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Former basketball superstar and current entrepreneur Earvin “Magic” Johnson has been announced as a keynote speaker at the Rally innovation conference, scheduled for Aug. 29-31 at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis.
Johnson is the second keynote speaker to be announced so far by Indianapolis-based Elevate Ventures, which is organizing the conference. Media personality and podcast Guy Raz was announced last week. Rally plans to feature four separate keynote addresses.
“Magic Johnson is a tremendous example of entrepreneurship, and his unique experiences in sports and business make him a perfect fit for Rally’s inaugural year,” Elevate Ventures CEO Christopher Day said in a written statement.
Johnson had a multi-decade career with the Los Angeles Lakers, as both player and coach. In 1987, while still a player, he founded Magic Johnson Enterprises, a conglomerate that includes businesses in sports, entertainment and health care.
Elevate Ventures aims to engage companies, universities, entrepreneurs and investors from around the world at the Rally event, with a first-year attendance goal of 5,000.
The event will include a pitch competition in which winners in each of five subject areas will win up to $1 million each. It also will feature workshops, face-to-face meetups with investors and an innovation demo area that focuses on six different areas: software, agriculture and food, health care, sports tech, hard tech and entrepreneurship.
Raz and Johnson are among more than 60 speakers from both inside and outside Indiana who have been announced to date. All told, Rally plans to have more than 220 speakers.
To learn more or buy tickets, visit rallyinnovation.com.
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