GoDaddy.com’s chief scientist, Dave Koopman, will be featured speaker at Wednesday's Innovation Show hosted by Spokane networking company, LaunchPad INW.

The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to evening at the Mirabeau Park Hotel, 1100 N. Sullivan.

Koopman will discuss technology innovation during the noon to 1 p.m. lunch. Afternoon sessions will feature area tech leaders, followed by a trade show and a networking party.

Afternoon sessions will include comments by GreenCupboards CEO Josh Neblett, Mitch Williams of Gravity Jack, based in Liberty Lake, and Ed Reese, founder of Sixth Man Marketing. 

Admission is $35, free for LaunchPad members. For details go to www.launchpadINW.com

Area companies and their successes through innovation will be highlighted Oct. 20 in a public event hosted Oct. 20 by LaunchPad Inland Northwest.

The sponsored event will start at 3 p.m. at the Meadowwood Technology Campus in Liberty Lake. The event will include a speaker’s panel and breakout sessions afterword, said Bill Kalivas, co-founder of LaunchPad INW.

The evening winds down with a trade show and networking from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

 Rebecca Lovell, chief business officer for GeekWire, will discuss Seattle’s globally competitive technology community.

 The event is free for LaunchPad paid members, $25 for others ($5 for college students). Registration can be made at Launchpadinw.com.

LaunchPad INW and Leadership Spokane are co-sponsoring a Tuesday afternoon session as part of an ongoing effort to nurture and support young professionals.

The free event will include a keynote by Tyler Lafferty, founder of the Spokane companies Seven2 and 14Four. The two digital media companies provide marketing and agency work for clients across the area and the country.

The session starts at 4 p.m. at LaunchPad’s Spokane office at 120 N. Stevens. For more information, go to LaunchPadINW.com.  

The ongoing series is called Next Generation Leaders, and has the objective of nurturing and encouraging area young professionals to work together and develop personal and business relationships.

Leadership Spokane and LaunchPad Inland Northwest have proposed a new online and face-to-face network for Spokane's Next Gen leaders.

A kickoff event co-hosted by Washington Trust Bank is scheculed 4 p.m. April 6 at LaunchPad's traininig center at 120 N. Stevens.

Leadership Spokane Executive Director Linda Finney said supporters hope the initiative will connect 20- and 30-year-olds to Spokane's business community and each other using networking events and training in how best to use social media.

Although most find work through referrals, in-person networking is among the least favorite ways to meet people, according to research cited by LaunchPad.

Organiztion co-founder Bill Kalivas efforts to retain graduates from Spokane-area colleges and uiversities have failed to keep most from leaving to find jobs elsewhere.

For more information, contact Alex Chalk at lsintern@leadershipspokane.org.