Friday, July 28, 2006

Raising Capital for Early Stage Tech Companies

I've always accused the VCs of herd mentality when investing. So what is resonating investors today? SVASE is hosting a panel discussion featuring four experiences, outspoken and opinionated early stage investors:

• Jake Seid, General Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners
• Warren Packard. Managing Director, DFJ
• Bill Reichert, Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures
• Laura Roden, Managing Director, The Angels Forum
Moderator: John Beck, VP, The Brenner Group

To be discussed:
• What types of startups are getting funded? – Technology? Social? Web 2.0? or what?
• What are VCs looking for from startups – a long term company, or a quick flip to Google?
• What are the most attractive markets – 5 Million free members to the next Flagr/Fligr/Flikr or the Fortune 500?
• What’s the value of patentable IP, and other technology innovations?
• What old business models are looking shaky?
• What new models are you seeing emerging, and which ones look like they’re working?

Register at the SVASE website at http://www.svase.org/index.php?option=com_extcalendar&Itemid=149&extmode=view&extid=460

Thursday, Aug 3
6.00-7.00 pm: Networking and Dinner
7.00-8:30 pm: Panel discussion and Q/A

Location:
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR Campus), 950 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, 94304

PRE-REGISTERED RATES (All Rates Include Hors D’oeuvres)
Members - $20;
Affiliates who advertise this event - $29;
General Public - $49
WALK-IN RATES: Add $10.00 to the listed price

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Confessions from a Marketing Rock Star

By design, marketing always looks better on the outside than it often is on the inside. For my August CXO Forum I've recruited a marketing "rock star" from the Chasm Group to give us a and candid look at the truth behind some of Silicon Valley’s best marketing success stories. My presenter, Rene White, had decades of operational marketing experience at Oracle, Tibco, and Interwoven before he went the consulting route. He's going to offer anecdotal ‘confessions’ about what marketing strategies have worked for him, what didn’t (but you never knew it), and what he would do differently today.

If you want to join us on August 9th in Mountain View, CA from 11:30-1:30, you can sign up at www.svase.org and click over to the 'CXO Leadership Forum' section on the calendar of events.