Managing and Accelerating Growth in Early Stage Companies - Zero to $60m profitably

So you think you’ve done the hard part and started your company, built a management team, maybe even got some funding, shipped some product and collected some revenue. Well the hardest part may still be ahead. You now have to grow your company, make profits, keep investors happy and pay wages on a regular basis. Such are the daily challenges faced by entrepreneurs as they grow their businesses from zero to $10 to $20 million a year in revenue and beyond.

TechBiz Connection has assembled a panel of successful entrepreneurial leaders and industry experts to share their experiences, successes, failures and advice on how to grow your company while keeping the entrepreneurial spirit alive. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs and business owners to interact, share ideas and gain insight on how to combine the sometimes conflicting styles of entrepreneurship, management and leadership.

MODERATOR:

Bob Holmen | Partner | Miramar Venture Partners
Bob is a co-founder of Miramar Venture Partners. Bob's career experience encompasses hardware and software engineering to senior management in three technology companies. Most recently, Bob served as Vice President & General Counsel of First Consulting Group, Inc., which provides information technology consulting, integration and management services to health care, pharmaceutical and other life science organizations throughout North America and Europe. Bob received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1985, serving as an officer of the national engineering honor society at Stanford. He received his J.D. from UC Berkeley in 1989.

PANEL:

Matt Ridenour | Managing Director | Momentum Venture Management
Prior to founding Momentum Venture Management, Matt spent more than 10 years working in private equity, venture capital and as a CEO in successful early-stage companies. He has been a principal in more than 25 private market transactions with an aggregate value of more than $200 million. Prior to founding Momentum Venture Management, Matt served as CEO of UNX, the world's largest independent institutional equity trading platform, where he secured $20 million in venture funding. He also founded Gazelle TechVentures, a $60 million VC firm where he continues to serve on the executive committee. Previously he was a principal in Blue Capital, a private equity firm spun out of McKinsey & Company, and also spent two years focusing on private equity advisory at Bain & Company. Matt holds a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College and graduated with High Honors as a Baker Scholar (top 5% in his MBA class) from Harvard Business School.

Kirsten Mangers | Co-Founder & CEO | Webvisible
Kirsten co-founded Webvisible, a software company, in 2001 transforming the way local businesses buy and benefit from advertising on the Web. Prior to WebVisible, Kirsten accumulated 20 years of experience in the local interactive, wireless, and yellow pages industries with GTE, Pacific Bell, SBC, Go2 Systems, and Engage Technologies (a CMGi Company). She has held executive positions in Sales, Strategic Planning, Marketing, and Business Development. Kristen is a featured speaker for local media conferences and is a self-proclaimed "small business advocate."

David Smithey | CEO | TradePortal International
David is the CEO of TradePortal International, a provider of Brokerage and Direct Access trading systems for the individual and professional trader. TradePortal is a privately held company with over 500 employees. Prior to selling TradePortal.com, which he founded in 1998, David raised $10 million in strategic and venture capital. David has written numerous articles on Direct Access trading featured in the Wall Street Journal and other financial publications. He is a graduate of Auburn University and a former Army Reserve-CPT in Desert Storm.

Jeff Walker | Co-founder and President | Super D.
Super D is an International wholesaler of CD's & DVD's stocking more than a quarter of a million titles in their Irvine distribution center. Founded as an independent music store in 1990, Super D has grown to $110 million in sales and 210 employees. Technology is a big part of Super D’s past and future success. Jeff is a graduate of UCI Irvine and has been a finalist two years running for the E & Y Entrepreneur of the Year award in Orange County.