March 22, 2019
SIU’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Day offers insights from a business expert
CARBONDALE, Ill. — How do you succeed as an entrepreneur in the real world?
Get insights from someone who has done just that at Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Day on March 26. James “Jim” Dreher, a successful southern California entrepreneur, will speak at 6 p.m. on March 26 at SIU’s Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center, 1740 Innovation Drive.
He will tell his story and share the business and innovation expertise he’s acquired through experience. The presentation is free and open to the public.
Dreher has diverse entrepreneurship experience
A Carbondale native, Dreher initially held a variety of senior management positions at Baxter Healthcare and Johnson & Johnson before launching his entrepreneurial career. Since then, he has launched multiple successful business start-ups, including Embolic Protection Inc., SquareOne Inc. and Quattro Vascular Pte Ltd., and authored numerous patent applications. He is also the founder and managing partner of Option 3, a medical device incubator that focuses on quickly bringing proprietary technologies to market.
Dreher serves as an industry mentor and adviser to the MedTech Innovations Program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dreher’s father, Robert Dreher, was a faculty member at SIU School of Law and he wanted to give back to the Southern Illinois region and university by sharing his expertise on campus.
Prizes and refreshments included
The event will also feature door prizes and refreshments. Sprekk, a cellphone repair business located in Saluki Ventures, the student business incubator at Dunn-Richmond, will be giving away electronics and smartphone accessories. The company was founded by current CEO Nathaniel Jordan, an SIU student and University Innovation Fellow. Jordan is coordinating Dreher’s presentation in conjunction with his training and work in the national leadership program.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Day is being hosted by the University Innovation Fellows in collaboration with the Saluki Entrepreneur Corps and Saluki Ventures.
For more information contact Lynn Andersen Lindberg at 618/453-6754 or innovation@siu.edu.