SVASE VC Breakfast with Ethan Kurzweil, Bessemer Partners Ventures Focus: Consumer Internet Technologies and Digital Media July 23, 2009

SVASE VC Breakfast with Ethan Kurzweil, Bessemer Partners Ventures Focus: Consumer Internet Technologies and Digital Media

Start: 07/23/2009 - 8:00am
End: 07/23/2009 - 9:30am

Contact Info:
JaiKumar Email: [email protected]
Cell: 408-406-4693

Location:
Nixon Peabody LLP 200 Page Mill Road, Suite 200
Palo Alto, CA 94306-2022

URL:www.svase.org/?q=node/2929

Bessemer Partners Ventures, www.bessemerventures.com

In 1872, Henry Phipps, Jr. and Andrew Carnegie co-founded Carnegie Steel, an innovative steel producer that commercialized an industrial process licensed from Lord Henry Bessemer. When they sold their startup 29 years later, Henry formed a family office to re-invest his proceeds into other entrepreneurial ventures like his own. He adopted the Bessemer name to honor the inventor behind his startup's success.

A century later, Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) continues the longest-running record of success in the venture capital industry. Over the course of its history, investors at the firm formed or funded over 100 startups that grew into independent public companies. They provided seed funding for early industrial companies like WR Grace, Ingersoll Rand and International Paper, retail innovators like Staples, The Sports Authority and Blue Nile, new drug developers like Isis and Perseptive Biosystems, service pioneers like Gartner Group, Bright Horizons and Celtel, and high-tech innovators like Ciena, Parametric, VMX, DSP Group (now Intel), Versant (now Symantec), Maxim, Flarion (now Qualcomm) and Skype (now eBay).

Today, from offices in New York, Silicon Valley, Boston, Beijing, Mumbai and Herzliya, BVP manages more than $2 billion of venture capital invested in over 130 startups around the world. Some of our portfolio companies, like Ungermann Bass and Verisign, were started in our offices. With our roadmap approach to investing, BVP seeks out entrepreneurial opportunities across industries and geographies.

Even so, the everyday priority of BVP professionals is applying our considerable startup experience to support the entrepreneurs we back. Already in 2008, Bessemer Venture Partners has realized three IPOs (OnMobile, Shriram EPC, IPC: The Hospitalist Company) and six major acquisitions of companies in our portfolio (IAG by Nielsen, Sirtris by Glaxo, Gracenote by Sony, Bladelogic by BMC, PA Semi by Apple, Pure Networks by Cisco).

Ethan Kurzweil, Senior Associate, Bessemer Partners Ventures

Ethan Kurzweil is a Senior Associate working with David Cowan in the Menlo Park office. He focuses on consumer internet technologies and digital media.

Most recently, Ethan served as a consultant on new customer acquisition and user retention to Linden Lab, the creators of Second Life. Previously, he held a series of positions at Dow Jones & Co., culminating in his work for the CEO leading an initiative to identify and launch new business ventures. He was also involved with the turnaround of the international editions of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones’ acquisition of full ownership in Factiva. While an undergraduate at Stanford, Ethan co-founded S-S-B Technologies (now SSB-Bart Group), a provider of software and services that make the web accessible to users with disabilities, eventually serving as director of business development. Ethan began his career as a business analyst with McKinsey & Co.’s Media & Entertainment practice.

Ethan earned an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School and a B.A. with distinction in Economics from Stanford University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

WHEN: Thursday, July 23
8 – 9:30 AM

LOCATION: Nixon Peabody LLP, 200 Page Mill Road, Suite 200, Palo Alto, CA 94306

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 Nixon Peabody, www.nixonpeabody.com.