On 25 and 26 of June, 280 European and American attendees assembled in New York City for the FACE conference, organized by The Triana Group, San Francisco Science, Advancia School of Entrepreneurship, the Paris Chamber of Commerce.

Distinguished entrepreneurs, corporate champions, and investors (Jason Ackerman – Fresh Direct, Matt Turck – Bloomberg Ventures, Alain Lemarchand – Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Kevin Ryan – AlleyCorp, Fabrice Sergent – Cellfish, Josh Boltuch – Amie Street…) and many more shared experiences and discussed their common issues in the present business environment through keynote speeches, panels, interactive round-tables and workshops around specific industries (Biotech-MedTech, Web-Mobiles-Software, Cleantech), some of which facilitated by prominent journalists (Rick Schine – Inc., Russell Adams, Wall Street Journal, and many others).

Furthermore, FACE served as an opportunity for entrepreneurs to showcase their newest products and projects while receiving invaluable feedback from the entire community of entrepreneurs and strategic partners.

The conference successfully provided a catalyst for European and American entrepreneurs to create new opportunities and succeed in preparing their businesses for the economic upturn.

“I got more done in a few hours than over the past six months”, one of the participants told us, this pioneering event by The Triana Group “proves that a growing number of global entrepreneurs and senior executives, from a great variety of industries and countries want face-to-face networks of like-minded people who share or value the entrepreneurial mindset. This is building up tremendous energy potential.”

Moving forward, a LinkedIn group for FACE will help participants to remain connected. Following the 2008 and 2009 launching events, the next events will be more focused on b-to-b meetings in smaller group formats. Perhaps a bit more under the radar and behind closed doors but still a place where new relationships are built and where business can get done.