The Innovate State Speaker Series brings both emerging and accomplished Spartans back to campus for a fireside chat-style interview. These 60-minute sessions offer the chance for guests to share their perspectives on a wide array of topics like innovation, startup life, investments, and career paths. Students get the opportunity to hear firsthand about the hard knocks of the entrepreneurship & innovation hustle to maintaining work/life balance. These are stories of success, stories of failures, and stories of uncommon will—and you do not want to miss them. Innovate State kicks-off at 6 p.m. ET and are free to the community. Events will be offered in a hybrid-format, offering attendance options in-person & virtually. Early registration is highly encouraged.

About our Speaker

Ashton Keys, Co-Founder & CEO, Athlytic Inc.

Ashton Keys is a Detroit native and an Experience Architecture graduate from Michigan State University. He is an established professional in technology with experience working in UX design, engineering, product management, and growth marketing. He has held two prestigious entrepreneurship fellowships with Invest Detroit Ventures and Venture for America. He has a background in building digital marketplaces, where he most recently worked as a Product Manager at Rocket Homes, helping to launch their mobile app experience. Ashton is passionate about sports and technology. While establishing his company, Athlytic, Ashton was at the forefront of the NCAA’s name, image, and likeness ruling.