VC-LIST - Key Persons
Aashish Kalra is a pioneering equity investor in Technology, Infrastructure, Real Estate, Energy, Logistics and Hospitality. Earlier as a co-founder of Cambridge Samsung Resources, a leading Systems Integrator, he concluded successful partnerships with Hewlett-Packard, Marubeni, NEC and other global 1000 companies. As the Chairman, he foresees the global operations of CTE, providing strategic vision and leadership to the company. He has been consistently quoted in leading Indian and International media and was featured in the "Young Turks" program on CNBC. In 2008, he was named one of the "Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business". Follow him on twitter @aashishkalra.
Adam Hull is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group in the Dallas office of Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP. Mr. Hull represents private equity and venture capital funds in the acquisition of companies across a wide variety of industries, including technology, life sciences, midstream natural gas, oil and gas field services, hospitality and manufacturing. He often continues to work with portfolio companies post-acquisition. Adam also represents issuers in venture capital and private equity financing and regularly advises companies on general corporate compliance and governance matters.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner of Slipakoff LLP
Adam Slipakoff is the Managing Partner of Slipakoff LLP (www.slipakoff.com), a boutique corporate law firm focus exclusively on venture capital, private equity and securities transactions. The firm has grown to include five lawyers handling corporate and banking transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, corporate governance, bank transactions and litigation and corporate bankruptcy matters. In 2008, Adam was a founding partner of Busch, Slipakoff & Schuh, LLP. In 2004, Adam was a founding partner of Taylor English, LLP (formerly Taylor, Busch, Slipakoff & Duma, LLP). From 1999 through 2004, Adam was a corporate attorney with BryanCave, LLP. He is a frequent speaker on corporate finance topics, including venture capital financings and private placements. Adam received a B.S. in Finance and an M.B.A. in Securities Analysis from the University of Florida. Adam received a J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
Job Titles:
- Director - Capital Markets at EisnerAmper LLP
Alan Wink, Director - Capital Markets at EisnerAmper LLP, assists clients with capital budgeting, capital structuring and capital sourcing. Alan has 20 years of financial and consulting experience, having served as Director of the Interfunctional Management Consulting Program at Rutgers Graduate School of Management, a program he helped build into one of the largest business school-based management consulting practices in the country. He started his career in accounting, spending six years on the audit staff of a Big 4 accounting firm and a Fortune 500 Company. Alan left the accounting field to expand his horizons in the area of Corporate Finance. Alan spent several years as Director of Financial Analysis for AmBase Corporation (NYSE), where he led approximately $2 billion of corporate acquisition activity. He is also a past Vice President of Capricorn Management, a $100 million private equity fund specializing in restructuring and turnaround opportunities. In addition, Alan is a leader in the firm's Technology Group, providing a variety of industry-specific services to technology and life sciences firms, including business and strategic planning, marketing and competitive analyses, financing assistance, and operational and financial benchmarking. He has worked with many early stage and emerging growth companies on developing the appropriate capital structure for their position in the business life cycle. He maintains an active contact base with angel investors, venture capital funds and private equity funds. Alan also understands the level of returns private investors are trying to realize and devises strategies that allow both entrepreneurs and their investors to achieve desired return thresholds.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of AKT IP Ventures
Alejandro Laplana is the Managing Director of AKT IP Ventures, a nesting company that turns ideas into tangible assets. Through disciplined market and portfolio research, AKT IP Ventures identifies and develops companies based on IP with the greatest potential to provide returns for accredited investors and generate sustainable employment. AKT IP Ventures' model includes a full business lifecycle from quick prototyping to product development to marketplace to exit. AKT IP Ventures operates and manages the newly created companies by providing development, design, marketing and even sales teams. In 18 months or less, AKT IP Ventures can take an idea from a patent to product to market to a potential exit.
Alex Lazarow has worked at the intersection of investing, innovation, and economic development across the public, private, and social sectors for more than a decade. He is a venture capitalist with Cathay Innovation and was previously with Omidyar Network. He is a Kauffman Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations term member, and an adjunct professor specializing in social-impact investment and entrepreneurship at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. A graduate of Harvard Business School and the University of Manitoba, he is the author of OUT-INNOVATE: How Global Entrepreneurs-from Delhi to Detroit-Are Rewriting the Rules of Silicon Valley.
Allison Knight is a corporate attorney experienced in M&A, venture capital, and counseling mid-sized companies. She works at Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. in Dallas, Texas. You can contact her at aknight@munsch.com.
Job Titles:
- Co - Head of the Technology and Disruptive Commerce Group at J.P. Morgan
Alton McDowell is co-head of the technology and disruptive commerce group at J.P. Morgan where he leads a team of bankers with a dedicated focus on high-growth startups to help entrepreneurs build their success stories. He has been with the firm for over 20 years. Alton graduated from the University of Houston and received an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and CEO of Hercules SEZC
Anthem Hayek Blanchard is the co-founder and CEO of Hercules SEZC, co-founder, and CEO of AnthemGold, Inc and co-founder and CEO of AnthemVault, Inc. He has extensive knowledge in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space and a veteran of the seed round process from funding his three successful startups.
Anthony J. Zeoli is a Partner in the Corporate Practice Group at Freeborn & Peters LLP in Chicago, where he concentrates his practice in the areas of banking and commercial finance, securities, real estate, and general corporate law. He also is an industry leader in the area of crowdfunding, in particular with respect to real estate crowdfunding, peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, and Regulation A+ offerings. He recently drafted a bill to allow for an intrastate crowdfunding exemption in Illinois, which was unanimously passed by the Illinois General Assembly. He can be reached at azeoli@freeborn.com.
Job Titles:
- Principal With Paley Rothman
Arthur House is a principal with Paley Rothman in Bethesda, Maryland. He is a corporate lawyer and litigator and chairs the firm's Science & Technology practice group. Art provides counsel to technology and science based businesses on structure, governance, mergers and acquisitions, licensing and technology transfer, and executive and director compensation.
Aziz Gilani has spent the past 15 years focused on software and the internet. Prior to joining Mercury Fund, Aziz was a Senior Engagement Leader with Infosys Consulting, an early executive at ABB Performance Services, a Senior Consultant at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, and an Analyst at Lotus Development Corp. Aziz is a recognized expert in Seed Accelerators, and has been quoted in several national publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, ReadWriteWeb, TechCocktail, and The Business Journals.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Sanitas Advisors
Bart Foster is the Managing Director of Sanitas Advisors, a firm focused on corporate innovation, strategy, revenue acceleration, and executive coaching & training. Their core expertise is in developing strategic partnerships, opening new channels of distribution, and driving consumer engagement across consumer products and retail. They also facilitate design thinking and innovation workshops for multinational companies.
Job Titles:
- President and Founder of MicroVentures
Bill Clark is the president and founder of MicroVentures, an equity crowdfunding platform providing accredited and non-accredited investors access to invest in startups. Bill has more than a decade of top level management experience in the credit risk management and financial services industry. He also holds a B.S. in Finance, as well as Series 7, 24, 63 and 79 licenses.
Bill O'Connor is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP), and a member of Baker Donelson's Privacy and Information Security Team. His practice focuses on technology, information security and privacy, securities, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters. He may be reached at (901) 577-8121 or by email at boconnor@bakerdonelson.com.
Bob Samuelson brings over 15 years of domain, brand protection and digital marketing experience to the Donuts team. After retiring from a professional volleyball career, which included a bronze medal in the 1992 Olympic games, Bob played an integral role at .tv. Bob subsequently joined Verisign's Digital Brand Management Services group, providing domain portfolio management and brand protection services for some of the world's largest and most respected brands. Bob followed those experiences with key positions at Melbourne IT and Citizen Hawk. Most recently with the Marketing Cloud division of Adobe Systems, Bob gained invaluable knowledge about the website creation lifecycle and the consumer experience
Job Titles:
- Managing Director at Hall & Company
Bradford Hall, CPA and Managing Director at Hall & Company has over 37 years of experience in providing tax and accounting services to businesses and individuals both nationally and internationally from startups to multinational corporations. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting in 1978 and Master Master's Degree in Taxation from Golden Gate University in 1986.
Brenda's thirty+ years of Silicon Valley high tech service includes a wide variety of engineering, marketing, sales, and business development positions. Although she has held positions in large companies such as Hewlett-Packard, DEC, and currently Cisco Systems, she was hit with the start-up bug hard in the early 90s. Her start-up experience includes being either an active team member or consultant for over fifteen deals from seed stage to early IPO or acquisition. She joined Cisco Systems in 2010 to help with acquisition integration, and now is a Business Development Manager for Cisco's Advanced Services Collaboration group. She holds a BS Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University, an MSEE from Santa Clara University, and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Edinburgh Business School.
Job Titles:
- Associate at Fish & Tsang LLP
Brittany is a summer associate at Fish &Tsang LLP in the firm's Orange County office. Nobles leverages considerable creative and strategic legal research skills to provide meaningful support for Fish &Tsang attorneys, primarily in litigation and transactional matters.
Bryan Sullivan, partner at business and entertainment law firm Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae in Los Angeles, is a legal strategist who advises and represents his clients in all their business affairs, helping them to achieve their business goals while ensuring that they receive the utmost level of protection along the way. He is widely regarded as a legal authority on crowdfunding, representing clients in crowdfunding related matters, having published several articles on the topic, and investing in crowdfunded companies himself.
Casey Minshew is the CEO of EnergyFunders.com, an equity crowdfunding platform specializing in funding early and mid-stage energy companies while providing transparency and low barriers to entry for all types of investors. Through modern technology and capital access, EnergyFunders aims to fashion the future of energy and provide a clean and brighter future for everyone. More info at: https://www.energyfunders.com
Charles Weinstein is the CEO of EisnerAmper LLP. With more than 35 years of public accounting experience, Charly is an author and frequent speaker on the topics of governance, mergers and acquisitions, and public and private financing. Contact him at charles.weinstein@eisneramper.com.
Chinh H. Pham leads Greenberg Traurig's Emerging Technology Practice, and is co-chair of the Boston Office Intellectual Property Practice Group. He is a registered patent attorney with particular experience in the strategic creation, implementation, and protection of intellectual property rights for high technology clients. Mr. Pham can be reached at phamc@gtlaw.com.
Chris A. Harvey is an attorney for entrepreneurs and practices law out of Silicon Beach. Chris represents a variety of business interests ranging from venture backed startups to emerging growth companies. In a past life, Chris worked as a web developer.
Before setting up Propagator Ventures Chris's most recent work was at the BBC where he was working on a programme defining the global digital content distribution strategy and implementation. Chris comes from a background in digital communications and has worked on a number of high profile projects such as the development of Barclays Stockbrokers trading platform and the delivery of Richard Branson's online fund raising site Virgin Unite. Chris also has an established background in digital marketing and has led multiple global digital communication programmes for organisations such as The Coca-Cola Company and Sony.
Chris Sloan leads the Emerging Companies Group at Baker Donelson (Nashville, Tenn.), where he is a shareholder, focused on startups and other emerging businesses. He counsels early-stage, high-growth companies with business planning and formation, venture capital funding, drafting and negotiating vendor and customer agreements, strategic contact negotiations, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property protection, and other general business law and IP law issues. He often serves as outside general counsel for these companies, and ushers them into the next phases of their businesses. Sloan may be reached at (615) 726-5783 or by email at csloan@bakerdonelson.com.He may be followed on Twitter @casloan.
Christine Janssen PhD is a clinical professor of entrepreneurship and the director of the Entrepreneurship Program at the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University. Her doctoral dissertation was on the topic of entrepreneurship education.
Christine Marcus is the CEO of Phoodeez, a corporate catering concierge startup based in Boston which is disrupting the way companies serve their employees and clients. Christine made the successful transition into entrepreneurship after receiving her MBA at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she forged a relationship with Sal Lupoli, owner of 50 Sal's Pizza and Salvatore's restaurants and co-founder of Phoodeez. It was this partnership that ultimately birthed Phoodeez, as Sal is familiar with the industry's pain points and Christine has the business and finance know-how. Christine has served previously as the Deputy CFO of the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., where among other responsibilities she managed a $28 billion annual budget for advanced energy technologies, basic scientific research and national security programs. She also led cost savings reform in base operations and rebuilt all facets of the department's financial organization to improve investment analysis, strategic planning, cost projections and financial risks. Before she became Deputy CFO, Christine also served the Department of Energy in other positions. Christine was the team leader for the Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. from August 2002-January 2006. During this time, she led reviews of the International Trade Administration, briefed senior Department of Commerce and State Department officials led an inspection of the Workers' Compensation program for the Department of Commerce (leading to an estimated $7+ million in annual savings) and more. Christine earned her B.S. in accounting from the University of Texas at Dallas in 1992 and her MBA from MIT in 2012. She is also a CPA, licensed in Virginia.
Job Titles:
- Associate in the Dallas Office of Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP
Christopher Babcock is an associate in the Dallas office of Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP. Chris assists clients in a wide range of corporate and securities transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, corporate governance matters, venture capital financings and securities offerings.
Job Titles:
- Partner and Chair of the Tucker Ellis
Christopher J. Hewitt is a partner and chair of the Tucker Ellis LLP M&A and Corporate Governance practices. He represents public and sophisticated private companies in mergers and acquisitions, takeover preparedness and defense, proxy contents and corporate governance. He also represents investment banks in their capacity as financial advisers to acquirers and targets in public mergers. He can be reached at christopher.hewitt@tuckerellis.com.
Christopher J. Noble, CPA, CGMA, an accounting and audit partner at Anchin, is the leader of the Firm's Technology Group and a member of the Construction Industry Group. He specializes in providing accounting, business, and tax planning services to privately held businesses and investment funds.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner of Watson LLP
Coleman W. Watson is the managing partner of Watson LLP (Orlando, Fla). He counsels clients on matters related to cryptocurrency; patent, trademark and copyright licensing; intellectual property portfolio management; and litigation. Watson LLP has offices in Orlando, Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles. Watson may be reached at (407) 377-6634 or by email at coleman@watsonllp.com.
Job Titles:
- Vice President at BIP Capital
Cres Ferrell is Vice President at BIP Capital, a venture investor in the Southeast serving entrepreneurs, investors and operators. Cres currently focuses on SaaS businesses and how to apply their growth to new markets. A non-traditional VC, Cres began his career in engineering after graduating from Georgia Tech, and went on to spend 15 years working for corporations in manufacturing, retail, consumer products, business services and consulting. Cres established himself as a successful entrepreneur after building and selling two prior companies - COLDfire Technology and 4th Strand, with a greater than 50X return to investors. Follow Cres on Twitter @cresferrell.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and CEO of MBA & Company
Daniel Callaghan is co-founder and CEO of MBA & Company, the world's leading platform for companies to engage highly skilled independent professionals for short term
Daniel T. Janis, Esq. practices in the Business Law area at - Davis, Malm & D'Agostine, P.C. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions and representation of public and private companies in a range of general and transactional matters, including corporate finance, private equity placements, venture capital financings, syndicated commercial credit facilities, joint ventures and day-to-day business counseling in a variety of industries. Before becoming an attorney, Dan was a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, West Africa, and a musician. He can be reached at djanis@davismalm.com.
A veteran PR consultant to many successful startups, Dave Hochman is the owner of DJH Marketing Communications, a PR and content marketing firm in Red Bank, NJ. Please go to www.djhmarcom.com and @davehochman on Twitter. Dave may be reached at djhochman@djhmarcom.com
Job Titles:
- Member of Tech Coast Angels
David Friedman is a member of Tech Coast Angels, Orange County Chapter, and serves on the software/hardware evaluation committee. David is a tech-savvy marketing and operations executive with expertise in bringing to market new technology. He is a co-founder of C-Level Partners, and has held executive roles at ATX Group, Connexion by Boeing, U.S. Cellular, Covia Technologies, Ameritech Services and RCA.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Principal
David Maughan is a Managing Director and Supervisory Principal with Navigant Capital Advisors, LLC (Member FINRA/SIPC), the dedicated investment banking business unit of Navigant Consulting, Inc., in the transaction advisory services practice.
David Nour is a growth strategist and the thought leader on Relationship Economics® -the quantifiable value of business relationships. He has pioneered the phenomenon that relationships are the greatest off balance sheet asset any organizations possesses, large and small, public and private. Nour is the lead independent director of two small cap company boards, supports investors in accelerating the growth of their portfolio companies, and often lectures for accelerators and academic forums on strategic relationship success. He is the author of several books including the best selling Relationship Economics: Transform Your Most Valuable Business Contacts Into Personal and Professional Success (Wiley), ConnectAbility (McGraw-Hill), The Entrepreneur's Guide to Raising Capital (Praeger) and the newly released Return on Impact: Leadership Strategies for the Age of Connected Relationships (ASAE). Learn more at www.NourGroup.com
Dr. Linda Henman, The Decision Catalyst™ and the author of five books, including Challenge the Ordinary, works with leaders who want to think strategically, grow dramatically, promote intelligently, and compete successfully today and tomorrow. She was one of eight succession planning experts who worked directly with John Tyson after his company's acquisition of International Beef Products. Some of her other clients include Emerson Electric, Illinois Tool Works, Avon, Kraft Foods, and Edward Jones. She can be reached in St. Louis at www.henmanperformancegroup.com.
Job Titles:
- CEO of the Company Corporation
E.J. Dealy is CEO of The Company Corporation, which provides affordable incorporation services to entrepreneurs and small businesses nationwide. In addition to filing corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs), The Company Corporation offers a wide range of products and services, including license and permit assistance, corporate kits, business education books, certificates of good standing, and more. The Company Corporation does not provide legal, tax, or financial advice. Website URL: www.incorporate.com
Eric Perlmutter-Gumbiner is an Associate at the firm who represents clients in a wide variety of general corporate and transactional matters, ranging from entity formation and structuring, to equity financings and mergers and acquisitions. Additionally, he advises companies across a broad range of business sectors, including technology, sports and entertainment, food and beverage, healthcare and manufacturing.
Job Titles:
- Insurance Recovery Partner in the San Francisco Office of Farella Braun
Erica Villanueva is an insurance recovery partner in the San Francisco office of Farella Braun + Martel LLP. Ms. Villanueva advises policyholders seeking to maximize recovery under their insurance policies, including directors' and officers' liability, private equity/venture investing liability, employment practices liability, and general liability policies. Ms. Villanueva has substantial experience litigating insurance coverage disputes. Just as frequently, she collaborates with defense counsel to resolve underlying litigation with the maximum possible contribution from her clients' insurers. Ms. Villanueva also advises on insurance policy placement, reviewing policy language and negotiating enhancements to policy wording.
Eugene Anton, Ed.D., MBA, Co-Founder and CEO of NuVascular Technologies earned his bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees in business administration and finance from Seton Hall University, a master of business administration degree from St. Thomas University and a doctor of education degree in organizational leadership from Pepperdine University. He is a serial entrepreneur and recently served as co-founder and CEO/COO (2008-2014) of Biocytogen, LLC, a biotech firm with research and development facilities in the United States and China. Anton was previously the managing partner of a venture capital firm that realized a 59 percent annualized compounded rate of return, and special assistant to the chairman and CEO of a $1 billion money management firm. Throughout his career, he has served on 16 privately held companies' boards of directors and has been an investor's representative to companies such as Total Pharmaceutical Care, Inc. and Minimed, Inc. Anton has also been a strategic management consultant to SonicBlue, Inc., Maxwell Technologies and Alcatel Innova.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and Partnerships Director of MassRobotics
Fady is the co-founder and partnerships director of MassRobotics; the largest robotics/automation innovation hub. Before that, he was the strategy, research & business development director of Vecna Technologies where he supported developing the company's robotics R&D strategy, funding and commercialization activities. He was also the co-founder and strategist behind ePowerhouse's business model, go-to-market strategy, and customer acquisitions. Fady is a System Design & Management Fellow at MIT and focuses on designing and modeling startups as adaptive complex systems, and understanding the effect of entrepreneurship ecosystems on these startups' viability. Before MIT, Fady was the Lead Account Manager of Nokia Siemens Networks in North Africa and Europe where he led and managed multimillion-euro acquisitions and bids. He also consulted the World Bank on issues related to implementing industrial and entrepreneurship policies in developing countries. Fady is a regular speaker, panelist, and mentor at entrepreneurship events.
Fiorello "Rico" Vicencio Jr. is a shareholder in Greenberg Traurig's Corporate & Securities Group. He focuses his practice on representing private and public companies, as well as venture capital and private equity firms, in a variety of business and financial transactions such as mergers and acquisitions and securities offerings. Rico also plays a lead role in the firm's initiative focusing on emerging growth companies based in the D.C. area and nationwide. Rico can be reached at vicencior@gtlaw.com.
Job Titles:
- Principal and Co - Founder of Ikove Capital Partners
Flavio Lobato is Principal and Co-Founder of Ikove Capital Partners. Previously, he was an Executive Director at Liongate Capital Management, a $7 billion alternative investment manager based in London and New York. He was also a founder and CIO of Swiss Capital Asset Management in Lugano, managing over $1.5 billion in hedge fund investments for institutional clients. Prior to that, he was a VP at Goldman Sachs & Co. and a Director at Credit Suisse First Boston. He is a student advisor to the Harvard Innovation Lab (I-Lab) and Co-Head of Fintech for Harvard Angels of NYC.
Glen Hellman is an executive coach who has been involved in startups for 40 years as an employee, a founder, and a funder. In 2012 he was named the #1 Angel Investor in America by Tech.co readers. He spent over a decade as a hired-gun turn-around CEO working for VCs. He's been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and the Washington Business Journal. Known as DC's Mr. Cranky, Glen is an active blogger who covers subjects that include, startup strategy, startup folly, and startup fraud. You can find his blog post here at Driven Forward.
Job Titles:
- Associate in the Corporate Practice Group at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP
Glenn Singleton is an associate in the Corporate Practice Group at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP. Mr. Singleton's diverse practice spans all areas of corporate law, from general contract drafting and negotiation to counseling clients on complex business operations, planning and corporate governance, equity and debt financings, and mergers and acquisitions. He has served a variety of clients in numerous industries, including: financial, software and web development, medical services and technology, education technology, real estate development, manufacturing and distribution, energy and energy services, retail, service, consulting, private equity, telecommunications services, restaurants and hospitality, and construction. He is a founder of Young Professionals in Private Equity, a Dallas-area networking group.
Job Titles:
- Private Equity Contributions Manager
Greg Beaman is a Private Equity Contributions Manager at Refinitiv and for 3 years has worked with the team responsible for the procurement of content and the communication of broad private equity and venture capital industry trends through the publication of regular research reports. Greg received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University
Job Titles:
- CEO, Founder and Chairman of the Board of SharesPost, Inc
Greg Brogger is the CEO, Founder and Chairman of the Board of SharesPost, Inc. Greg founded SharesPost in early 2009 to bring transparency, efficiency and scale to private securities transactions. Prior to SharesPost, Greg was a co-founder of TrueCar (Nasdaq: TRUE) where he was responsible for the company's early strategic partnerships. Greg was a member of the founding team at CarsDirect.com (now called Internet Brands - Nasdaq: INET) and was Idealab's VP of Business Development. Greg is also an angel investor through his incubator and fund, BrightHouse. Earlier in his career, he advised technology companies as a securities lawyer at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Greg received his BA from UC Berkeley, his JD from the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA from The Wharton School.
Job Titles:
- Leadership Consultant, and CEO of Bustin & Co
Greg Bustin is a business and leadership consultant, and CEO of Bustin & Co., who has dedicated his career to working with CEOs and the leadership teams of hundreds of companies in a range of industries. He understands how high-performing companies successfully build and sustain a culture of purpose, trust and fulfillment. He writes a monthly bulletin sent to more than 6,000 executives globally, and his perspective on leadership has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Inc., Investor's Business Daily, Newsday, Forbes, the Dallas Morning News, Fran Tarkenton's SmallBizClub, and other major publications. He also is the author of four books, including his newest, Accountability: The Key to Driving a High-Performance Culture (McGraw-Hill), which was selected as one of the best business books of 2014 by Soundview.
Helen is a Director in Tax at BPM. She has over eight years of experience in accounting and has worked extensively in the real estate industry. She's worked on a variety of real estate related projects that range from REIT diligence, tax structuring, to partnership tax returns. Helen has an uncanny ability to manage a high volume of projects and still maintain a high level of client satisfaction and quality deliverables. She can be reached at HMoulis@bpmcpa.com
Howard Lubert is Co-Founder of Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic and Founder of Keiretsu Forum South East, private angel investment groups with Chapters peppered throughout the eastern seaboard. Howard is a seasoned angel investor and preeminent architect in valuations and term sheet packages. For more information on Keiretsu Forum and to contact Howard Lubert, please visit KeiretsuForum-midatlantic.com
Job Titles:
- Principal at OCA Ventures
Imran Ahmad is a principal at OCA Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm in Chicago. Imran has more than a decade of experience financing, investing and founding early stage technology and middle market companies. Prior to joining OCA Ventures, Imran founded multiple mobile and enterprise software companies, helped launch PayPal Here in domestic retail and international markets, and invested in healthcare and business services at JMH Capital. He began his career as an investment banking analyst for William Blair.
J. Andrew ("Andy") Robison is a partner and chair of Bradley's Corporate & Securities Practice Group. Andy primarily advises clients with mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, divestitures, joint ventures, and general corporate and securities law issues. He spends a significant amount of his time working with private equity funds and their portfolio companies. He can be reached at arobison@bradley.com.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Founding Partner at Venture Formations
Jake Fisher is the founding partner at Venture Formations. Jake serves as a startup advisor helping entrepreneurs through the funding process. On Twitter @VentureJakeF
Job Titles:
- Global Expert and Adviser
James Berkeley is a global expert and adviser to corporate venture capital, venture capital and High Net Worth investors seeking dramatic growth investments. He is great at and passionate about turning strategic visions into an organisational reality, beyond merely raising capital. James provides expertise, speed and tremendous results for owners and top management in high-growth businesses who want to soar, not simply coast. He is known for his Profitable Growth Regime. A pathway that brings greater focus and discipline to all levels of the firm and greater resolve to see that key business goals are attained with minimal need for management intervention. James's wisdom has been sort by the owners and key personnel in an array of early and mid-stage high-growth businesses during his career including HotelCloud, Coffee Planet, FTT Global, Napster and Direct Money. Website: www.elliceconsulting.com Blog; www.jamesberkeley.com
Jan Bouten has been been involved in funding 100+ startups since 2002, across tech, medtech, agtech, and biotech. He is currently a partner at Innova Memphis, where he co-founded the Top 25 medtech accelerator ZeroTo510. Prior to his investing career, he spent 10+ years in the high tech industry with roles in engineering, marketing and sales.
Job Titles:
- Director of Entrepreneurship for Launch Tennessee
Jason Denenberg is director of entrepreneurship for Launch Tennessee. Jason coordinates efforts across LaunchTN's nine regional accelerators throughout the state. He focuses on driving each region to develop sector focus and collaboration to enhance the overall network. Jason was formerly a Partner at Angel Capital Group where he led efforts to collaborate with entrepreneurs and investors to fund early-stage high-growth investment opportunities. LaunchTN are producers of 36|86, June 8-10, 2015 in Nashville. On Twitter: @denenberg18 https://twitter.com/denenberg18
Job Titles:
- Principal at Rittenhouse Ventures
Jayson Tischler is a Principal at Rittenhouse Ventures, an emerging-growth venture capital firm based in Philadelphia, PA. Rittenhouse invests in Mid-Atlantic, capital-efficient software companies that power enterprises in healthcare, life sciences, human resources, finance, and general business services.
Jeffrey B. Morlend is a partner in the Corporate Department of Sullivan & Worcester LLP. Jeff advises both public and private clients in a range of corporate matters with a focus on securities law compliance, financing transactions and private equity investments. He counsels domestic and international companies in public equity and debt offerings and general disclosure matters, and represents financial institutions and public and private companies involved in a variety of industries in secured and unsecured credit facilities.
Jim has been working in the start-up ecosystem in Silicon Valley for over 20 years and has been with Silicon Valley Bank since 2012. As Head of the Emerging Manager Practice at SVB, Jim leads a team that provides general partners with tailored services and strategic guidance-from fundraising to fund operations, to portfolio company support and creative liquidity solutions. Prior to joining SVB, Jim co-founded Selby Venture Partners, a seed and early stage focused VC firm with over $130M in management from a diversified group of Limited Partners, including the US Government. In addition to having the privilege of working with several amazing founders throughout his career, Jim is proud to have been an early investor in Pandora (NYSE:P), BigFix (Acq by IBM for $400M), Coremetrics (Acq by IBM) and Active Semiconductor, Inc. Jim is a native Californian who serves on the Leavey School of Business Advisory Board at Santa Clara University. Jim holds an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University, where he was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus in 2007, and a B.S. in Finance from Santa Clara University.
Jim Price is a faculty member and Entrepreneur in Residence at the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at Michigan Ross. He actively advises startups, consults to corporate new-business initiatives and serves on company boards.
Joanna Jana Laznicka is the founder of VC-List.com. She has worked with startups and venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, Orange County, and Canada for the past 22 years. You can connect with her on Twitter or LinkedIn
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Management Practice in Entrepreneurship and Marketing at the London Business School
John Mullins is an Associate Professor of Management Practice in Entrepreneurship and Marketing at the London Business School. He earned his MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota. An award-winning teacher and scholar, John brings to his teaching and research 20 years of executive experience in high-growth retailing firms including two ventures he founded and one he took public. Since becoming a business school professor in 1992, John has published four books, numerous cases and more than 40 articles in a variety of outlets, including Harvard Business Review, the MIT Sloan Management Review, and The Wall Street Journal. His research has won national and international awards from the Marketing Science Institute, the American Marketing Association, and the Richard D. Irwin Foundation. He is a frequent speaker to audiences in entrepreneurship and venture capital. John's trade book, The New Business Road Test: What Entrepreneurs and Executives Should Do Before Writing a Business Plan (3e, London: Prentice-Hall/FT 2010), is the definitive work on the assessment and shaping of market opportunities. His newest book, the critically acclaimed Getting to Plan B: Breaking Through to a Better Business Model (Boston: Harvard Business Press 2009), co-authored with Randy Komisar, a partner at the esteemed venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in California, was named to "Best Books of 2009" lists by BusinessWeek and INC Magazine. John has consulted with and done executive education on five continents for a variety of organizations both large and small, including Endeavor, Kenya Airways, Merck-Serono, Time Warner Communications, the European and African Venture Capital Associations, Pumpkin Ltd., the Young Presidents Organization, and the International Finance Corporation of The World Bank, among numerous others. He has served on the boards of fast-growing entrepreneurial companies in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia.
John Pennett is the Partner-in-Charge of EisnerAmper's Life Sciences Group and Technology Group. He has 30 years of public accounting experience, with a strong emphasis on public and private life science and technology companies. Contact him at john.pennett@eisneramper.com or 732-243-7140.
Jonathan B. Wilson is an experienced business lawyer who enjoys solving complex business and transactional problems for clients. He applies his more than 20 years of experience as an in-house lawyer, business adviser and strategist to help business executives and owners achieve negotiated solutions to technology and financial transactions.Wilson is a member of Taylor English Duma's Corporate and Business practice group in Atlanta. His practice includes corporate securities, corporate finance and governance, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property. He represents Fortune 100, middle-market and start-up companies. Wilson was the general counsel or chief legal officer of Interland Inc., Web.com Group Inc. and EasyLink Services International Corp., where he advised senior management and the boards of directors on U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting, NASDAQ compliance, Sarbanes-Oxley matters, corporate governance, governmental affairs, contracts, litigation, intellectual property and mergers and acquisitions. He may be reached at (678) 336-7185 or by email at jwilson@taylorenglish.com.
Jonathan Benhamou is CEO of PeopleDoc, a global provider of cloud-based, digital HR document management and employee relationship management solutions.
Jonathan Erwin is CEO of the mobile enterprise network Red e App. Jonathan has 20+ years in sales, marketing, and executive roles. As CEO and founder of Red e App, he is focused on helping customers engage employees more effectively through mobile communication.
Jonathan Kendall is a senior at UC Berkeley majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus in Financial Strategy & Business Valuation and a minor in Philosophy. His passions lie at the intersection of entrepreneurship, social impact & investing. Working for New Stack Ventures as a Fellow, he sources great companies in under-capitalized markets and focuses on the pre-seed stage. Connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn, or Twitter.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Talent Tech Labs
Jonathan Kestenbaum is the executive director of Talent Tech Labs. Talent Tech Labs was originally founded to foster the growth and development of emerging ideas and companies in the talent acquisition technology space. An entrepreneur at heart, he spends his days building and advising the technology companies of tomorrow.
Joshua T. Klein is a partner with Fox Rothschild LLP, practicing in the Financial Restructuring & Bankruptcy Department. Joshua has completed a number of successful resolutions of complex situations involving manufacturing, technology and other business interests in and out of bankruptcy. With more than a decade of experience, clients trust Joshua for his insight and knowledge of complex financial restructuring and bankruptcy matters.
Mr. Hollas is a pioneer in the field of crowdfunding with multiple patents granted for web-based capital marketplace systems. He is the founder and chief inventor of EquityNet and continues to lead the Company's efforts to create and introduce innovative new products and services. He is responsible for the overall management of the Company, including its strategic direction and fiscal and professional integrity. Prior to founding EquityNet in 2005, Mr. Hollas served as Division Manager for Beta-Rubicon, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in technology assessment and business due diligence services. He conducted extensive research on methods of conventional due diligence, causes of private enterprise failure and methods for risk prediction, marketplace characteristics in the private equity industry, and it was during this time that he developed the business model for EquityNet. Mr. Hollas has 20 years of experience as an independent technology analyst and investment manager in the private and public domains. He has personally invested in over 30 emerging technology companies in a wide range of industry sectors, including various software sectors, semiconductors, biometrics, networking, wireless communications, and conventional and alternative energy. Mr. Hollas developed and applied proprietary quantitative models, statistical methods, and research approaches that were critical to his investment management performance. He worked previously on process modeling and supply chain automation of complex systems as a process chemical engineer for Phillips Petroleum. Mr. Hollas earned his B.S in Chemical Engineering (with Honors) from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Justin G. Lurie is an associate in LeClairRyan, based in the national law firm's New York City office. Justin represents companies in all stages of development, with a particular focus on founding entrepreneurs, tech startups and emerging growth companies. He can be contacted at: justin.lurie@leclairryan.com
Job Titles:
- Founder of Kugarand Capital Holdings Home to the National Network of Angel Investing
Karen Rands is the founder of Kugarand Capital Holdings home to the National Network of Angel Investing (NNOAI) and LAUNCHfn, a strategic advisory firm for entrepreneurs. For over a decade, Karen has educated investors about investing in private companies, entrepreneurs about building their company to succeed, and creating opportunities for qualified entrepreneurs to connect with motivated investors.
Karine has more than 10 years of experience in public accounting, with a focus on assisting clients with business acquisitions and audits of middle-market to multinational publicly-traded corporations under IFRS, US GAAP and French GAAP. She has an extensive background serving manufacturing and technology companies as well as service organizations. She has assisted start-up and development stage companies with audit and consulting services as they grew into larger companies and raised capital. Her technology clients are primarily owned by Private Equity or Venture Capital firms. Prior to joining Mazars USA, Karine was a Senior Manager at a large national accounting affiliate of Mazars, where she focused on public and privately-owned manufacturing and technology companies. Previously, she was at Mazars France, giving her extensive insight into international accounting. Karine received her Master degree in Audit from the Universite Paris Dauphine. She is fluent in French and English.
Kate Heptig, a partner in both Rivkin Radler's Corporate and Health Services practice groups, specializes in transactional tax law and executive compensation, while also focusing on general business law relating to corporations, LLCs and partnerships, and ERISA/employee benefits matters (a specialty in which she earned her LLM). She advises individuals and businesses across a broad range of industries in each of these substantive areas of law in connection with corporate operations and reorganizations;sales and acquisitions of businesses; tax-free spin-offs; executive compensation arrangements; qualified and non-qualified pension and deferred compensation plans; equity, incentive compensation, change in control and severance arrangements; business succession planning; executive employment agreements; shareholder and operating agreements;joint ventures; corporate governance; commercial contracts; and audit and other tax controversy matters. Kate was the recipient of the Long Island Business News' 50 Most Influential Women in Business for 2016. She was selected to the SuperLawyers New York Metro Rising Stars 2014 (Business/Corporate) and 2015 (Tax) lists. In 2013, she received a Long Island Business News "Leadership in Law" Associate award and in 2016, Long Island Business News named her one of its "40 Under 40." Kate is the Chair of the Corporations, Banking and Securities Law Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association. She serves on the Board of Directors of Girls on the Run Long Island and is a member of the Dean's Advisory Board of Hofstra University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees, and Governance Committee, of the Cradle of Aviation Museum. Kate is also a member of Hofstra University's Women in Leadership Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Principal and Lead VP, Finance at KB Consulting
Katie Bronnenkant is the Principal and lead VP, Finance at KB Consulting, where she and her team work with early stage VC backed companies to help get them to their next round of funding. She has helped startups raise close to $200 million in equity financing. Katiebronnenkant.com
Job Titles:
- Partner at Greenberg Glusker
Katy Spillers is a Partner at Greenberg Glusker in Los Angeles who handles a broad range of business transactions involving general corporate, tax, and intellectual property matters with an emphasis on counseling clients on formation and tax structuring, growth strategies including debt and equity financings, acquisitions and joint ventures, as well as liquidity events such as asset or stock sales and mergers. The clients Katy represents include entrepreneurs, start-up companies and middle market companies in a wide range of industries such as technology, consumer goods, entertainment and sports and real estate.
Job Titles:
- Principal With Paley Rothman
Kevin D'Anna is a principal with Paley Rothman in Bethesda, Maryland. He is a member of the firm's Corporate, Nonprofits, and Science & Technology practice groups. Kevin advises companies in all stages of development on a wide range of topics, including general operation and governance of for-profit and nonprofit entities, business dispute resolution, IP and technology licensing and transactions, private placements, executive compensation, and structuring and implementing corporate mergers and acquisitions.
Job Titles:
- Principal in Charge of the Washington DC
Kim Larsen is principal in charge of the Washington DC office of corporate law firm Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C. Tobias Ziegler of the firm's corporate practice contributed to the article. Larsen has been an investor and attorney on a range of corporate matters, with an emphasis on M&A, joint ventures and commercial transactions. He has been instrumental in forming many VC-funded companies, some of which have gone public and more of which have been acquired. Individually and as founding member of Blu Venture Investors, an angel investor group in D.C., Larsen has participated in over 25 tech start-ups. He is reachable at klarsen@bressler.com and you can follow the firm at @BresslerLa
Kirill Bensonoff is a successful entrepreneur with multiple exists, blockchain investor, product manager at Kaseya and partner at Caviar, pioneering a dual-purpose token and crowdfunding platform built on the Ethereum blockchain. He bought his first Bitcoin in 2013 and has participated in dozens of token generating events. As a graduate from the Entrepreneurial Masters program at MIT, he has served as both an advisor and angel investor in over 20 different companies. Kirill is a member of Young Entrepreneur's Council and co-hosts the Boston Crypto Meetup series. He has been published or quoted in national business, blockchain and technology media, including Forbes, Inc., Huffington Post, Bitcoin Magazine and CoinTelegraph, among many others. Follow him on Twitter at @prankstr25.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor in the International Economic Policy Program at AU 's School of International Service
Krista Tuomi is an assistant professor in the International Economic Policy program at AU's School of International Service. She has worked for many years as a policy analyst in the areas of innovation and investment and recently her focus has been on best practice in the start-up investment climate, particularly on policy related to angel investing, crowdfunding and seed financing. Her passion for the field of innovation and entrepreneurship extends into her pro-bono work, which includes working with SCORE, Boots to Business, the Veteran Small Business Challenge Competition, Syracuse's Institute for Veterans and Military Families, and the Angel Capital Association.
With over 20 years of experience as a serial entrepreneur and marketing measurement expert, Kristin Luck's consulting practice, Luck Collective focuses on nontraditional growth strategies. She is a serial entrepreneur and a globetrotting keynote speaker on marketing, branding, startups and innovation. She is consistently ranked as one of the top 100 sales and branding experts to follow on social media.
Lars Sudmann is the partner of Sudmann & Company, a leadership advisory consultancy. He is the former CFO of Procter & Gamble Belgium and is now active as board advisor and consultant to PE firms, startups and multinationals for leadership development and strategy.
Lee Barken, CPA, LEED-AP, is the Energy and Cleantech practice leader at Haskell & White LLP and serves on the boards of directors of CleanTECH San Diego, Grid Alternatives-San Diego Chapter and the San Diego Venture Group. Barken writes and speaks on the topics of renewable energy project finance, green building, crowdfunding, IT audit compliance and wireless LAN technology. Reach him at (858) 350-4215 or lbarken@hwcpa.com.
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner of Salazar Jackson
Linda Worton Jackson is a founding partner of Salazar Jackson, a Miami-based business boutique law firm that assists companies with all of their corporate and financing needs, and helps businesses facing financial challenges, class action lawsuits and government investigations.
Liora Farkovitz is a content strategist, content developer, writer, publisher and, a content marketing and organic promotion company. She has been an entrepreneur for over 20 years and frequently writes or speaks about various business topics.
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO of Write2Market
Lisa Calhoun is founder and CEO of Write2Market. The Atlanta public relations firm is recognized as one of the Top 10 Agencies in the United States for StartUps by The Agency Post. Her work appears in Wired, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, and CEO.com. Lisa has been honored by the American Business Awards as a Female Entrepreneur of the Year. Twitter @Lisa_Calhoun.
Loretta McCarthy is a Managing Partner, responsible for the Golden Seeds angel network nationwide, including member cultivation, orientation and engagement. Prior to Golden Seeds, she was Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Oppenheimer Funds, as well as Vice President of Marketing at American Express. She brings to this role deep experience in marketing, product development, public affairs and corporate communications. She has extensive experience serving on boards of directors of corporations and non-profit organizations. Ms. McCarthy holds an MBA from the University of Colorado and a BA from the University of Arizona.
Louis Lehot is an emerging growth company, venture capital, and M&A lawyer at Foley & Lardner in Silicon Valley. Louis spends his time providing entrepreneurs, innovative companies, and investors with practical and commercial legal strategies and solutions at all stages of growth, from garage to global.
Job Titles:
- Counsel at Waller 's Capital Markets Practice Group
Marc J. Adesso is counsel at Waller's Capital Markets practice group where he counsels clients in venture capital and hedge fund formation, investment management, securities, corporate finance and business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions. He provides strategic counsel relating to corporate governance, as well as SEC compliance and reporting to clients in the financial services, REIT and manufacturing industries. He may be reached at marc.adesso@wallerlaw.com or 615.850.8063.
Mark Li is a partner in BPM's Assurance Practice. With over 15 years' experience in public accounting, he leads and serves BPM's Blockchain and Digital Assets Industry Group, overseeing activities including but not limited to exchanges, wallets and custodians, crypto funds, STOs and stablecoins.
Marty Schultz, a serial entrepreneur and founder of a string of successful software companies, has been an advocate for the idea that entrepreneurs should not immediately seek venture capital but should look initially at bootstrapping. Marty balances being an award-winning keynote speaker on the topic of bootstrapping and being cofounder and President of ObjectiveEd.
Matt leads Cloud Apps Capital Partners on our journey to be the best venture capital firm in the world in the cloud business application market at the Classic Series A stage. He works closely with entrepreneurs and executive teams to help them build global category leading companies. Matt has 12 years of operating experience in successful business application companies including salesforce.com, 12 years of venture capital and private equity experience, and a highly relevant network. He has walked in the shoes of founding teams at each stage of a business application company's development - no customers, initial traction, scaling the team, market leadership, and global expansion. Matt has a BA in engineering and economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Job Titles:
- Executive in Residence and Founder of the Rural Opportunity Initiative
Matt McKenna, Executive in Residence and Founder of the Rural Opportunity Initiative, a program at Georgetown University's Global Social Enterprise Initiative, part of the McDonough School of Business. Visit: Rural Opportunity Initiative
Matthew J. Moisan is a partner at LeClairRyan, based in the national law firm's New York City office. He represents companies in all stages of development, with a particular focus on founding entrepreneurs, tech startups and emerging growth companies. Mathew can be contacted at matthew.moisan@leclairryan.com.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner of Fish & Tsang LLP
Mei Tsang is managing partner of Fish & Tsang LLP, an award-winning intellectual property law firm with offices in Orange County and Silicon Valley. For more than a decade, Tsang has served as a zealous advocate for her clients, guiding and protecting them through the prosecution, litigation and enforcement of their IP. She pioneered the firm's three-step IP strategy: identify, procure and shepherd - a process which helps clients approach, manage and monetize their IP in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.fishiplaw.com or call 949-943-8300
Job Titles:
- Founder of Arpeggio Advisors
Michael Blake is the founder of Arpeggio Advisors (www.arpeggioadvisors.com), a boutique business appraisal and corporate strategy advisory firm in Atlanta. Michael's background has included work in venture capital, investment banking, and public accounting. Michael has particular expertise in the appraisal of firms in the fields of professional services, information technology, aerospace, and alternative energy. In addition, he has developed specific expertise in the appraisal of intellectual property and intangible assets. Michael is an active educator. He is a Special Instructor of Business Valuation in the Georgia Tech/Emory University TI:GER (Technology Innovation: Generating Economic Results) program. In addition, he is regularly invited to provide instruction on entrepreneurship, corporate finance, and business valuation to graduate level classes at prominent universities across the South.
Michael Gray is a Partner at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg in Chicago, where he counsels investors, companies, and executives in private equity and venture capital transactions, mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, executive compensation and general contract matters. Previously, Michael was an investor who sourced, evaluated and closed private equity and venture capital transactions and mentored management teams.
Michael Harrington is a partner with Fox Rothschild LLP concentrating his practice on representing early and growth stage technology, life science and clean tech companies in: corporate finance, private equity, mergers & acquisitions, venture capital, securities, technology law, leveraging intellectual property, taxation, and general corporate matters. He advises on opportunities and complexities of equity crowdfunding enabled by the JOBS ACT.
Michael Silvio, CPA, is the Director of Tax Services at Hall & Company. He has more than 25 years of experience in public accounting and tax and has served a variety of businesses in the high-technology, consumer product, software, biotech, life science, healthcare, manufacturing, construction, professional service and not-for-profit industries. He is a nationally recognized leader in the federal credits and incentives tax specialty. He has conducted over 450 research credit studies for numerous companies in various industries, and has served as a representative before the IRS and state taxing authorities to support and defend numerous research credit claims for taxpayers. Mike has consulted on many other tax incentives related to domestic production, accounting methods, federal and state grant programs, and energy/"green" tax incentives including energy efficient building incentives. Mike has assisted clients in savings millions of tax dollars with the above incentives. He also has experience in financial accounting, reporting and management, auditing, and individual and business income tax. He can be reached at ms@hallcpas.com.
Michael V. Messinger is a Director in the Firm's Electronics Practice Group and the leader of the Firm's Alternative Energy and Climate Change practice area. He handles complex patent matters involving inter partes and post-grant review, reexamination, reissue and appeals. Mr. Messinger works with company managers, directors and employees to identify and leverage IP assets. He is a leader in the area of fast-track patent examination in the United States and abroad. He has extensive experience in prosecuting U.S. and international patent applications and developing strategic patent portfolios. He may be contacted at mikem@skgf.com.
Murray A. Indick is a partner in Morrison & Foerster's San Francisco Office and is the
Co-Chair of the firm's Emerging Companies and Venture Capital Practice Group. He has more than 30 years of experience as a corporate lawyer, with expertise in venture capital, private equity, fund formation, M&A, and corporate governance matters. Ryan Conner is an associate in Morrison and Foerster's San Francisco Office. His practice focuses on the representation of startups and emerging companies throughout various stages of their life cycles.
Job Titles:
- CEO and Co - Founder of MainVest
Nick Mathews is the CEO and co-founder of MainVest. He is an expert in marketing and operational strategy who led the launch of Uber Boston in 2013. While launching Uber into additional new markets, he gained firsthand experience of the challenges in economic development and regeneration. He founded MainVest in 2018 leveraging the new financial regulations to provide investment opportunities between local community members and small businesses.
Ori Solomon is a partner in Morrison & Foerster's Corporate Department and Co-chair of the firm's Emerging Companies and Venture Capital practice. Mr. Solomon provides general corporate representation to a wide range of companies, from start-ups and emerging growth companies to large public companies. Mr. Solomon also represents venture capital funds in a wide range of transactions, including investments in portfolio companies and secondary direct transactions.
Job Titles:
- Managing Member of McCloskey Law PLLC
Patrick T. McCloskey is the managing member of McCloskey Law PLLC, a boutique law practice in New York for business entities, owners and investors during the critical stages of formation, growth and exit. Mr. McCloskey's areas of practice include early-stage securities transactions.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner at INE Ventures
Paul is a managing partner at INE Ventures with expertise in mentoring seed-stage companies on marketing execution, strategic branding and public relations, and lean startup operations. Beyond his work with INE Ventures, he is also the Co-founder of Pervasive Group Inc., an investor and member of New York Angels, Jumpstart New Jersey, and the Delaware Crossing Investor Group. He holds an M.S. from Columbia University and a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University.
Paul R. Wassgren is a partner with Fox Rothschild LLP. He practices in the areas of securities, project and real estate finance, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate law. Using the firm's Las Vegas and Los Angeles offices as his home base, Paul handles matters for clients ranging in size from individual entrepreneurs to multinational corporations. Paul can be reached at pwassgren@foxrothschild.com.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Co - Founder
Philip Racusin is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and co-founder of EnergyFunders, an online marketplace that connects qualified investors to nationwide, small cap oil and gas projects managed by proven operators. A seasoned litigation attorney, Philip currently serves as a senior associate of Pagel, Davis & Hill, P.C., where he has successfully represented clients, ranging from individuals to large companies, in a variety of legal disputes for nearly a decade. He also launched several startup ventures prior to EnergyFunders, including a legal technology company that totaled over 50,000% ROI in one year. Both a savvy entrepreneur and accomplished litigator, Philip fuses legal expertise with astute business knowhow to navigate the oil and gas industry's regulatory waters and carefully pre-vet each project offered through the site.
Job Titles:
- Wayne J. Holman Chair Professor
Raghupathy Sivakumar is the Wayne J. Holman Chair Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech. He and his doctoral students do research in the areas of wireless networking and mobile computing. He is the founding director of CREATE-X, a Georgia Tech initiative to instill entrepreneurial confidence in students. Sivakumar also serves as interim chief commercialization officer for Georgia Tech.
Job Titles:
- Business Development Manager at Propel
Ralph is the business development manager at Propel(x), an online angel investing platform for deep technology startups. He has a passion investment and technology and holds a Master's degree in Technology and Policy from MIT. Prior to Propel(x) he had served in the U.S. Army and has worked as a biotechnology patent researcher. He has also been an active angel investor for about three years, with over a dozen investments.
Randy Adler is a partner and National Co-Chair of Fox Rothschild's Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Practice Group, representing businesses and investors in all stages of development. You can contact him at radler@foxrothschild.com.
Richard L. Weinberger, PhD, CPA, has over 30 years' experience as a financial and management consultant for small businesses. An esteemed thought leader and speaker, he is CEO of the Association of Accredited Small Business Consultants. His new book, Propel Your Small Business to Success: Accelerated Actions to Maximize Profit, gives small business owners a step-by-step method for reviewing and analyzing every aspect of their company in order to increase profitability.
Job Titles:
- Partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP
Rick Jordan is a partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP where he splits his time between the firm's Austin and Dallas offices. He is the current Chair of the Emerging Business/Venture Capital Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. Rick represents investors and issuers in venture capital financings primarily in the technology, life sciences and biotech sectors, and regularly serves as lead counsel on mergers and acquisitions transactions as well as securities and corporate governance matters. He also acts as outside general counsel for both public and private companies.
Rick M. Smetanka is the partner-in-charge of the Audit and Business Advisory Services Group at Haskell & White LLP (hwcpa.com), one of the largest independently owned accounting, auditing and tax consulting firms in Southern California. He advises publicly traded companies, venture capital and private equity-backed businesses operating principally in the technology and life science industries. Rick can be reached at RSmetanka@hwcpa.com">RSmetanka@hwcpa.com or (949) 450-6200.
Job Titles:
- Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Incentive
Rickard Hansson is the founder and chief executive officer of Incentive, a socially powered enterprise collaboration platform designed specifically for mid-market organizations and enterprise teams. With more than 15 years of experience in the IT industry, Rickard is a serial entrepreneur and self-taught programmer who created Incentive in 2008 based on his belief that internal workplace communication should be a social and collaborative experience.
Robert W. Dremluk is a partner in the New York office of Culhane Meadows PLLC. His work focuses on diverse interests in federal and bankruptcy court litigation, and advice and risk assessment regarding transactional matters, including asset purchases and structured finance transactions. He may be reached at rdremluk@cm.law
Rupert Hart is the author of "CrowdFund Your StartUp!: Raising Venture Capital using New CrowdFunding Techniques," the #1 in books on Amazon for crowdfunding for the last year.
Sam Davis practices in the Business Law and Regulatory and Administrative Law areas. He represents U.S., Chinese, and multinational clients in a range of transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) transactions, private equity and fund formation, venture capital, cross-border transactions, and preparation of SEC and other regulatory filings. Mr. Davis can be reached at 617.589.3823 or sdavis@davismalm.com.
Sameer has over 20 years of experience in successfully bringing high growth, disruptive cloud and enterprise software solutions to market. Prior to joining SendGrid, he served as Group Vice President and General Manager of the Cloud Platforms group at Citrix. Sameer joined the company in 2010, when Citrix acquired VMLogix, where he served as CEO.
Job Titles:
- Managing General Partner at Granite Hill Capital Partners
Sameet Mehta is the Managing General Partner at Granite Hill Capital Partners. Sameet has been an engineer, investor, and executive in Silicon Valley for twenty years, including three years as the CFO of SentinelOne. Prior to co-founding Granite Hill, Sameet spent seven years in M&A and strategic venture capital with Cisco, where he established and led the venture capital effort in India. He has developed a diverse network of business leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors in both the US and India. He was previously with Lehman Brothers in the technology investment banking group. Sameet holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University and a MBA from Stanford Business School.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of the Cintrifuse Syndicate Fund
As Managing Director of the Cintrifuse Syndicate Fund, Sarah Anderson is responsible for the Fund's investments and bringing fund managers to the region to engage with Cincinnati startups and strategic corporations. She actively engages portfolio managers both nationally and internationally to create relationships between funders, founders, and corporations.
SC Moatti is a technology visionary, venture capital investor, and bestselling author of mobilized, an insider's guide to the business and future of connected technology. While serving as an executive at mobile pioneers like Facebook, Trulia and Nokia, SC launched and monetized mobile products that are now used by billions of people and have received prestigious awards, including an Emmy nomination. Today, SC is the managing director of The Angels' Forum, an early-stage hybrid venture group, and the founder of Products That Count, a community of 15,000+ product managers and innovators that produces a popular speaker series on product design. She also serves on boards of both public and private companies, including mobile technology giant Opera Software (OPERA:Oslo). SC frequently gives keynote on the business of innovation and is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review. She lectures at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she earned her MBA and has a Master of Science in electrical engineering. For more information, visit scmoatti.
Scott Chou has been in the venture capital industry since 1997 and was recently recognized by Always On as a Top 100 venture capitalist. He is also known for his focus on disruptive technologies and for authoring Maxims, Morals, and Metaphors - A Primer on Venture Capital. Scott's passion for early stage technology ventures extends back to high school when he joined his first startup as a software engineer. He has since worked for five more technology ventures including Poqet Computer and ICE in addition to world-renowned research and development organizations such as Bellcore and IBM. His broad expertise in technology spans the industry from manufacturing to software development to chip design. Scott continues to maintain his expertise as the creator of Oh Don't Forget! a popular mobile app for Android and iOS devices. Scott completed the prestigious Kauffman Fellows Program in 1999 with Onset Ventures. He later joined Gabriel Venture Partners in early 2000 where he focused on research labs for fundamental innovations. His first investment at Gabriel was in the seed round of NextG Networks which eventually sold to Crown Castle for $1 billion. Other notable venture capital accomplishments include his being the founding innovator of the Employee Stock Option Fund and a university-affiliated accelerator fund called Michigan eLab. Scott's educational background includes a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering with honors from Caltech as well as master's degrees from Harvard University and Stanford University.
Job Titles:
- Partner at Sullivan & Worester LLP
Scott Kaufman is a partner at Sullivan & Worester LLP and leads the firm's Emerging Companies & Venture Capital practice in New York. He represents entrepreneurs, technology and life science companies and investors in venture financings, M&A and other corporate transactions. He also represents clients in private and public securities offerings and advises on SEC compliance matters, including with respect to cryptocurrency token distributions. Additionally, Scott works with many Israeli clients through ZAG-S&W, Sullivan & Worcester's joint venture with Israel-based Zysman, Aharoni, Gayer & Co. He has significant experience advising Israeli hi-tech companies in connection with their business transactions in the United States.
Stella Lellos is a partner in Uniondale, NY-based Rivkin Radler LLP's Corporate Practice Group. Stella has significant experience in all aspects of complex corporate transactions. She focuses her practice on private company mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, corporate finance transactions and general corporate representation of U.S.-based and international companies.
Job Titles:
- Author
- Chairman of Culhane Meadows' Corporate Practice
Steven H. Shapiro (sshapiro@culhanemeadows.com) is a partner and Chair of Culhane Meadows' Corporate Practice. A former public company General Counsel, he is an accomplished transactional lawyer and skillful negotiator whose practice includes technology and IT, M&A, financing and securities, and startup ventures at all funding levels.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President at BIP Capital
Swin Moore serves as a senior Vice President at BIP Capital, a venture capital firm that partners with entrepreneurs, providing both operational and strategic direction to help promising early-stage businesses accelerate farther and faster. An experienced venture investor specializing in helping companies accelerate, Moore was also a senior consultant at Vista Equity Partners. His experience further includes work in private equity and investment banking. Moore holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College. He resides in Atlanta.
Job Titles:
- Associate at Fox Rothschild
Tamar Gubins is an associate at Fox Rothschild where she advises companies on formation, financing and governance as part of the firm's Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Practice Group. You can contact her at tgubins@foxrothschild.com.
A Northern California native, Taylor moved to Southern California to attend Whittier College. Upon graduation, he began formulating an innovative marketing strategy which he launched, in 2010, as FilmBreak, a marketing platform and crowdfunding agency. FilmBreak allows creatives of all verticals to build and engage their fans earlier than ever before through platform agnostic crowdfunding and innovative social media marketing. FilmBreak gives clients the consumer momentum needed to release a new film, launch a new product, or raise a round of financing. FilmBreak's clients include Entertainment One, Sean Astin, Zachary Quinto, George Lopez, Britt Robertson, Lil Wayne, Doug Jones, and others. An enthusiastic member of the Southern California technology community, Taylor has recently been featured in Variety, Forbes, Los Angeles Business Journal, and San Francisco Examiner.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer for SaaSOptics
Tim McCormick is the Chief Executive Officer for SaaSOptics, affordable and flexible subscription management platform for growing SaaS and subscription-based businesses. Founded in 2009 by entrepreneurs who lived the challenges of running their own SaaS business, SaaSOptics is the only solution that can scale with a growing business, providing the day-to-day financial management capabilities needed, and the auditing, reporting and analytics that are critical for future growth.
Tom has been helping entrepreneurs build great companies for most of his career. He's formed multiple venture capital funds, founded angel groups, and is an active angel investor. As the CEO of Rev1 Ventures, Tom has built an experienced team that has invested in more than 75 startups and added more than $70M in capital to the Columbus, Ohio region in under five years. This growth has helped Columbus to be named one of the fastest-growing startup cities in the US according to the Kauffman Foundation and Rev1 named the Most Active VC in the Great Lakes region, according to Pitchbook. Before forming Rev1, Tom spent much of his career focused on innovation, startups and early stage capital - first from the corporate sector within Battelle - and then regionally, building innovation and startup support systems in Oklahoma, Ohio and advising several regions of the United States and the United Kingdom. He feels strongly that in order to fuel startups, you must connect the assets in your own back yard. This includes corporations, service providers, academic and research institutions, and public sector entities. He's the author of The Entrepreneur's Path: A Handbook for High-Growth Companies.
Van Wiltz is an attorney in Thompson & Knight's Dallas office, and focuses his practice on corporate and securities transactions, specifically the organization, formation and capitalization of private equity funds on behalf of sponsors, promoters and management teams.
Vincent, a serial entrepreneur, founded a virtual sports betting startup before co-founding FlashFunders. He has consulted for several tech startups, as well as frontier market firm Osprey Global Solutions, working on global development efforts in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. He started his career leading business development at FindTheBest and holds Series 7 and 63 securities licenses.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Rhapsody Ventures
Vincent Lui is the Managing Director of Rhapsody Ventures. He has over 15 years of entrepreneurial & operating experience and broad domain knowledge in network infrastructure technologies. Prior to forming Rhapsody Ventures, Vincent was VP of Strategy & Corporate Business Development at VSS Monitoring, and wore multiple other hats - including business development, technology alliances, corporate marketing and venture financing ($20M by Battery Ventures in 2010) - resulted in over 50% year-over-year growth during his tenure. Vincent was instrumental to the acquisition of VSS in 2012 by Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR), a $60 billion Fortune 150 company. Post acquisition, Vincent led strategic planning efforts and helped coordinated the implementation of Danaher Business Systems. Vincent began his career at Lucent Technologies (Alcatel-Lucent/Nokia), and later took on key roles in a number of startups including homeFiber (later became Broadand Rhapsody), Photonic Power Systems (acquired by JDSU, now Viavi), Cleanpoint and Display Photonics. In 2006, he joined KLM Capital, a US-China earlystage venture fund, responsible for investment due diligence and portfolio management. He was board observer for portfolio companies including Auvitek (acquired by Microtune, now CSR), Opulan (acquired by Atheros, now Qualcomm), and Novera Optics (acquired by LG-Nortel, now Ericsson). In addition to Rhapsody Ventures, Vincent currently advises and invests in several early stage companies including Saisei Networks, Flying Cloud, Skalera, Creanord, Symbid and iFunding. Vincent holds a B.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering and B.A. in Music from UC San Diego, M.S. in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University, and studied in the Doctorate of Business Administration at Newcastle University and Grenoble Ecole de Management.
Job Titles:
- Partner at Barnes & Thornburg
Will Turner is a partner at Barnes & Thornburg. With more than 20 years of experience as a corporate and securities attorney, Will Turner advises clients in mergers and acquisitions, capitalization and finance transactions, restructurings and joint ventures. He also assists entrepreneurs with a variety of start-up businesses and investors in venture capital investments. Will's clients include investors, founders, software companies, technology-focused finance companies, trust companies and banks.
William F. Herrfeldt, Jr., a partner in Venable's Corporate Practice (www.Venable.com), represents established large and middle market companies, startup and emerging growth companies, private funds, institutional investors, and financial institutions in all manner of corporate transactions.
Job Titles:
- Attorney With Isaac Wiles
Yaima Seigley is an attorney with Isaac Wiles (Columbus, Ohio) who counsels startups and emerging businesses in all aspects of formation, legal operations and related matters. She may be reached at (614) 221-2121 or by email at yseigley@isaacwiles.com.
Yasir Billoo is an experienced attorney in the areas of business/commercial law, employment & labor, and civil appeals. He has valuable experience dealing with non-disclosure agreements, in addition to other complex business contracts and agreements, both in and outside the courtroom.