Established by the Nasdaq Educational Foundation as a non-profit organization, the Center will serve as a central hub for entrepreneurs from all industries to learn to build and run successful businesses, and connect with an established global ecosystem of industry experts, mentors and resources.

"The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center is a landing spot for founders, where they can learn from each other as they move their start-ups through the different challenges and growth stages of the entrepreneurial journey," said Nicola Corzine, Executive Director, Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center. "Our mission is to educate and to deliver programs that are top of mind for founders to help ensure a strong pipeline of entrepreneurial talent and innovation in the Bay Area and beyond."

The Center is focused on fostering a thriving start-up community representing all industries. It offers entrepreneurs free educational and training resources, hands-on mentorship programs and entrepreneurial events and programs developed in partnership with Nasdaq and with some of the world's leading academic institutions, companies and business leaders. In addition, the Center will also conduct original and actionable research on entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs interested in programming and events at the Center can complete an application on the Center's website.

To celebrate the launch, members of the greater Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center community, including its sponsors, board of advisors and partners, will be joined by Gavin Newsom, California Lieutenant Governor, and the 2015 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, including Center Festus Ezeli, who will be the first to ring the Nasdaq Closing Bell remotely from the grounds of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center. The Warriors currently participate in the Future Leaders program, an alliance with PwC and the San Francisco Beacon Initiative, which is committed to helping develop critical financial skills in communities throughout the Bay Area to provide educators with the resources and training to teach those skills to students. Participants from the Future Leaders program will also be in attendance.

Additional programming to highlight the launch will include leadership panels hosted in partnership with CNBC's Disruptor 50 series and moderated by CNBC reporter Julia Boorstin, which will feature the following speakers:
• Dara Khosrowshahi, President and CEO, Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq:EXPE)
• Amy Bohutinsky, COO, Zillow Group (Nasdaq:Z and ZG)
• Mike Cagney, CEO, Chairman and Co-founder, SoFi
• Jeff Lawson, Co-founder and CEO, Twilio
• Dalton Caldwell, Partner, Y Combinator
• Peter Pham, Co-founder and Partner, Science Inc.
• Matthew Glickman, Entrepreneur and Management Lecturer, Stanford Graduate School of Business

"Today's launch, which coincides with Nasdaq's 25th anniversary in the Bay Area, opens the doors to opportunities for entrepreneurs to connect with Nasdaq's network of innovative listed companies and their leaders," said Bruce Aust, Vice Chairman, Nasdaq, and President, Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center. "Nasdaq has a strong heritage in the Bay Area, and many partners -- universities, companies, service providers and venture capital firms – are participating in the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center's efforts to educate entrepreneurs and to maintain the dynamic environment that has given rise to some of the world's most disruptive and innovative companies."

The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center is open to the public and includes the following features:
• Facilities to educate the public about entrepreneurship, its benefits and best practices
• An environment for people to connect, engage and convene in entrepreneurial thinking
• A space for entrepreneurial training and workshops
• A store site where entrepreneurs can test products and ideas
• A professionally managed event space for hosting entrepreneurial events and programs
• A state-of-the-art broadcast studio for training, media productions and media broadcasts pertaining to entrepreneurs and their ideas
• An innovation hub and café for meetings and collaborations of entrepreneurs
• An evolving museum designed for the public on the living path of entrepreneurship and the history of innovation

The following organizations have signed on as inaugural sponsors of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, KPMG, University of Melbourne, Thomson Reuters, GE Ventures and BSSP. In addition, the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center is pleased to be working with various university partners including: UC Berkeley, MIT, Smith College, University of Notre Dame, and Fordham as well as the following industry partners: NVCA, 1776.vc, BuildUp, Carbon Five, Eyebeam and GetStoried.

"We congratulate the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center on establishing an important, valuable hub for startups at every stage of development," said Steven Bochner, Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. "We share the Center's commitment to their success and the continuing growth of entrepreneurship. We are pleased to contribute to the Center's significant work in nurturing the start-up ecosystem."

About the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center
The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center is a San Francisco-based non-profit organization designed to educate, innovate and connect aspiring and current entrepreneurs. Established in 2014 with support from the Nasdaq Educational Foundation, the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center serves the greater Bay Area community through differentiated events, meaningful entrepreneurial education and a prominent mentorship program. 

About The Nasdaq Educational Foundation
The Nasdaq Educational Foundation, Inc. was established in 1994 and is supported entirely by contributions from Nasdaq. The mission of The Nasdaq Educational Foundation, Inc. is to promote and provide opportunities through collaborations and initiatives that support and deliver innovative educational programs and charitable activities.