SVASE Main Event: Raising Capital for Early Stage Technology Startups July 14, 2011

SVASE Main Event: Raising Capital for Early Stage Technology Startups

Start: 07/14/2011 - 6:00 pm
End: 07/14/2011- 8:30 pm

Main Event: Raising Capital for Early Stage Technology Startups

Contact: Laura Weigant
Email: [email protected]

Location: Cooley LLP
3175 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304

URL:-www.svase.org/events/main-event-raising-capital-early-stage-technology-startups

Raising Capital for Early Stage Technology Startups

While the cost for developing anything software related continuing to decline, most startups that want to grow fast still do need some venture capital. So where should you be looking to raise that first round beyond friends & family?

Do you just need to be one of the pack to get portfolio strategy angels like Ron Conway to throw you a few crumbs? Or, do you need to look bigger than you are to attract the attention of Mike Maples with his “Thunder lizard” approach? What about more conventional angel groups such as the Band of Angels, Sand Hill Angels, and Angels’ Forum? What sort of deals are they looking for? And what type of deals are attracting funding through AngelList?

So, what does a technology startup need to look like, to cause VCs and angels to reach for their wallets?

Finding the Funding for YOUR Company!
This lively panel discussion will explore current trends and panelist opinions on topics including:
• What types of startups are getting funded? – Consumer? Big Data? Social? Mobile Payments? CleanTech? ……. or what?
• What are the most attractive markets – 5 million free members to the next Flagr/Fligr/Flikr, mobile & loco apps, or the Fortune 500?
• Are industries that require a lot on money to get going, such as CleanTech, Semiconductor and Life Sciences still attractive to the new breed of investors?
• What about startup teams? Are investors looking for young college drop outs, or 40 year olds who are frustrated working for “the man”?
• What are investors looking for in startup exits – a long-term company, a quick flip to Google or perhaps an IPO?
• Do you need to have a business model, or can that wait until you have enough eyeballs?

The Panel: (see below for bios)
• Don Butler, Managing Director, Thomvest Ventures
• Chris Yeh, angel, VP Marketing, PB Works
• Joyce Chung, Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures
• Savinay Berry, Principal, Granite Ventures

Moderator: TBD

When: Thursday, July 14
6:00 – 7:00 pm Networking and hors d’oeuvres
7:00 - 8:15 pm Panel discussion and Q&A
8:15 - 8:30 pm Additional networking

Location: Cooley LLP, 3175 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304

Pre-Registered Rates (All Rates Include Hors D’oeuvres):
Members - $20; Affiliates who advertise this event - $29; General Public - $49

Pre-registration closes at 9 PM the night before the event.
Walk-In Rates: Add $10.00 to the listed price

To reserve an Exhibit Table, please contact [email protected], $350 Members, $850 Non-members (Includes exhibit table, 2 tickets to the event and 1-year corporate membership).

Seating is limited, so early registration is recommended to avoid disappointment on the day.

This event is co-sponsored by Cooley LLP, www.cooley.com

Speakers’ Bios:

Don Butler, Managing Director, Thomvest Ventures
Don’s 20 year career spans a variety of roles with emerging growth technology companies. Don began his career doing investment banking at Lehman Brothers, where he worked on a number of initial public offerings as well as mergers and acquisitions. Don then did business development on behalf of a number of start-ups in the software and networking industries as a consultant with Asia Pacific Ventures. Don is currently on the Board of Directors for Axcient, Milyoni, NetBase, scanR, and YottaMark. Don has a B.A. in Chinese from UCLA and M.A.s in both East Asian Studies and Political Science from Stanford.

Chris Yeh, angel, VP marketing, PB Works
WorksChris has been building Internet businesses since 1995. He has been a founder, founding employee, or seed investor in almost a dozen startups, including PBworks, and advises a wide array of startups ranging from network equipment makers to vertical search engines. He liked his investment in PBworks so much, he decided to join the company. Chris earned two degrees from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Joyce Chung, Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures
Joyce Chung has over 10 years of operating experience in technology companies and 10 years of venture capital investing experience. She was a founding partner of Cardinal Venture Capital, a $125 million early stage venture fund. At Cardinal, Joyce was responsible for investments in Chipcon (acquired by Texas Instruments), Mobilygen, Valista, and Zilliant. She continues to co-manage the current Cardinal portfolio. Prior to forming Cardinal Venture Capital, Joyce managed venture investments for Adobe Ventures. Her portfolio companies included Vignette (Nasdaq: VIGN), DigitalThink, Digimarc (Nasdaq: DMRC), and Virage. Joyce also held operating roles at Adobe Systems, Sony Corporation, and Cambridge Technology Group. She received an S.B. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Joyce is active at the Stanford Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and is on the board of the Association of MIT Alumnae (AMITA), Chair of the Northern California chapter of AMITA and Member of the Executive Council of Astia.

Savinay Berry, Principal, Granite Ventures
Savinay Berry joined Granite Ventures in August 2008. He focuses on software and advanced mobile services. Savinay is actively involved with and observes on the boards of HyTrust, Bunchball, Crowd Science, and Smule. He previously served as a board observer for Episodic (Google).

Prior to joining Granite Ventures, Savinay held associate positions at JK&B Capital and MK Capital. Prior to that, Savinay worked in Dell Inc. in various product and business development roles, most recently as senior global commodity manager for enterprise and consumer mobile products. Prior to that, he was with Instrumented Sensors Technology, a data recording equipment startup, where he helped develop a real-time operating system for embedded data recorders.

Savinay received his M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where he was a Director of the Venture Capital Club and won the Sustainable National Venture Capital Competition. He also has a Masters degree in Engineering Management from the McCormick School of Engineering & Applied Sciences at Northwestern University and a Master's of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University. He received a B.S. degree from University of Pune, India. He was also a Kauffman Fellows Finalist in Class 13.

Official Website: http://www.svase.org/events/main-event-raising-capital-early-stage-technology-startups