Limited attendance, please secure admission ticket to receive the registration link.
We are proud to kick off Black History Month with Delane Parnell as our Fireside Chat esteemed guest.
A lifelong entrepreneur, Delane started his first job at 13, working 40 plus hours a week during the school year. At 17, Delane used the money he saved to purchase three cell phone stores and joined the founding team of Executive Car Rental that now has 16 locations across Michigan.
In 2017, Delane was introduced to Science founders Peter Pham and Mike Jones, where they discovered a common interest in esports. After a few months of speaking with Science, Delane founded PlayVS. In April 2018, PlayVS announced their exclusive partnership with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) to collaborate on the national rollout of esports in high schools.
Fireside Chat Guest Host
Our fireside chat guest host will be Kevin Ryan, award-winning journalist who covers tech startups at Inc. magazine. His book, Ahead of the Game: The Unlikely Rise of a Detroit Kid Who Forever Changed the Esports Industry, which tells the story of Delane Parnell's improbable journey to becoming the founder and CEO of PlayVS, was published by HarperCollins Leadership in January 2022. Kevin has previously written for ESPN The Magazine, CNBC and Fast Company.
Purchase the book and receive all the Stellar Member benefits at no extra cost: a personal recognition during the event and a 30 second pitching opportunity. Do not purchase the ticket before receiving the complimentary access code. Email the book purchase receipt to marc@startupgrind.com first. Book link: https://hcleadershipessentials.com/pages/ahead-of-the-game
Expected Event Takeaways:
Expected Book Takeaways:
Delane Parnell in the news:
PlayVS in the news:
Delane Parnell is currently the Founder and CEO of PlayVS, the venture-backed startup building the infrastructure for high school esports. Prior to starting PlayVS, Delane worked at IncWell Venture Capital where he became the youngest black venture capitalist in The United States. Delane was then part of the early team at Rocket Fiber that raised $31M and focused on retail strategy directly with the CEO. While at Rocket Fiber, Delane founded Rush Esports, an esports team that was acquired by Team Solomid. A lifelong entrepreneur, Delane started his first job at 13, working 40 plus hours a week during the school year. At 17, Delane used the money he saved to purchase three cell phone stores and joined the founding team of Executive Car Rental that now has 16 locations across Michigan.
In 2017, Delane was introduced to Science founders Peter Pham and Mike Jones, where they discovered a common interest in esports. After a few months of speaking with Science, Delane founded PlayVS. In April 2018, PlayVS announced their exclusive partnership with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) to collaborate on the national rollout of esports in high schools. In June of 2018, the company announced a $15M Series A led by NEA, the largest ever for a black founder in the consumer internet industry. PlayVS’ inaugural esports season will commence in October 2018.
Kevin Ryan is an award-winning journalist who covers tech startups at Inc. magazine. His book, Ahead of the Game: The Unlikely Rise of a Detroit Kid Who Forever Changed the Esports Industry, which tells the story of Delane Parnell's improbable journey to becoming the founder and CEO of PlayVS, was published by HarperCollins Leadership in January 2022. Kevin has previously written for ESPN The Magazine, CNBC and Fast Company.
As an entrepreneurial ecosystem explorer and builder, Marc has traveled extensively throughout the United States and abroad to study various structures and approaches to supporting and enhancing local entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Believing in supporting entrepreneurs throughout their journey, Marc has organized and facilitated multiple Global Entrepreneurship events, Techstars Startup Weekend and Startup Week, and runs Startup Broward, StartupGrind Fort Lauderdale, FoundersBoost South Florida, Founders Live Fort Lauderdale, Techstars Startup Digest, and the upcoming South Florida Startup organization.
Marc holds dual bachelor's degrees in Marketing and Management with specializations in Entrepreneurship, Finance, Advertising, and Computer Information Systems.
Marc calls himself an Innovation Activist, believing that true innovation is not the domain of the few but a human right.
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