ConvergeSE Brings Big Names in Tech to Columbia, S.C. for Fifth Annual Web Conference, April 15-18, 2015

New venue, Music Farm, hosts eclectic lineup including “Sharknado” screenwriter

COLUMBIA, SC – ConvergeSE, Columbia, S.C.’s next-generation web design and development conference, will host attendees from across the globe for keynote talks by big-name speakers from Adobe, Paypal, RetailMeNot, The Iron Yard and “Sharknado” – that’s right, “Sharknado.” The seventh annual ConvergeSE will be held Wednesday through Saturday, April 15-18, 2015 in the historic downtown Congaree Vista district of Columbia, S.C.

Super-Cool Nerd Alert: High
Notable speakers at ConvergeSE 2015 include Thunder Levin, screenwriter of sci-fi cult favorite film “Sharknado;” Jonathan LeBlanc, Emmy award-winning software engineer and leader at digital financial empire PayPal; a power trio from Sparkbox web design and development, web developer of Lenovo, #1 PC maker in the world; Garth Braithwaite of Adobe; and Elyse Holladay, front end architect at international online coupon king RetailMeNot.

Selling out each year, ConvergeSE has become known as one of the best web events in the country thanks to its founders’ knack for throwing a heck of a weekend for speakers and attendees.

Events will be held in alternative venues around the Vista like the Music Farm Columbia concert hall and the SOCO Cowork, as well as more traditional venues like the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center and the Vista Hilton, which will serve as the hub for hotel stays.

36|86 Public Startup Party
“One of the coolest new aspects of this year’s event is that we’re bringing new, never-before-seen things to the Midlands, like the 36|86 startup party on Wed., April 15 at Music Farm, produced by the same company that produces Bonnaroo,” says ConvergeSE founder Gene Crawford. “It’s an afternoon of panels and speakers, and then ten startups will pitch their business idea to investors, like the show Shark Tank.” The 36|86 startup party – also featuring live music, food and drinks – will be open to the public for $10 per ticket, and free to ConvergeSE ticket-holders. Crawford is also excited to partner with Indie Grits film festival and the Columbia-based Palmetto Open Source Conference (POSSCON) during this year’s conference.

Sharks, ‘Staches and Strategy
Crawford is especially eager to bring this year’s lineup of speakers to Columbia. “I’m really excited about Thunder Levin, creator of “Sharknado.” That’s gonna be fun. I’m also looking forward to seeing Dr. Paul Roof [founder of the Holy City Beard & Moustache Society], Stephanie Hay [director of content strategy at Capital One] and Samantha Warren [onetime Twitter designer].”

So Fresh and So Clean: 75% Fresh, In Fact
Another cool aspect of ConvergeSE? Freshness. “75% of this year’s lineup is new, which is kind of unique, because most conferences have the same speakers or events over and over,” notes Crawford. “We’ve also changed the format – we’ll start together in the mornings, then spread out all over the Vista during the afternoons.”

The conference will be broken out into different “tracks” that will focus on design/UX (user experience), front-end, development, and business/marketing.

Tickets to ConvergeSE are $475 per person; Register here: https://account.unmatchedstyle.com/register/convergese2015.

The ConvergeSE mission is to provide inspiration, motivation and insight into how you design the web. Now in its seventh year, ConvergeSE is gaining real traction in the region. According to data provided by the Columbia Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, the 2013 conference generated an estimated $120,000 in economic impact.

“It’s important to what we’re doing here in Columbia; trying to grow our local tech community,” says Crawford. “We’re really committed to making things better here. Columbia has a lot of really great charm and character, just like the other cities Converge happens in like Austin, Tex. and Charleston. Exposing people to that helps us locally; helps us achieve our goals in the local tech community.”

About ConvergeSE

ConvergeSE 2015 is produced by UnmatchedStyle and The Iron Yard. UnmatchedStyle is a Columbia, SC-based web development brand led by Gene Crawford, Giovanni DiFeterici and Jay Barry. UnmatchedStyle also produces conferences in Jacksonville and Orlando, Fla., Richmond, Va., Austin, Tex. and Nashville, Tenn. The Iron Yard is a web design company that trains high-quality developers and startups, with locations across the Southeast, including Columbia. To learn more about ConvergeSE and to register, visit www.convergese.com.

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