BE Fest to hold 4th edition Dec. 6 at Puerto Rico Convention Center
The fourth edition of the Boricua Emprende Fest (BE Fest) the largest, most inclusive, and accessible annual business education and celebration event on the island will take place Dec. 6 at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in Miramar, Denisse Rodríguez, executive director at Colmena66 and manager of BE Fest said in a recent interview with News is my Business.
Colmena66 is a program within the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust and affiliate of the network of business ecosystem builders, SourceLink, Rodríguez assured.
“Puerto Rico is at a juncture where what entrepreneurs need is someone that connects them to the right resource at the right time so that they can quickly and effectively start or grow their existing business,” Rodríguez said. “That’s what we do.”
This is the second in-person BE fest edition that is taking place. The first event was held in 2019, Rodríguez noted.
She explained that the different chats and seminars that will be held throughout the day are “by design supposed to be overwhelming,” and “that it because it is the only event where there are all kinds of entrepreneurs at every business stage.”
Some 59 sessions will take place throughout the day, she said, adding that there will be more than 120 speakers.
“There will be some sessions on the main stage, others will be in let’s say break-out rooms, which we are calling labs and their divided by themes, so for example there is money lab, a food and agro lab for that industry,” Rodríguez said.
“We have an industries lab, and we have an innovation lab and a new trends lab. So, we’re combining a lot of sessions that are for example for traditional businesses but also startups and sustainable businesses,” Rodríguez said.
Furthermore, a session on how to navigate inflation, one on how to attract and retain talent, and one on selling to the biggest client, “which is the federal government,” will also form part of the event.
“We will also have one [session] on how to navigate crisis,” she noted.
About the “How to Attract and Retain Talent,” session, the issue on how local and worldwide businesses are struggling with attracting and retaining talent will be addressed.
During the pandemic, and subsequent lockdowns, companies had to implement remote work strategies for employees to be able to continue working from their homes.
Experts have noted that many workers got used to working remotely and prefer to continue working this way.
“That is one of the main topics that will be addressed,” Rodríguez said.
Protecting intellectual property
Meanwhile, Edgar Guerra, primary patent examiner at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), also spoke with News is my Business, about the topics he will be addressing at the event.
Guerra will be touching on “Protecting your Intellectual Property: Applications and Software Patents.”
He explained that intellectual property consists of intellectual property rights, patents, trademarks, tracing, and copyrights.
“In essence, intellectual property rights are the ability to empower the human being to protect their invention, their ideas, their intellect,” Guerra explained.
“Through the presentation that we will be making during the BE Fest, we’ll be talking about intellectual property as a business strategy and essentially the ability to share with the public how they can take advantage of the human resources that USPTO presents to the audience,” he said.
Rodríguez said that those interested can still register for the event. The full agenda can be accessed here.
