TiECON Midwest 2005 Explores Factors Affecting Entrepreneurship At October 1st Event; Motorola CEO Ed Zander and Northwestern Kellogg Dean Dipak Jain Headline Gathering of Midwest Entrepreneur Community

Business Wire, August 15, 2005

CHICAGO -- TiE Midwest, a not-for-profit global network of entrepreneurs and professionals, announced today its conference on entrepreneurship, business and innovation entitled, "Entrepreneurship in a Flat World."

TiECON Midwest 2005, targeted toward entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, business schools, law firms, PR professionals, and others will take place on October 1 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 E. Wacker Dr.

The conference will explore the theme of global connectivity, and how it is leveling the playing field for business innovation and competition.

Ed Zander, CEO of Motorola, and Dipak Jain, Dean of Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Business, keynote a day-long program, which will include panelists addressing topics aimed at increasing entrepreneurial IQ.

"TiE Midwest has maintained a consistent commitment to supporting entrepreneurship since the chapter launch in 1998. With this conference, we continue our focus to bring the investment, leadership and entrepreneurial communities closer together," said Adarsh Arora, President of TiE Midwest and CEO of Lisle Technology Partners.

"We are pleased to be hosting the premier Midwest entrepreneur conference with distinguished keynote speakers and panelists," said Sunil Gaitonde, Chairman of TiECON 2005 and CEO of Great Software Laboratory. "The nature of entrepreneurship is facing some interesting challenges. TiECON 2005 will explore these challenges and other fundamental issues, such as choosing the right business model, analyzing markets, social entrepreneurship, and evaluating emerging technologies."

"I am delighted to be invited as a keynote speaker at TiECON 2005 in Chicago," Zander said. "Since its inception in 1992, TiE has played a leading role in facilitating the growth of high quality entrepreneurship across the world. Through its programs and conferences, TiE has worked hard to provide a platform for effective interaction among business people, government policy makers, professional service providers, academics, and the media. I am happy to share my perspectives on the challenges and opportunities that increasing globalization presents."

The conference theme is based on the book, "The World is Flat," by New York Times foreign affairs correspondent Thomas Friedman, who addresses globalization, the shrinking of the world through connectivity, and their meanings for countries, companies and entrepreneurs.

"Through its extensive network and world-class membership, TiE is in a unique position with access to a vast pool of intellectual capital across the globe," Jain said. "It is admirable that TiE believes in leveraging its position to further the concept of social entrepreneurship. An entrepreneur has the committed vision and inexhaustible determination to persist until she has transformed an entire system and positively impacted society at large. At the Kellogg School of Management, we are in the business of producing socially responsible global leaders, and I look forward to speaking on this important concept at the forthcoming TiECON Midwest event in Chicago."

Key sponsors include Calamos Investments, Illinois Entrepreneurship Network, Merrill Lynch, McKinsey & Company, and Gardner Carton & Douglas.

For more information and to register for the conference, please visit http://tiecon-midwest.org. Reduced conference rates are available before August 31, 2005.

About TiE Midwest

TiE Midwest (www.tie-midwest.org) is based in Chicago and serves Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa. Local charter members include notable entrepreneurial and business leaders from organizations and institutions, including Tellabs, Motorola, Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management, KB Partners, and William Blair Partners.

About TiE

TIE is a not-for-profit global network of entrepreneurs and professionals. Founded in Silicon Valley in 1992, TiE is an open and inclusive organization that has rapidly grown to more than 40 chapters in nine countries. TiE endeavors to cultivate and nurture the ecosystems of entrepreneurship and free-market economies everywhere, as it sees this to be the single most powerful instrument of prosperity.