Tonight, the first Silicon Prairie Social was held at Mullen’s Bar and Grill in Lisle, Illinois. Similar to the Tech Cocktail events in Chicago, the Silicon Prairie Social was designed to connect “tech professionals, entrepreneurs, service providers, Internet professionals, Web 2.0 and startup companies, the mobile industry, and mobile marketing professionals.” The goals of the event were to:
- Connect local people with others in their industry and build community
- Raise the profile of the Silicon Prairie through the publicity generated around the events.
- Foster investment and economic development in the region by showcasing local businesses, entrepreneurs, and startups.
Here’s a partial list of those I saw, met, or talked with:
- Brian Clark of XNet an Internet hosting and services company in Lisle
- Jeff Mitchell of Harvey Nash an IT services and staffing company in Naperville.
- Coley Perry of Solution Partners Inc. an IT consulting company in Naperville
- Joe Johnson of Riverside Consulting Group Ltd. an IT consulting and services company in Riverside
- Anders Bovin of Sanders Infrastructure an IT consulting company in Naperville
- Paul Corning of Pariveda Solutions an IT consulting company in Chicago
- Mary Vojtech of Telcom Innovations Group a telecommunications/network provider in Itasca
- Steven Ryzner a manufacturing, engineering, and energy consultant in Chicago
- Ravi Mazumdar of TV Compass a company making a two-way interactive WiFi based smart TV remote control in Chicago
- David P. Leibowitz of Leibowitz Law Center a law firm in Waukegan
- Medi-Ez Systems Inc. a digital signature service company
- Evan Brown of the Internet Cases blog
- Bob J. Brill of Wood Phillips an intellectual property law firm in Chicago
- Mark Carter of One80 an Internet marketing company in Chicago
- James Roberts of James Roberts Consulting, Inc. a developer consultant in Algonquin
- Mazy Hadeyat of M. Hedayat & Associates, P.C. a law firm in Bolingbrook
- Julian Pretto of Chicago Mirco an IT hosting and services company in Arlington Heights
This only scratches the surface of the 350 people in attendance of this sold-out event. Events like this help promote collaboration and innovation in the suburban technology community. I look forward to future silicon socials on the prairie.