Mapping the 2025 Conference Landscape: A Guide for Ecosystem Builders

As the 2025 conference season gets underway, here’s a guide to 20+ entrepreneurial ecosystem-oriented conferences—from a guy who has been to (most) of them.

If we haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet, my name is Kevin Carter, and I’m the Director of Business Development for EcoMap Technologies.

If you’re reading this and you know me, we probably met at a conference.

My position takes me all over the country as I’m constantly meeting with EcoMap’s partners, customers, and potential future customers. Last year, I covered 25 conferences, starting on MLK Weekend in Birmingham for USASBE and ending in mid-December with SSTI.

I connected with over 2,000 people in person, traveled over 30,000 miles in the air, and racked up hundreds of thousands of rewards points across all the travel partner apps (it was a proud day hitting Southwest A-List and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite). Conferences bring benefits that can’t be found through virtual meetings, but they also have the potential to take up your time, energy, and money -- and leave you spent.

The EBLN team graciously asked me to share what might be deemed well-traveled wisdom about the ecosystem building conference landscape, and I was happy to oblige.

The truism “If you’ve been to one conference, you’ve been to one conference” applies to any industry, and that especially rings true about the ecosystem building space. 

Not every conference I've listed here has dedicated tracks on entrepreneurial ecosystem building. However, each offers sector and industry-specific programming and attracts peers who want to explore the many facets of entrepreneurship and innovation that are key to a thriving ecosystem. Each conference has a different focus and audience, so find the ones that best align with your roles and interests.

If you can't attend a conference on this list, don't fret. Check out each of the hosting organizations. Like EcoMap, they offer other resources, tools, and year-round opportunities for ecosystem builders (fittingly, EBLN calls these organizations "National Resource Providers" or NRPs for short). Follow them on social media, subscribe to their newsletters, connect with their staff, and, if you feel inspired, join a national network or two as part of your professional development.

So without further ado, here is a fairly comprehensive list of ecosystem-centric conferences in 2025 from April onward. I’ve included their dates, locations, and a quick description to help you determine whether they fit your interests.

Because I love maps so much, I’ve included a legend to help you understand each conference's focus. 

Emoji Legend - 📈 🎓 ⚙️ 🧩 🌟 🗺

The optimistically increasing chart (📈) signifies an economic development focus.

The graduation cap (🎓) signifies a higher education focus.

The gear (⚙️) signifies an industry association focus.

The puzzle emoji (🧩) signifies an ecosystem building focus. 

The glowing star emoji (🌟) signifies a “can't-miss” conference.

And finally, the map emoji (🗺) means EcoMap is planning to attend.

My Conference Roundup (April to December 2025)

April 6-9: International Conference on Business Incubation 39 in Philadelphia, PA 📈 🧩 🌟 🗺

InBIA’s biggest conference of the year brings together entrepreneurial ecosystem builders across entrepreneurial support organizations, government, higher ed, and industry. One of the can’t-miss conferences of the year (but don’t worry if you missed it, you’ll have another shot in the Fall at the e.Builders Forum (see below).

April 7-9: Main Street Now Conference in Philadelphia, PA 📈 🧩 

Main Street America convenes a pan-national audience of main street economic developers and small business owners once a year. It is a great conference for those who work with local entrepreneur support or otherwise do place-based work.

April 9-11: Global Institute on Innovation District’s Summit in Mexico 📈 

I'm not as familiar with this conference, as it's a first-time event, but it seems like a great global summit for anyone who works in an innovation district. 

April 15-17: ACA 2025: The Summit of Angel Investing in Denver, CO 📈 

If you ever wanted to get to know the angel investing ecosystem, look no further. The Angel Capital Association is a great place to meet fellow angels or learn how to get started. 

May 6-8: Startup Champions Network Spring Summit in Las Vegas, NV  🧩  🗺

While I wasn’t in the field at the time of the Kauffman-led ESHIP Summits, my first conference was the Fall 2021 Startup Champions Network (SCN) summit in Des Moines, Iowa. This is where I first met folks that I would consider some of the preeminent leaders of this field. Come to Vegas this May and see why I haven’t missed an SCN since. 

May 8-9: Technical.ly Builders Conference in Philadelphia, PA 🧩  🗺

After you attend SCN in Vegas, it’s time to head to Technical.ly’s Builders Conference in Philly -- which shines a spotlight on local ecosystem building and the storytelling that supports it. Perfect, if you’re a creative, journalist, marketer, or just love ecosystem stories. 

June 2-5: Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC 2025) in Indianapolis, IN 📈 🎓 ⚙️ 🧩 🌟 🗺 

GEC gets every single emoticon in the legend. If there was ever a time to block off a week for a conference, it's GEC in early June. Over 5,000 attendees from around the globe are sending delegates to Indianapolis to meet on the topic of global ecosystem building - and you have the chance to represent your country! On that note, I’m a proud GEC Ambassador, so if you’re interested in attending and need some help with that ticket, please contact me (kevin@ecomap.tech) and we’ll make some magic happen. 

June 4-6: NACCE Pathway to Prosperity Conference in Tallahassee, FL 🎓 

If you’re a practitioner within community college entrepreneurship, you’ve likely already heard of/been to a National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) conference. And if not, I highly recommend you go and get plugged into this community!

June 10-12: VentureWell VIA Summit in New Orleans, LA 🎓 ⚙️ 🧩 🗺

VentureWell is a leader in higher ed STEM entrepreneurship, and this year they’re debuting a new summit called VIA - VentureWell in Action - which is built upon the structure of their annual OPEN conference. It’s a great showcase of innovation happening both within and outside of the classroom, and our team can’t wait to make it down to NOLA for this inaugural summit. 

June 16-19: BIO International Convention in Boston, MA 📈 ⚙️

BIO conferences attract 10,000+ practitioners related to the biotech field from around the globe, alternating between San Diego and Boston as its host sites. It also attracts economic development professionals seeking to attract new biotech companies looking to set up shop in their locale. 

July 15-17: TECNA Summer Conference in Montreal, QB ⚙️ 🧩 🗺

TECNA - Technology Councils of North America - puts on an annual conference to share best practices and strategies to help you grow your tech council and increase your value to members, sponsors, and community stakeholders. I'd recommend attending if you’re working for a tech council at a city, regional, state, or provincial level. 

July 22-25: Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Convention in Philadelphia, PA 📈 ⚙️ 

While I don’t have much experience with the ACCE25 conference, if you’re a chamber of commerce executive, these are your people. 

Sept. 14-17: IEDC Annual Conference in Detroit, MI 📈 🧩  🗺

The International Economic Development Council’s annual conference attracts well over 1,000 economic development professionals from around the world to get certified, learn from thought leaders in the space, and connect with one another. A must-attend if you’re looking to become certified in entrepreneurship-led economic development and/or want to do a deeper dive into the professional world of economic development. 

Sept. 23-25: SuperConnect in Baltimore, MD 🧩  🗺

A conference of our very own! We launched SuperConnect last year to bring together our network of customers, partners, and thought leaders in the ecosystem building space - and we’re proud to be bringing it back for a second year -- this September. More about our motivation behind SuperConnect towards the end of this post. 

Oct. 2-4: Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers in Calgary, AB 🎓 🧩 🗺

GCEC is geared towards higher education professionals working in entrepreneurship centers, which help students learn entrepreneurial skills and launch their ventures. This conference does a fantastic job of getting attendees out of the classroom and into the community, with fun evening events and closing galas highlighting the host city. Plus, the knowledge transfer around higher education entrepreneurial programs cannot be beat.

Oct. 6-8: University Economic Development Association Annual Conference in Huntsville, AL 📈 🎓 🧩 🗺

The UEDA conference celebrates the pillars of talent, innovation, and place through the context of university-based economic development and economic and entrepreneurial ecosystem building. If your role falls more into university economic development, this might be a conference for you. 

Oct. 20-22: Young, Smart & Local in Tulsa, OK 📈 🎓 🧩 

Young, Smart, & Local is a national network of communities working to build a diverse workforce through the engagement and retention of young professionals. Place-based economic developers would fit right in!

Oct. 27-29: SOCAP Global in San Francisco, CA 📈 ⚙️ 🧩 

While I have yet to attend a SOCAP conference (pronounced "so-cap"), it is, by all accounts, the premier gathering of the social impact investing ecosystem. If your work falls into that bucket, it might be worth a trip to SF this Fall to see what the conference is all about. 

Oct. 27-29: Entrepreneurship Funders Network Annual Convening in Chicago, IL 📈 🧩 🗺

The Entrepreneurship Funders Network (EFN) Annual Convening is an intimate gathering for philanthropic funders who support entrepreneurship. It often includes presentations from ecosystem builders and entrepreneur support organizations that benefit from such funding. We've had the pleasure of attending the last couple of years, and I must say, if you work at a foundation of any kind, it is "can't miss" territory.

Nov. 11-14: Association of University Research Parks (AURP) International Conference in Las Vegas 🎓 ⚙️ 🧩 🗺

If your work falls within a university research park, you’re likely already an AURP member. This conference is great for anyone looking to deepen their knowledge of that field or support the development of innovations that come out of a university. 

Fall (TBD): Startup Champions Network Fall Summit in Augusta, GA  🧩  🗺

The Fall SCN summit is planned for Augusta, GA, but exact details have not yet been released. That typically happens after SCN's Spring summit concludes in May. 

Fall (TBD): The eBuilders Forum

📈 🎓 ⚙️ 🧩 🌟 🗺

The Ecosystem Builders Forum (or "eBuilders" for short) is InBIA’s second conference of the year, and although smaller in scale than ICBI, it provides a more intimate gathering. There are no expo halls here - just thoughtful keynotes, relevant breakouts, and a chance to get to know your ecosystem building colleagues while exploring the hosting city. 

Fall/Winter (TBD): State Science Technology Institute (SSTI) Annual Conference  📈 🎓 ⚙️ 🧩 🌟 🗺

The SSTI Annual Conference, held in mid-December last year, will likely cap off the conference calendar. The EcoMap team has found SSTI to be one of the greatest conferences connecting government, industry, and academia across local and national levels. I always leave SSTI feeling like I have my finger on the pulse of what’s happening in innovation throughout the country. 

Why Conferences? Think Conversations.

Now that you know about the upcoming conference opportunities this year, you might have another natural question—“Why should I go to one of these things anyway?”

I recently spoke on a panel about “Why Conversations Matter in Ecosystem Building (Now More Than Ever).”This panel was put together by Jim Woodell of Venn Collaborative, who led the charge on developing a toolkit called C•CUBE (Conversations for Colleges & Universities Building Ecosystems).

I had the privilege of serving on the Advisory Council for the development of the C•CUBE Toolkit in 2023, which primarily consisted of Zoom meetings and asynchronous work. But in May 2023, we convened for a summit in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to have a meta-level conversation about conversations.

During our time in Green Bay, we held space for conversations that would never happen over Zoom. We had the opportunity to break bread, clink glasses, and get to know each other on a deeper, more human level than the 2D Zoom box allows. That led to a level of earned trust where we felt comfortable sharing our honest thoughts on the project's direction because we were both more vulnerable and invested. The conversations during that summit positively altered the shape of the end deliverable, of which our team is incredibly proud today.

During our recent panel conversation, Jim recounted the invaluable nature of the in-person convening for developing the C•CUBE Toolkit. I believe the Toolkit would be much less effective—and perhaps I would be much less attached—if I hadn’t had the opportunity to make those bonds through those conversations.

Conversations are the smallest unit of trust you can build with someone before you decide to embark upon any larger-scale project together. Think about it - do you feel as invested in the initiatives you work on with relative strangers, or with people that you’ve had a chance to shake hands with and have an earnest chat?

Conferences provide the gateway to having these conversations at scale.

They generate enough value through formal structure - keynote speakers, breakout sessions, expo halls, etc. - to draw in practitioners working in a shared field - and create enough room for informal collisions - happy hours, dine-arounds, “unofficial” after-hours activities, etc - to facilitate opportunities for spontaneity.

The quantity and quality of the conversations you can have at a conference far outpace even the most jam-packed Zoom schedule. With each conversation, you’re building trust with a colleague that is hard to replicate in another environment.

SuperConnect - A Conference of Our Own

Last year, EcoMap decided to launch our own conference called SuperConnect. If you made it this far, you might wonder, “Kevin, you just rattled off a couple of dozen conferences that seem to cover everything under the sun … why on earth would you start another?” It’s a fair question we’ve asked ourselves many times before committing to it.

The answer is somber yet simple: our late Co-Founder Pava LaPere always wanted to start one. She was a frequent conference attendee herself, and hopefully some of you reading this had a chance to meet her. I promise you wouldn’t have forgotten if you did. Pava thrived in a conference environment that entailed meeting peer leaders from all over the country and exchanging ideas and experiences. After she passed in September 2023, our team made it a mission to honor her legacy through multiple avenues, and the idea of hosting a conference on the one-year anniversary of her passing felt like a way to reclaim that date.

It was an incredibly cathartic experience to be surrounded by over a hundred friends, partners, customers, investors, and fellow ecosystem builders who helped us push forward after everything we’ve gone through the past year. SuperConnect confirmed that these relationships are real and transcended beyond the professional realm.

The full story of SuperConnect is one to be told at another time, but we are happy to announce that SuperConnect Part Deux is happening this Fall - click here to save the date.

If you made it to the end, thank you for reading. I hope to see you at one of these conferences!

Kevin Carter is Director of Business Development for EcoMap Technologies. He is also the Co-Founder of PLACE Builders, a place-based ecosystem fellowship program inspired by the memory of EcoMap’s late CEO/Co-Founder – Pava LaPere. He can be reached at kevin@ecomap.tech.

This post is licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 and may be shared or republished with attribution. Photos courtesy Kevin Carter.

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About This Blog

This post is part of the Ecosystem Building Leadership Network's guest contributor series, featuring voices and perspectives from across the entrepreneurial ecosystem building field. We welcome contributions from practitioners, supporters, and advocates who want to share insights, experiences, and ideas that advance our work. If you’re interested in contributing a post, please get in touch with us at hello@ebln.us.