Last evening, a great crowd came together to celebrate the grand opening of 1776 at Ambler Yards, Montgomery County’s newest entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The evening began with a ceremonial ribbon cutting and opening remarks from Ambler Yards visionary leaders, Marc Policarpo and Matt Sigel, Campus Manager Ben Bergman, Lower Gwynedd Supervisor Kathleen Hunsicker, 1776 Director of Operations in Philadelphia Charolette Lee and CEOs Anthony Maher and Jennifer Maher.  The opening of this community of entrepreneurs who are passionate about solving complex problems, is a mark of the urbanization of the suburbs and as Ben Bergman said, “It’s the beginning of a great entrepreneurship ecosystem in Montgomery County.”

photo:Ambler Yards visionary leaders, Marc Policarpo and Matt Sigel

photo:1776 Director of Operations in Philadelphia Charolette Lee

photo:Lower Gwynedd Supervisor, Kathleen Hunsicker

photo: Co-CEOs Anthony Maher and Jennifer Maher

photo:Campus Manager Ben Bergman

The event continued with an candid and authentic fireside chat moderated by Anthony Maher, complete with rapid-fire questions that gave tremendous insight into the successful minds of two of Greater Philadelphia’s tech ecosystem champions: Serial entrepreneur (and Ambler native), Ned Moore- Chairman and CEO of Clutch, and highly recognized investor, Michael Golden- formerly of GSI Commerce.  In between the more serious questions, one of the most fun and insightful rapid-fire questions asked was, “Love to win or hate to lose?” to which Michael Golden quickly answered, ” I @#** HATE to lose!”  Both Moore and Golden were thoughtful and shared genuine wisdom into their gritty, entrepreneurial expertise.

photo:Ned Moore

photo: Michael Golden