Each Rhode Islander works in a different industry, but the connections that each made with nationally recognized leaders in their fields of interest all occurred as a result of conversations they had at the third annual Collaborative Innovation Summit, a two-day conference hosted on Oct. 10-11 by the Business Innovation Factory...

...“Just meeting the folks who I met there and getting an idea of where their heads are at, the sort of people who are interested in innovation, just the random conversations in the hallway – it is very helpful,” [Providence Geeks co-founder Brian] Jepson said. “It’s just very good to get thoughts from people on how my work affects them, and also to understand what they’re trying to do in their own space.”