Innovation Center to Host Fourth REDe Entrepreneurship Summit

By Kaitlin Childress

University of Mississippi

The University of Mississippi’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will present its fourth annual REDe Entrepreneurship Summit on Nov. 11. 

The event, set for 10-11:30 a.m. in the Jackson Avenue Center’s Main Event Center, features keynote speaker Marcus Bullock, founder and CEO of Flikshop Inc.

“We are excited to welcome Marcus Bullock to the Ole Miss campus and learn about his inspirational journey of making positive community impacts,” said Tong Meng, director of programs for the CIE. 

While the focus of the conversation will be on empowering lives through entrepreneurship, the summit as a whole strives to encourage, celebrate and enhance entrepreneurial endeavors among students across the Ole Miss campus.

Bullock brings an interesting perspective along with personal entrepreneurship experience to the REDe event. After spending eight years in prison, Bullock used his story to help influence others in the prison system. 

In 2012, he created Flikshop, a service that allows inmates to get assistance from nonprofit organizations and stay in touch with loved ones by sending photos and postcards. More than 140,000 prisoners across the country use Flikshop.

“There is a rich history of winning that comes from Ole Miss, and I can’t wait to come and light the room on fire for all of the amazing entrepreneurs that are the future of innovation and success,” Bullock said. 

Speakers at previous summits include Shiza Shahid, co-founder of the Malala Fund and founder of Now ventures; Edith Kelly-Green, former FedEx Corp. vice president and founder of the KGR Group; Bill Rayburn, chairman and CEO and mTrade and a founding partner of FNC Inc.; and Joe Sanderson, president and CEO of Sanderson Farms.

For more information about the REDe event or the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, visit https://olemisscie.com/ or contact Tong Meng at tmeng@bus.olemiss.edu.