"Building The Management Team" 4/27 – Bellevue, WA

2004-04-27 19:30:00
Bellevue Community College, Main Campus, Building N, Bellevue, WA

Venture capitalists often say that the management team is the most important factor in determining whether they will fund your start up. How should you, as the founder, analyze your needs? How can you match people to those needs? How can you entice “A Players” to join your team—and keep them there? Get three perspectives on this topic—that of the serial entrepreneur, the consultant, and the venture capitalist.

When: Tuesday April 27, 2004, 7:30 to 9 pm

Where: Bellevue Community College, Main Campus, Building N, Room 201 (get directions at http://www.nwen.org)

Who:

Don Pickering, Memetic Systems

Janis Machala, Paladin Partners

Paul Tomlinson, Alexander Hutton Venture Partners

Don Pickering—Memetic Systems. Pickering is a veteran Internet entrepreneur and an advocate for technology and entrepreneurship in both community and government. In November 2000, he became president and CEO of Memetic Systems, a Seattle-based online direct marketing and technology company whose clients include Microsoft, Nintendo, and HP. Prior to Memetic Systems, Pickering founded two successful Internet companies: Altrec.com (online outdoor gear and equipment retail) and Cosmix (website/applications developer). Pickering is co-chair of the Technology Alliance’s Entrepreneurship Committee, a member of Governor Locke’s Entre-preneurial Policy Committee, and chaired the “Marketing, Investment, and Entrepreneurship” subcommittee for Mayor Nickel’s Economic Opportunity Task Force in 2002.

Janis Machala—Paladin Partners. Machala is founder and principal of Paladin Partners, which provides strategic consulting, executive recruiting, financing, and company development services to high-tech start-up companies. Previously, she was the president and CEO for Pinnacle Publishing, and held a number of senior management positions with such leading computer systems vendors as Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, and Wang Laboratories. Machala is known for the quality of the management teams she builds, believing that the best thing she can do for emerging-growth companies is to help them build the team that will carry them to an IPO or other liquidity event. Machala has been a board member for the WSA and is currently on the board of the Northwest Entrepreneur Network. She was one of the 1995 Pacific Northwest finalists for Inc. Magazine’s and Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Paul Tomlinson—Alexander Hutton Venture Partners. As AHVP’s corporate psychologist and human resources professional, Tomlinson provides consulting to the firm’s managing directors and investment companies. He is also the owner of the Career Life Institute, delivering outplacement, executive coaching, and organizational design services. Tomlinson was previously with Right Associates, and was an administrative and planning manager for CRISTA Ministries, a $15 million nonprofit organization. Tomlinson has been a consultant and counselor to such companies as Seafirst Bank, Nextel, Seattle Pacific University, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Washington Mutual Bank, KIRO, Virginia Mason, US Bank, ARCO, Weyerhaeuser, British Petroleum and Keycorp.

Register online at http://www.nwen.org. Evening Seminars are FREE. A special thanks to the SBDC at BCC for providing the venue for this event.

******

May Venture Breakfast
ANGELS AMONG US

When: Friday, May 14, 7:00 – 9:30 am
Early-Bird Networking begins at 6:30am

Where: Bellevue Harbor Club (Rainier Plaza, 777 NE 108, Suite 2500)

Panelists: Sue Preston, Davis Wright Tremaine, Kauffman Foundation, Seraph Capital
Chris Somogyi, Somogyi Ventures, Alliance of Angels
Craig Kinzer, Kinzer Capital

Cost: $25 for pre-registered members, $40 for pre-registered non-members.
Onsite registration available for an additional $5.

What You Will Learn:
This is the second of three Venture Breakfasts focused on funding. Our panel of angel investors will discuss:

* What is angel money and where do you find it?
* What criteria do angels evaluate before investing and how do you know if your opportunity is appropriate for angels?
* Do angels invest in companies outside their home cities and, if they do, what type of involvement do they typically want in those companies?

Sue Preston is an attorney with Davis Wright Tremaine, focusing on strategic planning and professional development. She is currently an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, specializing in initiatives for the advancement of women entrepreneurs as well as angel investors and angel organizations. She is writing a guidebook on the establishment and operation of angel organizations. Preston co-founded and is the immediate past-president of Seraph Capital Forum, an all-women’s accredited investor angel investment group in Seattle.

Christopher Somogyi was a general partner with Tokyo-based Pacific Rim Ventures, investing in medical technology. While at CommTech Management, he invested in technologies developed at Stanford University, UC Irvine, and SRI International through a grant-seeding technology elicitation program. As a co-founder and CEO of Lucent Medical Systems, Somogyi managed the commercialization of technology from the University of Washington through venture capital financing and strategic corporate partnerships. An angel investor, he serves on the board of the Technology Alliance and the Executive Committee of the Alliance of Angels.

Craig Kinzer is the owner and founder of two successful and respected Seattle-based firms: Kinzer Capital, a venture and investment advisory firm specializing in early-stage start-ups, and Kinzer Real Estate Services, which focuses on large corporate and public agency work. An attorney and CPA, Kinzer is also a partner in the ownership group that recently purchased the Seattle Supersonics. He joined with Dave Long to refine and enhance the Scene It? game concept, provided the start-up capital for the company, and is its largest shareholder.

Register online at http://www.nwen.org or call 425-746-1973.

________________________________________________________________________________________

It is with great pleasure that we thank the sponsors listed below for thier support of the organization.

Strategic Partners

Davis Wright Tremaine
Puget Sound Business Journal

Series "B" Sponsors

Christensen O’Connor Johnson Kindness, PLLC
Washington Technology Center
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Series "A" Sponsors

Ernst & Young
InfoAdvantage
Lawson Lundell
Pacific Northwest National Labs/Battelle
Vulcan Inc.

Seed Funding Sponsors

Grant Thornton, LLP
IDG Ventures
NetReflector Inc.
Orrick
OVP Venture Partners
Pay Plus Benefits
Silicon Valley Bank
Studio Prima
Summit Law Group, PLLC
Wimmer Solutions

Friends and Family

Battelle Ventures
Bellevue Community College
Boeing
Cairncross & Hempelmann, PS
Comerica Bank
Deloitte & Touche, LLP
Dorsey & Whitney
Garvey, Schubert & Barer
Gray Cary
MIT Enterprise Forum
Polaris Venture Partners
Stanislaw Ashbaugh, LLC
University of Washington
UV Partners
Washington Small Business Development Center at BCC
WRF Capital