recruit marketing team for IBM¹s PartnerWorld Industry Networks, an industry-centric approach to encouraging ISVs to embrace IBM technology by connecting them to IBMs industry-centric sales teams. He was later named Business Unit Executive, Worldwide ISV Sales, for IBM Software Group.

In 2009 he began his consulting practice with a long-term engagement with collaborative innovation software provider, Imaginatik, where he served as VP of Marketing. His consulting roster includes traditional companies looking to leverage modern techniques, venture-backed technology companies in need of disciplined approach to making product marketing and go-to-market decisions, and individuals looking to leverage social media techniques to enhance their personal brand.

Mr. Propp is the co-founder of the FairCo TEEM Meetup Group, which is focused on providing a platform for shared learning by and for the many business leaders who reside in the greater New York region.

He holds a degree in English Literature from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio.