PROVIDENCE – Twenty-five well-known speakers will share their stories at the Business Innovation Factory’s BIF-4 Collaborative Innovation Summit, agreeing to forgo a speaking fee in an attempt to reach conference attendees.

The two-day summit, aimed at fostering innovation, will see presenters using the allotted 15-minute stage time to share their personal story about “how they turned an idea into an innovation,” according to a news release. The goal is for presenters to avoid the canned speeches common for many professional speakers.

Scheduled speakers include: John Abele, leader of the Grunion expedition and founder of Boston Scientific Corporation; Steve Bendt and Gary Koelling, founders of Best Buy’s Blue Shirt Nation; Ruby Bridges, first African American child to desegregate an elementary school; and David R. Yaun, VP of Corporate Communications for IBM and director of IBM’s innovation and technology leadership programs.

The 2008 BIF-4 Summit will take place at Trinity Repertory Co. on Oct. 15 and 16. It will be hosted by BusinessWeek Assistant Managing Editor Bruce Nussbaum and Bill Taylor, bestselling author of “Mavericks at Work.” Past co-hosts have included Wall Street Journal technology columnist Walt Mossberg and author Richard Saul Wurman. •