SVASE MAIN EVENT: Angel investors to the rescue in 2009? January 8, 2009

SVASE MAIN EVENT: Angel investors to the rescue in 2009?

Start: 01/08/2009 - 6:00pm
End: 01/08/2009 - 8:30pm
Contact Info: Laura Weigant
Email: Info@svase.org
Phone:(650) 585-9577

Location: Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
950 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304

URL:www.svase.org/?q=node/1904

With public markets in the midst of a roller coaster ride, are Angel investors down for the count, or will they stay in the game and ride the wave back to economic recovery? According to long-time angle “god-father”, Ron Conway, Baseline Ventures, they are still actively looking at funding pitches and have money for promising start-ups. So while over-extended Venture Firms are talking layoffs & cash crunch for their portfolio companies, Conway still feels it's a great time for entrepreneurs to start companies, and for Angels to invest in capital efficient startups. Do other Angels feel the same way, or are they hiding out in the hills till the good times return?

Come meet with and hear leading angel investors in a lively exchange as they explore trends and provide insights on the following critical questions:
·How have the dynamics and metrics of Angel investing changed in the past 12 months?
·What’s happening to valuations & how much equity are Angels now looking for?
·What does a startup need to look like to be attractive for Angels today?
·What investment instruments do they prefer & what involvement do they want?
·How are Angels working with Venture Capitalists for the next round of funding?
·What technology sectors are most attractive to Angel investors right now?

The Panel:
·Art Reidel, Member, Band of Angels
·Randy Williams, Founder & CEO, Keiretsu Forum
·Jeff Yu, Managing Director, The Angel’s Forum
·TBD

Moderator: TBD

WHEN: Thursday, January 8
6:00 - 7:00 pm: Networking and hors d’oeuvres
7:00 - 8:15 pm: Panel discussion and Q/A
8:15 - 8:30 pm: Additional networking

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

To reserve an Exhibit Table:
Contact Info@svase.org, $350 Members, $850 Non-members
(Includes exhibit table, 2 tickets to the event and 1 year corporate membership).

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

This event is co-sponsored by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, www.wsgr.com/

Speaker Bios

Art Reidel, Member, Band of Angels
Art Reidel has over seven years of venture capital experience at Lightspeed Ventures and ABS Ventures Limited Partnerships, a series of venture capital funds affiliated with Alex. Brown and Sons. Currently, he is chief executive officer at Scintera, a fabless semiconductor start-up pioneering a new paradigm in high-frequency signal processing. He was board chairman, president, and chief executive officer at Pharsight Corporation, where he continues as a board member. Before Pharsight, he was president and chief executive officer at Sunrise Test Systems. And, before Sunrise, he held executive positions with Weitek Corporation.

Randy Williams, Founder & CEO, Keiretsu Forum
Randy Williams founded the Keiretsu Forum in September 2000 to provide a disciplined and structured approach to private equity investing. Randy's passion for investing and bringing together like-minded community leaders has created a powerful and giving environment for entrepreneurs. Since its inception, Keiretsu Forum members have invested over $180m in 200 companies in technology, real estate, healthcare/biotech/life sciences and other sectors of the economy with high growth opportunity. Keiretsu Forum has expanded to seventeen chapters throughout the United States, China and Europe. With over 750 members, Keiretsu Forum is the largest angel investment community in world.

Randy has 30 years of experience in finance, real estate, and marketing. He currently holds board and advisory positions in eight companies. Randy was Co-Founder and Director of Diablo Valley Bank from 2003 to 2007. During its first three years the bank grew to more than $250m in assets, serving the entrepreneurial community of the San Francisco Bay Area. Heritage Bank recently acquired the bank for $70m creating a $50m increase in shareholder value realizing a 4X return on investment. Randy was President of Pacific Union Commercial Brokerage, Founder of the LaMorinda Bank, and Managing Director of Kennedy-Wilson International, an international real estate investment company.

Randy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California Berkeley and Masters degree from St. Mary's College of California.

Jeff Yu, Managing Director, The Angel’s Forum
Jeffrey Yu recently joined The Angels’ Forum as Managing Director. He has spent the last 10 years working with and investing in early stage companies such as Avici Systems, Dust Networks, Fultec Semiconductors, Paxera Corp., and Zolo Technologies. Prior to joining The Angels’ Forum, Jeff was a Principal at Crescendo Ventures from 2000 to 2007 where he focused on investments in enabling technologies such as semiconductors, optical systems and networking solutions.

From 1990 – 2000, he held various responsibilities at Nortel Networks including R&D, new product introduction, network planning, product management and business development. Before his work at Nortel Networks, Jeff developed ultrasonic techniques for testing materials at the Industrial Materials Institute of Canada; and prior to that worked as a software engineer for CAE Electronics. Jeff holds both a Master's and Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from McGill University.

Official Website: http://www.svase.org/?q=node/1904