SVASE Main Event: What’s really going on with Venture Capital, and what does this mean for entrepreneurs? October 7, 2010

SVASE Main Event: What’s really going on with Venture Capital, and what does this mean for entrepreneurs?
Start: 10/07/2010 - 6:00 pm
End: 10/07/2010- 8:30 pm

Contact: Laura Weigant
Email: Info@svase.org

Location: Cooley Godward Kronish LLP
3175 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304

URL:www.svase.org/events/main-event-what%E2%80%99s-really-going-venture-capital-and-what-does-mean-entrepreneurs

What’s really going on with Venture Capital, and what does this mean for entrepreneurs?

Aydin Senkut (former Googler) has just closed a $40M super-angel fund, which follows Ron Conway’s $20M super-angel fund, Chris Sacca’s (former Googler) $8.5M super-angel fund, Dave McClure’s (former PayPal’r) $30M super-angel fund and Mike Maples’ new $73.5M super-angel fund. So almost overnight, smart angels with investment track records are turning into mini-VCs, capable of making seed investments in hundreds of startups.

TechCrunch Editor Michael Arrington worries that angels and super angels are training “an entire generation of entrepreneurs who are building dipshit companies” that sell to Google for $25 million, instead of looking to build great companies. And, with Brad Feld & Fred Smith agreeing that while it’s cheaper than ever to start a company, they also agree that it still costs around the same amount to grow it, which means securing funds from the larger, more established, VC firms. So what’s a startup founder to do?

Come join a lively debate from our panel of informed & opinionated speakers, as they dissect this topic.

The Panel:
· Manu Kumar, Founder and Chief Firestarter, K9 Ventures
· Bill Reichert, Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures
· TBD
· TBD

Moderator: TBD

When: Thursday, October 7
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: Cooley LLP, 3175 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304

Pre-Registered Rates (All Rates Include Hors D’oeuvres):
Members - $20; Affiliates who advertise this event - $29; General Public - $49

Pre-registration closes at 9 PM the night before the event.

Walk-In Rates: Add $10.00 to the listed price

To reserve an Exhibit Table, please 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 Cooley LLP, www.cooley.com.

Speaker Bios

Manu Kumar, Founder and Chief Firestarter, K9 Ventures
Manu previously founded, grew and sold two successful ventures. He was the Founder, President and CEO of SneakerLabs, Inc. – a company which developed software and services for web-based customer interaction. After the successful acquisition of SneakerLabs (March 2000), Manu served as the Vice-President of Interactive Technologies for E.piphany. He then served as the Chairman and CEO of iMeet, Inc. – a provider of web-conferencing services. After the merger of iMeet with Boston based Netspoke (August 2002), Manu served on the Board of Directors of Netspoke until its acquisition by Premiere Global Services (August 2005). Prior to starting his entrepreneurial ventures, Manu was a lecturer in the distance education program at the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University.

Manu completed his Bachelors in Electrical and Computer Engineering with University Honors from Carnegie Mellon University, where he was inducted in to the Electrical Engineering Honor Society – Eta Kappa Nu, the National Engineering Honor Society – Tau Beta Pi and the honor society of Phi Kappa Phi. He holds a Masters degree in Software Engineering with a concentration in Business from Carnegie Mellon. He was awarded the Enterprise Award with Distinction in 1997 by the Tepper School of Business and is the recipient of Carnegie Mellon University’s Recent Alumni Award for 2004 in recognition of exceptional achievement during the first 10 years of graduating from the university. Manu also holds a Masters and a Ph.D. in Computer Science (Human Computer Interaction) with a Distinction in Teaching from Stanford University.

He has worked on research, development and commercialization of interactive technologies ranging from speech technologies, distributed systems, highly-scalable synchronous collaboration servers, chat, web conferencing, application sharing, distance learning, audio conferencing, and CRM applications. He is the sole inventor on three issued US Patents. His academic research has been in the area of automobile interfaces and the use of eye tracking for human computer interaction. His dissertation research explored how gaze information can effectively be used as an augmented input in addition to traditional devices.

Manu has served on the Advisory Board for the Information Technology Network for the Pittsburgh Technology Council, the Dean’s Leadership Council and the Silicon Valley Advisory Committee for the Carnegie Institute of Technology and is a former member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Carnegie Mellon Alumni Association. Manu was the founder of the Pittsburgh Java Users Group (PittJUG), the Pittsburgh Chapter of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) and was a former charter member of TiE-Silicon Valley.

Manu serves as an investor and/or advisor for several technology startups including Refocus Imaging, Dolores Labs (CrowdFlower), Twilio, DNAnexus, and others. His interests include discovery, creation and commercialization of new and innovative technologies.

Bill Reichert, Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures
Bill Reichert has over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and an operating executive. Since joining Garage in 1998, Bill has focused on early-stage information technology and materials science companies. He sits on the Boards of CaseStack, WhiteHat, ClearFuels, cFares, and ThermoCeramix. Prior to Garage, Bill was a co-founder or senior executive in several venture-backed technology startups, including Trademark Software, The Learning Company, and Academic Systems. Earlier in his career, he worked at McKinsey & Company, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., and the World Bank. Bill earned a B.A. at Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Stanford University. He was a founding board member and a Chairman of the Churchill Club, and a Charter Member of the Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs. Currently he is the Chairman of the Small Fund Roundtable of the VC Taskforce and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Official Website: http://www.svase.org/events/main-event-what%E2%80%99s-really-going-venture-capital-and-what-does-mean-entrepreneurs