SVASE VC Breakfast Club with Ben Choi, Principal, Maveron Focus: Mobile and Web Enabled Consumer Services August 12, 2010

SVASE VC Breakfast Club with Ben Choi, Principal, Maveron Focus: Mobile and Web Enabled Consumer Services

Start: 08/12/2010 - 8:00 am
End: 08/12/2010- 9:30 am

URL:www.svase.org/events/vc-breakfast-club-ben-choi-principal-maveron-focus-mobile-and-web-enabled-consumer-services/7

Maveron, www.maveron.com

Maveron utilizes a unique investment platform to identify and invest in the most promising consumer businesses, accelerate their trajectory, and thoughtfully monetize these companies to maximize stakeholder value. This platform encompasses our people, our network, and our insight. It is set up to deliver superior financial returns through partnerships with the best and brightest entrepreneurs who are in the early- to mid-stages of developing strong and highly differentiated brands.

Because we are 100% consumer-focused, we bring a wealth of understanding and experience to a wide range of consumer-oriented industries. Our team consists of people who have been both operators and investors and can therefore provide invaluable sector expertise in terms of content as well as process. We are also informed by a network of esteemed advisors who share with us their wisdom in areas such as business processes, industry developments, consumer trends, and marketplace influences. What this means to entrepreneurs is that our resources and support go well beyond funding—depending on their needs and wants. Many of us serve on our portfolio companies' boards, and can help with recruitment, management, operations or brand-building. Our rolodex can open doors, as well, with opportunities, strategic alliances, and partnerships that help businesses ramp faster, smarter, and with lower risk.

Admittedly, we're obsessed with getting it right. Which is why we also conduct our own research on an ongoing basis, allowing us to stay one step ahead of emerging consumer dynamics. Staying ahead of the curve means Maveron is poised to capitalize on the biggest ideas out there.

People. Network. Insight. This is how the seeds of success grow into thriving businesses.

Ben Choi, Principal, Maveron
Ben has a wide-angle view of the world. And it’s not just because he’s a published amateur photographer. Born in Peoria, raised in San Francisco, and educated in Cambridge, Ben looks at everything in life from multiple angles.

Ben joined Maveron as a principal in 2009 and focuses on investments in the mobile and Web enabled consumer services sectors. Ben joins Maveron from Storm Ventures where his board involvement included Ad Infuse, Adgregate Markets, Boorah, DeviceVM, Marketo, Mobio, and YieldBuild. Ben began his career in venture capital at RRE Ventures, where he invested in Massive, an in-game ad network purchased by Microsoft in 2006 for over $200 million. He later joined the strategic venture capital arm of the CIA, In-Q-Tel, where he led their investment in Rhevision, maker of tiny cell phone zoom lenses.

Ben came to venture as an operator in several technology startups. Most recently, Ben served as vice president strategy at Greystripe, a mobile rich media ad platform. At Yahoo, he directed the Southeast Asia mobile strategy. Ben was also an engagement manager at ZEFER, an Internet consulting firm (acquired by NEC), which raised over $150 million in venture capital financing and grew to over $100 million in annual revenue.

Ben lives in the Bay Area with his wife and twin boys. He’s an avid traveler and deeply involved with humanitarian relief efforts. His travels have taken him to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, China, Africa, Brazil, and Central America. Of course with the arrival of twin boys, he’s narrowed his scope a bit to the local beauty of the Bay Area and Seattle.

Ben received his BA in Computer Science with honors from Harvard University, and his MBA from Columbia Business School, with Dean's List and Beta Gamma Sigma distinctions. Ben is also a graduate of the Kauffman Fellows Program, an exclusive professional organization for the venture capital industry.

When: Thursday, August 12, 2010
8 – 9:30 AM

Location: Greenberg Traurig LLP, 1900 University Avenue, 5th Floor, East Palo Alto, CA 94303

Pre-Registered Rates:
Members - $25; Affiliates who advertise this event - $39; General Public - $49.

This event is intended for entrepreneurs seeking feedback on their startup ideas and funding strategies. Please do not register if you do not fit this profile.

This event is co-sponsored by Greenberg Traurig LLP, www.gtlaw.com.

Official Website: http://www.svase.org/events/vc-breakfast-club-ben-choi-principal-maveron-focus-mobile-and-web-enabled-consumer-services/7