As Jacksonville's population has grown to about 1 million residents, Think Bold founders Troy McNair and Maurice Henderson want to bring innovators together who want to drive the city forward.
On April 12-13, the Think Bold Jax conference will look to establish itself as a “vital hub for those eager to challenge the status quo and forge new paths in fields ranging from technology, innovation, health, and sports to arts, film, transportation, aviation, entrepreneurship, social change and business.”
McNair and Henderson each have a background in entrepreneurial branding and marketing, especially in the entertainment field. With Think Bold, they aspire to harness that background to create a “melting pot” that “fosters creative endeavors.”
“We need this here. We've seen what South by Southwest has done creating a major tech hub and enormous economic impact that happened in Austin,” Henderson told the Business Journal. “This is something we're doing for our city that we want to build here.”
This will be the second year for Think Bold. In 2023, the conference and festival welcomed 250 people. In 2024, its founders hope to double that number.
Located again at the Hyatt Regency Riverfront Hotel, the conference aims to offer not only a diverse array of speakers, but also to engage via music, food and immersive and experiential applications.
“We focus on innovation and technology, but we also call it ‘disguised learning,’" McNair said. “You still have to have some music, you still have to have some culture, you have to have some art…”
In the classroom, disguised learning uses games and other creative methods to teach learners through application.
At Think Bold, this disguised learning will come in the form of aviation simulations from United and Delta airlines and the Jacksonville-based Embraer aerospace manufacturer. There will be spoken word, music production and robotics programming at the JEA Jams Masterclass Lounge.
Across the conference, there will be various panels and programs, from real estate investment to community building from local partners like VyStar, the Downtown Investment Authority, the city of Jacksonville and the Dennis and Ives commercial space.
This diversity in sponsors and presenters is where Think Bold 2023 really succeeded, Henderson said.
“Stakeholders in the community were able to just sit down in the green room and figure out some synergy,” Henderson said. “For weeks and months, even up to now, we still get testimonials of power players from two different sectors who found common ground.”
This common ground is the bedrock on which Henderson and McNair base Think Bold’s structure. The pair have big dreams but are making sure to keep a slow and steady approach to establishing the conference.
“Years one, two, three, they’re about building foundation,” McNair said. “It's all about building relationships, so that's our main focus behind the scenes.”
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