Ascender

Hacking Together Solutions: From Idea to Product
2018-10-09 17:30 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
ASCENDER STARTERS SERIES – FOR ANYONE STARTING A BUSINESS, NON-PROFIT, SIDE-PROJECT, OR INITIATIVE
Hacking Together Solutions: From Idea to Product
Do you have an idea for a new product? Perhaps you’re starting a new venture or launching a product through an existing business. Getting from idea to product can be a long and grueling journey. This session will focus on the process of creating an MVP or Minimal Viable Product. We will be discussing the assumptions you’ve made about your idea and how you can go about testing different conceptions as cheaply and quickly as possible.
Featuring:
Cameron Scott, Web Developer and Product Manager

Unmasking Investors: What They're Really Thinking
2018-08-30 17:30 - 19:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
ASCENDER BUILDERS SERIES – FOR ANYONE GROWING A BUSINESS, NON-PROFIT, SIDE-PROJECT, OR INITIATIVE.
Unmasking Investors: What They’re Really Thinking
Ever wonder what factors into an investor’s decision? Is it purely based on the return? For this Builders Series, we’re putting investors in the hot seat and asking them the tough questions you’ve always wanted to know the answers to. We’ll be discussing the do’s and don’ts of contacting, pitching to, and working with local investors.
Featuring:
Zach Malone, Principal at Draper Triangle Ventures
Christopher Moehle, Managing Director at Coal Hill ventures
Bobby Zappala, Cofounder & CEO at Ascender
Moderator: Stephan Mueller, COO at Ascender

Biggest Employment Law Mistakes for Start-Ups and How to Avoid Them
2018-08-28 08:00 - 09:30 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
Biggest Employment Law Mistakes for Start-Ups and How to Avoid Them
A company’s employment law obligations start with employee Number One. Learn what employment and human resources liabilities you can’t afford to get wrong and what you can do now to start preparing for compliance with federal and state laws as your business grows.
This event is free and open to the public.
8:00 – 8:30AM | Breakfast & Networking
8:30 – 9:30AM | Session
Featuring:
Jill Weimer, Shareholder and Robotics, AI and Automation Industry Group Core Team Member at Littler Mendelson, P.C., International Labor and Employment Law Firm
Jill M. Weimer’s practice focuses on advising companies on employment law compliance issues and defending businesses in litigation of employment-related claims.
She advises companies of all sizes, from start-ups to global corporations with a particular focus on counseling clients regarding emerging issues related to the influx of technology in the workplace.
Jill’s practice specifically includes wage and hour litigation, defending discrimination and harassment actions, and counseling clients on litigation avoidance, including best practices for discipline, termination, compliance, training and other workplace issues. Jill is a member the firm’s Robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation industry group. This industry group is focused on providing representation and compliance assistance to employers in the robotics industry and employers integrating automation, AI, telepresence and robotics into their workplaces. She is also a core member
of the firm’s Employment Practices Audit practice group, through which she regularly audits clients’ employment practices in an effort to proactively identify issues before they become lawsuits.

Preparing for the Ask: An Investment Readiness Workshop
2018-08-14 17:30 - 19:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
ASCENDER STARTERS SERIES – FOR ANYONE STARTING A BUSINESS, NON-PROFIT, SIDE-PROJECT, OR INITIATIVE
Preparing for the Ask: An Investment Readiness Workshop
Asking for investment can be an overwhelming task. Whether it’s $10,000 from a relative or a $1.5 million seed round, preparing for the ask takes patience, perseverance, and a lot of pre-work. What financial documents should you include? How do you determine if an investor is the right fit for your business? Join us in August to improve your investment readiness and gain confidence in making the ask.
Featuring:
Phil Marzolf
CEO and Director at pHase2 Microtechnologies
Phil has been involved in building successful commercial ventures and introducing emerging technologies for the past 2 decades. Educated as an electrical engineer, he was CTO for a start-up that was acquired by Intel, and subsequently held various engineering, marketing and general management roles at Intel and National Semiconductor. He spent 4 years in Germany managing operations and building sales and marketing organizations for Telefunken, and Micronas. Since 2013 Phil has focused on creating and deploying sales and marketing strategies for early-stage companies in Pittsburgh, and was an entrepreneur in residence (EIR) at the University of Pittsburgh focusing on Internet of Things (IoT) commercialization. He holds a BSEE from the University of Notre Dame, an MSEE degree from Santa Clara University, and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His desire is to contribute to a 21st century America that is entrepreneurial, innovative, inclusive, and intrepid.

Financial Strategy
2018-07-26 17:30 - 19:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
ASCENDER BUILDERS SERIES – FOR ANYONE GROWING A BUSINESS, NON-PROFIT, SIDE-PROJECT, OR INITIATIVE.
Financial Strategy: Aligning Financial Models
Having a financial model can only get you so far as an entrepreneur. What makes your model impressive is correlating non-financial and financial data in way that makes sense to outside parties. Join us in July to learn about 1) key operating metrics 2) characteristics of investment and 3) financial modeling with a purpose. This talk will explore VC capital as a source of funding for cross-industry entrepreneurs.
Featuring
Joseph Donnelly
Chief Financial Officer
Velocity Fund Partners

Financial Planning for Startups
2018-07-10 17:30 - 19:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
ASCENDER STARTERS SERIES – FOR ANYONE STARTING A BUSINESS, NON-PROFIT, SIDE-PROJECT, OR INITIATIVE.
Financial Planning
Financial planning for an early stage business can be a daunting task. Join us in July to learn some of the crucial components to early stage planning. We will be talking about 1) establishing financial goals 2) forecasting startup costs and 3) cash flow management.
Featuring:
Stephan Mueller
COO, Ascender
Babs Carryer
Director, Education & Outreach, Innovation Institute
University of Pittsburgh

The Art of Negotiations
2018-06-26 17:30 - 19:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
ASCENDER BUILDERS SERIES – FOR ANYONE GROWING A BUSINESS, NON-PROFIT, SIDE-PROJECT, OR INITIATIVE.
The Art of Negotiations
We negotiate daily in a variety of contexts: business, family, and social. Negotiations serve several purposes: (1) establishing new or renewing old relationships; (2) changing behaviors and expectations; and (3) resolving conflict and disputes. How effectively we negotiate exerts important effects on the quality of life we live and how successful we are as entrepreneurs. Although negotiations are a ubiquitous part of our everyday lives, many of us know little about the strategy and psychology of effective negotiations. Why do we sometimes get our way, while other times we walk away feeling frustrated by our inability to achieve the agreement we desire? This talk will describe strategies for claiming and creating value through effective negotiation and conflict management.
Featuring
Taya R. Cohen, PhD
Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior & Theory
Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business

Buchanan LABS - GDPR
2018-06-21 12:00 - 13:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
Buchanan LABS Presents
Thinking Globally: What Startups Should Know about the New EU General Data Protection Regulations
Topics:

What is the EU General Data Protection Regulation?
Why is it getting so much publicity and generating so much anxiety in the U.S.?
How do U.S. companies get “caught” by the GDPR?
Why should startups pay any attention to the GDPR?

Presenter:
Sue Friedberg, Shareholder and Co-chair of Buchanan’s Cybersecurity & Data Protection Group
Lunch provided.
REGISTER HERE

Leveraging Today's Tech for B2B Sales
2018-06-20 08:30 - 10:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
Leveraging Today’s Tech for B2B Sales
Is the sales process overwhelming you? Looking to simplify and grow your sales funnel? Join us for a special breakfast session on how you can leverage current technology to increase your sales. The goal of the session is to provide participants with an understanding of tools and technologies available to help B2B companies build awareness, generate new opportunities and close business.
Topics Covered

How do we build a contact list? – Sales Intelligence Software
How do we keep track of our database? – CRM
How do we reach prospective customers? – Email Marketing and Marketing Automation
What else can we do to be effective? – Sales Enablement and Sales Acceleration Technology

Featured Speakers
Dan Hersh, Founder of Engaged Prospect
Sam Stein, Vice President of Engaged Prospect
Event Schedule
8:30AM – Doors (breakfast provided)
9:00-10:00AM – Program
Please note: This event is designed to serve Ascender’s mission of providing entrepreneurial learning opportunities to the Pittsburgh community.

Sales Cures All
2018-06-12 17:30 - 19:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
ASCENDER STARTERS SERIES – FOR ANYONE STARTING A BUSINESS, NON-PROFIT, SIDE-PROJECT, OR INITIATIVE.
Sales Cures All: Mastering Sales Prospecting
Sales prospecting is the first vital step in the sales process. Acing sales prospecting can be very challenging for founders with a history of producing hero sales during the first stages of a startup. During this session, we will discuss how to create effective business scripts for cold calling/emailing, as well as other tactics useful for widening the top of the sales funnel.
Featuring:
Brandon Takacs
Account Executive, Cox Media Group

PR for Startups: An Awareness Workshop
2018-05-31 17:30 - 19:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
ASCENDER BUILDERS SERIES – FOR ANYONE GROWING A BUSINESS, NON-PROFIT, SIDE-PROJECT, OR INITIATIVE.
PR for Startups: An Awareness Workshop
At it’s core, PR is storytelling. In this workshop, we will be exploring how to find an angle, approach PR as a reporter, and nail press releases on your first try. We’ll also dive into what not to do and common mistakes our speaker, Saul Markowitz, has seen during his 20+ year career running Markowitz Communications. The event will be a chance for the audience to ask questions about their own PR struggles and learn the four golden rules of PR.
Featuring:
Saul Markowitz, President of Markowitz Communications

What you post doesn’t matter if no one’s paying attention – A social media workshop for startups
2018-05-24 19:00 - 20:30
What you post doesn’t matter if no one’s paying attention – A social media workshop for startups
Join us for an in depth workshop by digital marketing guru, Jordon Rooney. The workshop will include a mix of lecture and discussion time with a focus on the following content areas.
Topics Covered:

Building an engaged online audience
Adding personality to any brand
Diversifying your content
Thought leadership and influencer marketing
Figuring out if an agency is right for you

Meet the Speaker – Jordon Rooney
Jordon Rooney is the Founder/CEO of NFBD, which stands for Never Fear Being Different and the Director of Digital Marketing for Pond Lehocky, one of the largest law firms on the East coast. In the past 2 years, Jordon has had over 110 speaking engagements in 10 states. This past summer, his videos reached 20 million video views with 250,000 shares. He currently has over 160,000 followers on social media. You can see more about Jordon by following @NFBD
*The event is free and open to all with an interest in social media marketing.

Show, Don't Tell: Product Demos
2018-05-07 17:30 - 19:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
ASCENDER STARTER SERIES – FOR ANYONE STARTING A BUSINESS, NON-PROFIT, SIDE-PROJECT, OR INITIATIVE.
Show, Don’t Tell: Product Demos
If you have a product or service then you have to demonstrate it, sometimes at a client site or inside a meeting room but more than ever virtually with a virtual meeting, your website, or displayed out on the internet by your fans (or critics). We’ll use this time to build and practice impactful ways to demonstrate a product or service. Don’t worry if you only have an idea or haven’t thought of a product or service yet, we’ll have an example you can use to work alongside other entrepreneurs. Be prepared for an interactive workshop and make sure to invite others you know to attend – you’ll leave a better sales person, brand manager, product owner, and marketer even if you don’t have any of those titles.
Featuring:
Adam Paulisick, Chief Product Officer at MAYA, a BCG Company

Hiring & Firing & Hiring Again
2018-04-26 17:30 - 19:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
ASCENDER BUILDERS SERIES – FOR ANYONE GROWING A BUSINESS, NON-PROFIT, SIDE-PROJECT, OR INITIATIVE.
Hiring & Firing & Hiring Again
In a startup, you’re often in ‘survival mode’. Your first hire is typically a friend or family member, while your second hire tends to mirror your own ideals and skill sets. The hiring and firing process can be a time to move past the general tendencies of a startup and focus intentionally on your brand, diversity, and culture. Join us in April for an in depth look at applying human resources to the hiring and firing process. Learn first hand how to find the right person to help you create the culture you want, gracefully fire team members, and become self aware of what your team needs.
Featuring:
Christine Rogers-Raetsch, Head of People at Duolingo

Always Beta: Creativity and Its Practice
2018-04-23 17:30 - 19:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
REGISTER HERE
How does creativity contribute to your company’s success?
Ascender invites you to attend a special guest lecture with Israel Stol, a leading management transformation author, lecturer, and corporate business process consultant, who previously worked at Alcoa, Westinghouse, and SpaceX.
With over 35 years of experience as a welding engineer in industrial research and development, his work in manufacturing technologies spans a broad range of industries, including automotive and transportation, oil and gas, marine, and aerospace. He has authored and co-authored 45 U.S. and International patents, including those for advanced torpedo propulsion, welding processes, and even candy dispensers.
As Founder of Always-βeta, Israel draws on his experience as an engineer and inventor to consult clients on organizational creativity. This event will be a very abbreviated version of his Seminar on Organizational Creativity, and will include the following topics:
1. Show how Creativity works.
2. Present examples of innovations stemming from the Creative process
3. Define the difference between Creativity and Innovation
4. Identify principles and factors that affect Creativity
5. Introduce Creativity augmenting techniques for your company

HR Before You Need It
2018-04-10 17:30 - 19:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
ASCENDER STARTER SERIES – FOR ANYONE STARTING A BUSINESS, NON-PROFIT, SIDE-PROJECT, OR INITIATIVE.
HR Before You Need It
Between finding your first customer and financing your business, human resources tasks can often fall to the waste side for a founder or founding team. Although it may seem like something that can wait, basic human resource operations are vital to the success of early stage companies. With no plan or process in place, on boarding a team member, implementing new policies, or maintaining employee compensation can be daunting tasks. Join us in April to learn easy tips and tricks to nail startup HR without a human resources employee.
Featuring:
Stephan Mueller, COO at Ascender

Inclusive Innovation Week: All-In Silent Disco
2018-04-07 20:00 - 23:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
REGISTER HERE
Come dance the night away with friends and community members! This event is the brainchild of several members of the disability community, who are excited to throw a fun, inclusive party open to all who want to participate. Our silent disco is open to all, with vibrating backpacks and floor panels so that those with hearing impairments can feel the music, and everyone can share in the experience. This is event powered by sponsorships from Thrival and UPMC. We are excited to work closely with amazing organizations like Achieva and YWCA who bring years of experience working for greater inclusion.
This event is at the Ace Hotel, 120 S Whitfield St.

DISRUPTED: The Risks and Opportunities of Emerging Technologies
2018-04-05 18:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
REGISTER HERE
How can we advance innovation without leaving people behind?

A wide range of new technologies are changing our lives, communities, and society faster than ever before. Artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, virtual/augmented reality, advanced wearables, and other innovations present powerful opportunities to solve major problems, but also come with considerable risks. It will take all of us to ensure that these developments serve to correct rather than perpetuate inequities.
We invite everyone – from seasoned technologists to people new to all these terms – to join us for an evening of learning, dialogue, and problem-solving. Hear how different voices in our technology community think about what various innovations are bringing to our society, and spend the rest of the evening engaging with others to find ways that we can individually or collectively use these technologies for good.
SCHEDULE:
5:30pm – Doors open; open activities available
6:00pm – Food served (by Choolaah) – vegan options available
6:30pm – Short speaker presentations and brief Q&A
7:30pm – Small group discussions, ideation exercises, & sharing
8:30pm – Discussions conclude
9:00pm – Doors close
SPEAKERS:
Karen Alexander, Director, XRconnectED
Elizabeth LaRue, CEO, Hera Global Tech
Eugene Leventhal, Founder/CEO, eduDAO
Mike Skirpan, Executive Director, Community Forge
Suzy Teele, Head of Marketing & Communications, Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM)

REGISTER HERE

The Power of Tx3
2018-04-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
REGISTER HERE
You will not want to miss this mind-blowing experience led, created, and facilitated by Ingrid Cook, a minority and woman Founder at SHzoom, a tech startup headquartered at Pittsburgh’s Ascender.
Discover the role your thoughts, God given talents, and tenacity (“grit”) plays in living out your life purpose and achieving your goals regardless of your race or gender.
Participants will engage with practical tools and techniques for tapping into their Tx3. Hurry, spaces are limited!
Event registration will close once all seats are filled. Those waitlisted will be granted seats on a first come first serve basis.
REGISTER HERE

Mike Joosse: 500 Designers Walk into a Bar
2018-04-03 18:00 - 20:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
REGISTER HERE
This is a story told in three parts. It’s a story about a giant, perpetual experiment built to disrupt the education industry. It’s a story about teaching humans to design and designers to be more human. And it’s a love story about Chicago—glorious, riotous Chicago, full of adventure and collaboration and donuts and beer.
Doors at 6pm. Lecture begins at 6:30pm.
Designation is the leading immersive UX/UI design program, a startup that helps startups succeed, and a thriving community of alumni and mentors around the world. This is the story of Designation and what we’ve learned over four years and 500 graduates. Come for the highs, stay for the lows, and learn how to inject some of our lessons into your career.
ABOUT MIKE
Mike Joosse creates change within organizations. Since 2001, he’s devoted his career to nurturing and leading design communities and championing the talents and dedication of their designers. Currently, he serves as President at Designation, the leading UX/UI immersive design program, where he helps participants become purposeful, skilled, impassioned design leaders of tomorrow. He has lectured across the country on community and careers in design, at conferences and to a host of organizations. He believes in being hungry, indispensable, and enthralled every day.
REGISTER HERE

Creating Team Culture: Going Beyond the Matching T-Shirts
2018-03-29 17:30 - 19:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
ASCENDER BUILDERS SERIES – FOR ANYONE GROWING A BUSINESS, NON-PROFIT, SIDE-PROJECT, OR INITIATIVE.
Creating Team Culture: Going Beyond the Matching T-Shirts
Team culture. What does that mean? Is it the beers the team grabs on a Friday? Is it the standard of people getting to the office by 8:00AM? Team culture is often a confusing topic. Join us this month to determine what kind of culture works best for your team, as well as how to influence and shape your team dynamics.
Speaker:
Alexander R. Schwall, Ph.D.
Co-Founder and Chief Scientist
Rhabit Analytics INc.

You're CEO, Now What?
2018-03-13 17:30 - 19:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
ASCENDER STARTER SERIES – FOR ANYONE STARTING A BUSINESS, NON-PROFIT, SIDE-PROJECT, OR INITIATIVE.
You’re CEO, Now What?
Founders or founding team members often take on the role as CEO in a startup. As the organization grows, carrying out management and CEO responsibilities can be a tricky transition. Join us to discuss tips and tactics for fulfilling this role of CEO on a small team from people who have been there. Learn where they went wrong and how they manage being a founder and CEO.
Panelists:
Avishai Geller, CEO at Maven Machines
Lynsie Campbell, Founder of LaneSpotter
Brian Gaudio, CEO at Module

Unchained: Decrypting Blockchain Technology
2018-02-27 18:00 - 20:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
RSVP HERE
Have you heard the words blockchain and cryptocurrency a lot lately? Have you considered investing in bitcoin or lamented that you haven’t without really knowing what bitcoin is? You’re not alone.
Come join us for an introduction to blockchain technology. We’ll talk about what it is, how it works, and current projects in the marketplace. Our goal is to keep the night informative, open, and interactive and to learn from each other!

Pittsburgh VR MeetUp with Schell Games
2018-02-23 16:30 - 18:30 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States

Stakeholders: Identify, Manage, & Leverage
2018-02-22 16:30 - 18:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
Ascender Builders Series – For anyone growing a business, non-profit, side-project, or initiative.
Stakeholders: Identify, Manage, & Leverage
A stakeholder is a person, group, or organization that has interest or concern in an entity. Your company needs to deeply know all your stakeholders – how they can help you and how they might hurt you. During this workshop, we will discuss how to identify all the stakeholders in a market, manage your stakeholder landscape, and leverage these groups to move your company forward towards success.
We will be cover specifics to help you accomplish the following:

Identifying all stakeholders in an industry or market (paying customers, end users, decision makers, government agencies, union, the community, etc)
Determine which stakeholders are most important and why
Develope tactics for managing different stakeholder relationships
Learn tips and tricks for leveraging your stakeholder community

Featured Speaker:
Babs Carryer, Director of Education and Outreach Innovation Institute, University of Pittsburgh

Evaluating Your Market
2018-02-06 16:30 - 18:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
Ascender Starter Series – For anyone starting a business, non-profit, side-project, or initiative.
Evaluating Your Market
Researching your market can be difficult and costly. From google searching information on your industry to utilizing databases, trying to find compelling statistics for your business model or pitch can be a daunting task. For our first Starter Series of 2018, we have teamed up with the Carnegie Library to present relevant tips and tricks for conducting market research.
We will be covering how to extract the following information:

General industry reports with IBIS World
Annual revenue for your competition
Census Reports
Using A to Z Database for client lists
Deep web research (overcoming the database paywalls)

Featured Speaker:
Rachel Masilamani, Reference Librarian Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Downtown & Business

Employment Law for Startup Founders and Executives - With Andrew Horowitz
2018-01-30 16:30 - 18:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
REGISTER HERE

Many startup founders quickly find themselves thrown into to the role of employer. They need to define expectations and manage risk while at the same time being a desirableemployer to attract top talent. Employees are people, who by nature are quirky and difficult.
The objectives of this session are to arm founders and others who make personnel decisions with:

An understanding of the risks inherent to having employees and strategies to manage them.
An understanding of the role of personnel policies and manuals.
Best practices for hiring, firing, compensation, and other personnel administration issues, including sticky situations that can arise with employees.

Because we want participants to be able to ask candid questions without their employees present, this session is limited to founders and other C-Level executives who make personnel decisions or anticipate having to do so.
Refreshments will be provided.

Incubator Bootcamp
2018-01-26 16:30 - 2018-01-28 16:30 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
Invite-Only Bootcamp for Incubator applicants.

Bootcamp Orientation
2018-01-18 16:30 - 20:00 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
Invite-only orientation for incubator applicants.

Pittsburgh VR Meetup
2018-01-12 16:30 - 18:30 | Ascender, 6401 Penn Ave 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
Come hang out with other VR enthusiasts at the Pittsburgh VR Meetup on Friday, January 12, 5:30-7:30, at Ascender. Ralph Vituccio from Carnegie Mellon University will give a brief talk about what’s happening with VR at CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center. Karen Alexander will share some of the most exciting news and developments from VR conferences she attended in the US and in Europe in 2017. Schell Games has generously agreed to let us demo two of their games, I Expect You to Die and Water Bears. You’ll have the chance to test different types of VR headsets, to chat with others who are interested in VR, and to enjoy some light refreshments. Parking is free, and you can BYOB! Doors open at 5:30, program at 6:30. Stop by–we’d love to meet you!
