SVASE SFO: DNA of the Successful Entrepreneur July 10, 2008

SVASE SFO: DNA of the Successful Entrepreneur

SFO: DNA of the Successful Entrepreneur

Start: 07/10/2008 - 11:45am
End: 07/10/2008 - 1:30pm

Contact Info:
DLA Piper 153 Townsend Street, Suite 800 San Francisco,
CA 94107
Please note additional parking expenses will be
incurred if you choose to park in DLA’s garage. DLA Piper
does NOT validate parking.
Contact Name: Anne Donker
Contact No: 415.378.3966
Email: SFStartupU@gmail.com
URL: www.svase.org/?q=node/742

From Larry Ellison to Larry Page, Silicon Valley has been witness to some of technology’s brightest stars. Who are these people and how did they grow a mere idea into a billion dollar company?

Countless studies have attempted to profile gifted entrepreneurs to derive the common traits behind their success. Are these traits that you can “learn” or are these innate skills?

Find out on Thursday July 10th as our panel of serial entrepreneurs and investors outline the DNA of the Successful Entrepreneur.

The Panel:

Prashant Shaw, Managing Director, Hummer Winblad
Mike Brown, Principal, Foundation Capital
Michael Howse, Serial Entrepreneur

Speaker Bios:
Prashant Shaw, Managing Director, Hummer Winblad
Prashant Shah, Managing Director, joined Hummer Winblad in December 2000. He has been instrumental in many investments including Baynote, Bridgestream, Cenzic, InMage, Jareva Technologies, Krillion, Scalent, SyncVoice, Tizor and Voltage Security. He also observes a number of these boards. In addition, Prashant is an active Charter Member of TiE Silicon Valley (www.tiesv.org), where he is Chair of the Software SIG; and a member of the Board of Trustees for Astia (www.astia.org).

Prior to Hummer Winblad, Prashant spent many years defining and launching high tech products. His background spans all seven layers of the OSI stack with product management roles at enCommerce (acquired by Entrust), Cypress Semiconductor and AT&T. Prashant received a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Mike Brown, Principal, Foundation Capital
Mike joined the Foundation team in 2007 as a Principal. He is focused on working with passionate, energetic teams in the Internet, digital media, mobile application and consumer device arenas. Mike represents Foundation Capital on the board of National Payment Network, and he is an active advisor to Simply Hired, Waterfront Media, BabyCare, Xoopit and Quaris. Prior to joining Foundation, Mike spent six years with Partech International, where he led or championed Partech's investments in companies including RockYou!, Wazap, mSnap Interactive, Replay Solutions, Ingrian Networks, and PentaSafe Security Technologies (BMC).

Prior to entering the technology investment field, Mike was an entrepreneur, helping grow Bluefire Systems, an enterprise software company dedicated to inventory management and demand planning for large retail and consumer goods clients. Mike managed the Company's employee hiring and client training functions, and he implemented Bluefire's software for clients such as Disney, The Body Shop and Ashford.com. As an entrepreneur, Mike also learned the challenges of being a member of a small, bootstrapped company including: taking out the garbage, hunting for office space, making Costco runs and helping the team bug-test the application prior to a new release.

Mike started his career at McKinsey and Company where he was a consultant for two years in McKinsey's San Francisco office. Mike served clients across a variety of industries from high-tech to explosives (thus satisfying his James Bond fantasy).

Outside of work, Mike loves to watch independent films, enjoy great food and wine, study foreign languages and brainstorm with friends about the future of the Internet.

Mike holds an MBA from Stanford where was an Arjay Miller scholar, and a BA from Yale College with honors.

Michael Howse, Serial Entrepreneur

Michael Howse is a Silicon Valley veteran, who consistently catapults emerging-growth technology companies to profitability and market leadership. A skilled CEO and marketing executive, Michael’s career spans more than 20 years and touches almost every conceivable technology market, with special emphasis on consumer technology, entertainment and network infrastructure.

Most recently, Michael served as CEO and co-founder of PacketHop. While serving as an entrepreneur-in-residence at U.S. Venture Partners (USVP), Michael identified a nascent wireless technology and devised the plan to bring the first commercial applications for mobile mesh networking to mass markets. Under Michael’s direction, he successfully negotiated venture capital financing, negotiated contracts with key customers and ultimately, consummated the sale of the company.

Prior to PacketHop, Michael had a highly successful, 15-plus year track record as an award-winning marketing executive in both public and private companies. As SVP
Worldwide Marketing and Business Development at 3dfx, Michael conceived and executed the strategy that increased revenue from $20 million to more than $400 million in three years – making the Voodoo Graphics line of processors the category leader. While at S3, Michael developed the “industry first,” ground-breaking marketing strategy that enabled the company’s 3D graphics product line to achieve $100M in sales and 70 percent of the PC market in its first year of production.

Earlier in his career, Michael held senior management roles at Creative Labs where he was responsible for managing the company’s consumer software publishing business. He was also the president and co-founder of Total Vision, a pioneering digital media and game development company for next generation set-top-box and video game consoles.

Michael launched his career in the entertainment industry as a manager and concert promoter working with the Beach Boys, Moody Blues, Earth, Wind & Fire, Frank Zappa and Warrant. Over the last decade, Michael has received numerous industry awards, including “Marketer of the Year” from Marketing Computers Magazine / Brandweek, as well as an Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences award. Michael holds a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and completed the Executive MBA Program at Stanford University.

Official Website: http://www.svase.org/?q=node/742