Tag Archives: Jason Klein

When Should I Apply for Angel Funding?

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So you decided to apply to an angel network for funding.  When is the best time to apply?

Before you run out of money, of course.  But most startups these days have some flexibility given the low cost of lean design as well as funding from self, friends and family.

If you have a truly exceptional startup, or a truly exceptional track record, don’t wait, apply asap.  What is a truly exceptional startup?  As Justice Potter Stewart said in 1964, “I know it when I see it.”

If you are in the other 99.8% of startups, you should be more strategic about timing.

Some angel groups like to be the first outside funding source.  These favor earlier companies with lower valuations, and regularly lead rounds of $500k and up.  For them, the sooner you apply, the better.  Consider them as soon as you need funds beyond friends and family, and have a hint of demonstrable traction.  New York Angels is one of these groups.

For most all angel networks, better to try to wait until you have basic business traction, which I see as:
  1. A working product,
  2. Some revenue and market validation,
  3. Your co-founders are in place (e.g., “I’m looking for a co-founder with [insert skill]” is a red flag.)
It is also better to wait will you have some basic financing traction.  This means:
  1. You have a credible lead investor,
  2. You have at least $100-200k and 20% of your round committed,
  3. You have deal terms largely agreed by the lead and committed investors.

Yes, this is an chicken and egg problem. How do you get there without funding?  Wing it?  Sorry about the pun.  Here’s where being a scrappy entrepreneur is a plus.

Most companies that raise angel network funding successfully do so after they have some business and financing traction.  There are many more entrepreneurs seeking funding than there are early stage angels and VCs.  Supply and demand means that investors can wait, at least in most cases. Harvard Business School Alumni Angels is one large angel network that prefers companies with at least some basic business and financing traction, and most angel networks fall in this group.

Waiting and self-funding for more months than you’d like isn’t fun.  But it may save you time and money, and lead to more fun over the long haul.

Some additional suggestions as your move ahead:
  1. Focus first on angel groups and micro-VCs who could lead your round.
  2. If you do pitch before having a lead investor committed, be prepared for other investors to wait until you find a lead.
  3. Put forward your ask for funding amount and terms, and indicate that you are negotiable once you identify a lead.  [If you say that terms are “TBD and up to the lead” you risk coming across as clueless].
  4. Don’t be so greedy that spend too much time with a funding ask that is above the market, and you run out of money and never raise a dime.
  5. Never insist on a SAFE note with a serious angel.  They know that is so unfavorable to angels that it can easily be a worthless investment in at otherwise successful company.

Good luck!

 

Investing in the Future of Shopping

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 from Streetfight 16 JUNE 2014 BY 

Discounts. Shopping cart and cubes with percentWhat happens when you combine some of the largest and glitziest shopping malls in America – places like Copley Place in Boston, the Houston Galleria, the Stanford Shopping Center, the Westchester, and Tanger Outlet Centers – with tens of millions in investment capital in early stage digital shopping ventures? That is exactly what J. Skyler Fernandes is charged with figuring out as the head of Simon Venture Group, the new venture arm of Simon Property Group, the largest real estate investment trust in the US and the top owner of shopping malls.

A few months ago, I predicted in Street Fight that “2014 would be the year that hyperlocal goes indoors,” and “the battle will turn to reaching the shopper walking in the mall and right in front of the shelf.” Simon Venture Group is looking to invest $250,000 to $5 million per company in up to 50 companies over the next 5 years to do precisely that. Fernandes is presciently focusing on 5 areas for new investment, all of which are aimed to use the web to improve in-store shopping:

1. In-Store Data Analytics. It is ironic that data analytics for e-Commerce companies has far surpassed that of most retailers, with the exception of the largest retail chains like Macy’s and Walmart. Nomi, Euclid, RetailNext, Path Intelligence, MotionLoft and other companies are working to connect the cloud of purchase history and intent with individual bodies walking into and through stores, hoping to return some of the in-store shopping momentum that Amazon has captured.

2. Malls as Delivery Centers. With your nearby mall stocked full of inventory, why should Amazon and all of its partners be faster with next-day delivery? What about same-day, local delivery? In 2013, Simon invested in Deliv, a company which does same-day delivery from local malls, and is continuing to explore this arena.

3. The Internet of Things (IOT) in your Mall. One of my personal reasons for disliking retail shopping is how difficult it is to find your way around a large, crowded mall. Mobile devices offer the potential to change that, but the technology has to catch up to deliver more precise indoor location. Fernandes says we are still 12-24 months away from a good solution for in-store. Meanwhile, Simon recently invested in digital eyewear solution company Augmate to assist sales associates in finding you the right size and color from their shelves.

4. Building Mall Loyalty and In-Store Incentives. Retailers like ShopRite and Starbucks have done well with loyalty systems for frequent shoppers, but it is relatively rare for nearby stores to collaborate on loyalty programs. Traffic and sales in shopping malls tend to rise in step across stores, and Simon is looking for new solutions to break down data silos across stores and incentivize and reward frequent mall shoppers.

5. Improving Payment Technology. As with in-store data analytics, many mall retailers lack a complete solution linking register payments and inventory management systems, and are falling behind the best e-commerce companies. Mobile payments have been slow to come to the US, but Simon sees a better possibility for companies that link payments and a systemic retailer supply chain solution.

Corporate VCs have had uneven financial returns, but Simon is basing its new venture group on a study of best practices across successes like Google Ventures, Comcast Ventures, and Intel. One lesson is to keep the investing scope broad enough to cover adjacent sectors, and not limit deals to companies that are takeover targets or essentially outsourced business development. Simon has a window on the future of shopping, a great platform to help in-mall companies get established, and appropriate focus on ROI as its core metric of success. As the only corporate VC fund backed by a major shopping mall company, its investments should be of interest to Street Fight readers.

As for my other 2014 predictions, I also wrote that Street Fight would spin off a new site called Bar Fight. That prediction is still open.

Jason KleinJason E. Klein is the founder/CEO of On Grid Ventures LLC, and investment and advisory firm focused on the startup and reinvention of businesses capitalizing on digital and location-based technologies.  He is also the Chairman of Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York. Follow him on twitter @JKNews.

HBS Alumni Angels NY new Chairman: Jason E. Klein

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By David Teten and excerpted from his HBSAANY message on June 12, 2014. Original is here.

 I’m happy to announce that Jason E. Klein, CEO of On Grid Ventures LLC, will serve as the new Chairman of Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater NY.  Jason (bio here) is an experienced angel and company builder.  I’m shifting to “Chairman Emeritus”.  I’ll still be very active in supporting our growth, while continuing to serve as a Partner at ff Venture Capital.

In December 2010, Richard Kane, then-President, Harvard Business School Club of New York, asked me if I’d like to found an HBS alumni-affiliated angel group in NY.   Since then, we have grown to be the 2nd largest angel group in NY, with 130 members (vs. about 150 for Golden Seeds in New York, the largest group).  We believe we are the second or third most active angel group in New York, depending on which metric you use.  33 of our members collectively have made 82 investments for $3.5m in 27 companies.  Our average check size per member per company per round is $43K, which is probably the highest of any angel group in the country.  We also have won over 800 investors and friends to our mailing list.

When Harvard Business School’s new Dean, Nitin Nohria, took office, he outlined five priorities to shape his agenda for the School during his tenure: curriculum innovation, intellectual ambition, internationalization, inclusion, and closer ties to the University.  Our accomplishments reflect those 5 priorities; we were inspired in part by the Harvard Business School U.S. Competitiveness Project, which challenged the HBS alumni community to address America’s declining competitiveness.

1) Curriculum innovation

HBSAANY has evolved into an educational organization, holding investor education events in NY, Florida, New Jersey, Connecticut, and San Francisco, as well as many webinars.  That said, doing is the best way of learning.  We saw over time that our investor group, just like Angel List and most other angel groups, was good at syndication and not so effective at leading rounds.  As a result, we launched the Fast Track program, which helps VCs and active investors who are HBSAANY members to syndicate rounds with members of our network.  To date, 11 companies have been approved for Fast Track, and 8 have raised capital from our members.  Following a lead investor is valuable education, as it gives the coinvestors access to the deal documents and some of the process used by the lead.

2) Intellectual ambition

In the past four years, I’ve been fortunate to publish two research papers on investing best practices, on origination and portfolio operations, partly leveraging the insights I’ve gained through my work with HBSAANY.

3) Internationalization

HBS Alumni Angels is a global angel group, given our chapters in 15 cities.  And of course many of our members in NY are international by background.  Because of that, we have been judges or speakers at programs in New York geared to investors and startups from Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Eastern Europe, Germany, Holland, Israel, Italy, the Maghreb, and Portugal.  I’ve enjoyed working with our friends at New York City Economic Development Corporation, VentureOutNY, and the Worldwide Investor Network .

4) Inclusion

In building the group, we had to figure out our origination strategy.  Most investor groups specialize by geography, stage, and/or industry.  However, our member base is much more diverse on all those measures than any other investor group I’m aware of.  In my research on how private equity and VC funds source investments, one of our conclusions was that VCs get better returns when they invest outside of the traditional geographic hotspots of New York, Boston, and the Bay Area.  This is a generalizable principle: you get higher returns where other investors are not.  Because of that insight, we co-founded the Venture Capital Access Program, a joint venture with the National Association of Investment Companies, focused on helping women and minority entrepreneurs raise capital from HBS Alumni Angels.  In a related move, we organized a series of joint pitch nights with the HBS African-American Alumni Association; HBS LBGT Alumni Association (September 8), and HBS Latino Alumni Association (October 6).  In the first full year of operation, VCAP attracted 159 applicants.  34 went through VCAP committee screening; 17 went to a HBSAANY pitch night; 6 attended the annual NAIC convention, and 3 received funding (Mirror Digital,Cyber IQ, and Bownce) from HBSAANY and/or other sources.

As far as we know we’re the only investor group in New York to have cast such a wide net in working with diverse communities.

5) Closer ties to the Harvard community

Although we’ve grown dramatically, fewer than 1% of HBS grads in the NY area are now members. So we have a long way to go!  In order to recruit members and source interesting companies, we’ve worked collaboratively on a wide range of events and other initiatives with many HBS special interest groups: HBS Healthcare Alumni Association; HBS Club of South Florida; HBS Club of Connecticut; HBS Alumni Angels of Northern California; HBS Women’s Association of Greater New York, HBS eClub; and of course our very close partners and friends the HBS Club of Greater NY.  We’ve also worked with the broader university: Harvard Club of NYC; Harvard Club of Princeton (NJ); Harvard in Tech; Harvard Alumni Association; Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs; Harvard iLab; Harvard Venture Partners; Harvard Social Innovation Collaborative; Harvard Aspiring Minority Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs; Harvard GSAS Business Club; and the Harvard Graduate Student Council.

I look forward to seeing our group prosper under Jason’s leadership.

HBSA Logo

HBS Alumni Angels NY new chairman: Jason Klein

GeoIntent: Going to Where the Puck Will Be

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GeoDisruption

reposted from Streetfight

BY JASON E. KLEIN

04 SEPTEMBER 2013

In my last column for Street Fight, How the GeoWeb Will Change Consumer and Business Behavior, I talked about how location-based technologies will continue to be a dislocating force across B2B, B2C, and C2C Markets.  So what can make a business geo-disruptive?  Beyond location awareness, it is far more important to know where a person is headed and his needs and wants at the destination.  Let’s call this “GeoIntent.”

Consider OpenTable, the dining reservation booking engine. It’s an excellent example of a multi-platform application that requires users to express their intent for dining — in terms of travel distance, timing, type of cuisine, and potentially many other factors. OpenTable is opt-in, and the user readily volunteers his geo-intent in as much detail as he or she is willing to share. While restaurants may dislike splitting a booking fee with OpenTable, isn’t this better than a world where geo-intent is unknown, and mobile devices are bombarded with tiny, irrelevant banner ads when you are within range of a seemingly clueless advertiser?

For the geo and mobile world to move towards its promise, web designers should be focusing more on creating engaged, opt-in behavior, and gaining robust information on GeoIntent.  With better information on geo-intent, solutions can be well targeted, and privacy concerns are more likely to fade.

I recently came across a very clever early stage company called Transit Chatter that’s a wonderful illustration of using predictive analytics to determine geo-intent. Transit Chatter is designed to be the app for everyone riding the Chicago Transit system, which, unlike New York, has most of its riders above ground getting a live mobile signal. The app knows where you are going and when you will get there, and provides timely information and advertising based on this geo-intent. Plus, it reaches commuters when they are highly likely to be engaged in their mobile devices, without a TV in the background. Once the commuter is disembarking from the train or bus, and caught in the rush of the crowd, it’s too late.

Waze, the Israeli crowd-sourced navigation app that Google just purchased for $966 million, also has real-time information on where you are headed, but an engaged mobile user on a traditional mobile device should not be in the driver’s seat of a moving vehicle. There is geo-intent in the app, but engagement at the wrong time can be life-threatening. Waze, of course, offers other advantages to Google in terms of keeping its geo-data robust, and Google wants to replace human drivers anyway.

Other notable examples of geo-intent include weather.com, which elicits information on your destination and activities, and, of course, numerous travel sites.  All these companies are a great example of Wayne Gretzky’s advice: “Skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”

The risk of focusing myopically on where the puck, or an individual, is at a particular moment, is that by the time you message gets there, it’s marginally relevant at best, annoying and creepy at worst. Poorly targeted mobile ads, particularly ones that are supposedly more clever and disruptive, are the enemy of enterprises that relay on consumer’s opting in to truly useful geo-applications.

One final note, congratulations to Jumptap, cited in my last column as strong “geo-infrastructure” provider who offers marketers new ways to make location relevant, which was sold to Millennial Media in a deal valued up to $225 million in August.

JEK Goodman Headshot Compressed SquareJason E. Klein is the founder/CEO of On Grid Ventures, an investment and advisory firm focused on the startup and reinvention of businesses capitalizing on digital and location-based technologies.  Follow him on twitter @JKNews.

How the GeoWeb Will Change Consumer and Business Behavior

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Reposted from Street Fight.

How the GeoWeb Will Change Consumer and Business Behavior

30 JULY 2013 BY 

The new Google Maps personalized interface.For about 2000 years, ever since Ptolemy wrote his treatise Geographia, maps and geography have helped humans understand their surroundings in the context of their neighbors, their town, their country, the Earth, and the Universe. For about 400 years, since Mercator figured out how to portray the curved Earth on a flat piece of paper, not much changed in the world of geography — until the launch of 24 GPS satellites by the U.S. Department of Defense about 30 years ago.

Digital location-based technologies are now a transformative force for consumers and businesses, particularly when coupled with the rapid adoption of mobile and the growth of big data. I’m a big believer in the future for “GeoDisruption” — the potential for consumers and businesses to interact in fundamentally new ways to take advantage of increasingly precise location-based technologies.

This is the debut of a column I’ll write for Street Fight exploring the growth of the “GeoWeb” and the emergence of GeoDisruptive trends and companies. When I’m not writing columns, I am the CEO/founder of On Grid Ventures, an investment and advisory firm focused on digital and location-based technologies.

GeoDisruption:  Where we are
Location-based technologies have already been a dislocating force in many industries.

  • Automobile marketing at the local level used to be all about newspapers and television, and companies like Autotrader, Cars.com, and Autobytel have used geo-based lead generation to irrevocably shift in-market auto buyers and local car marketing spending to the GeoWeb.
  • GPS has made paper maps obsolete.
  • General B2C platforms like Yelp are changing the way we evaluate local services.
  • Vertical B2C platforms like OpenTable are changing the way we find and book nearby restaurants.

The major portals and aggregators are all making increasing bets on the potential for GeoWeb.  Google, with Google Maps and Places; Yahoo, with its leadership position in local news and content aggregation; IAC, with CityGrid and UrbanSpoon; and AOL with Patch.Google’s recent acquisition of Israeli startup Waze for over $1 billion is a high-water mark in the development of the GeoWeb as it affirms the importance of user-generated, location-based content.

GeoDisruption:  Where we’re headed
While the growth ambitions of Google, Yahoo, and others will continue to be fed with more acquisitions of GeoWeb companies, the application of location-based technologies is increasing more broadly in three areas: Business-to-Consumer, Business-to-Business, and Consumer-to-Consumer.

  1. B2C marketing (i.e., GeoMarketing) will continue to be transformed as innovative companies apply location-based technologies to how they acquire, transact with, and retain customers. GeoMarketing will be essential for most local retail and service businesses, and the landscape is ripe for vertical players in areas beyond automotive and restaurants, across the entire local landscape. Early stage companies like BeautyBooked are already trying to become the dominant search and booking platform in verticals like place-based salon services. ReachLocal and Yodleare growing fast as companies that help local businesses reach consumers, and national marketers are increasingly shifting dollars to locally targeted digital marketing and promotion.
  2. C2C interaction (i.e., “GeoSocial”) can also be further shaped as individuals increasingly become comfortable with sharing their location with family, friends, colleagues, and people with similar interests. Foursquare has jumped to an early lead as the platform for consumers to share their location, but Facebook, Google, and others are gaining fast.
  3. B2B companies that enable location-based innovation (i.e., “GeoInfrastructure”) continue to be a hotbed for venture investment.  Location itself is nice, but it needs to be in the context of an individual, the surrounding locations, time of day, and other factors.  This all needs to be accomplished respecting an individual’s privacy. Companies like Jumptap and Place IQ are finding new ways to provide marketers with context that makes location relevant.

While I have a background in computer science, I’ve never been a fan of pure technology. I am a believer, however, in the potential for increasingly accurate digital, location-based, real-time data to better inform the decisions we all make every day on where to go, with whom, what to buy, and other areas. The rapid proliferation of mobile devices is certainly an enabler, but the greatest innovation will come from insights into how a consumer’s behavior varies based on his or her specific location. We’re now a long way from zip-code targeting, and more GeoDisruption is on its way.

Jason E. KleinJason E. Klein is the founder/CEO of On Grid Ventures, and investment and advisory firm focused on the startup and reinvention of businesses capitalizing on digital and location-based technologies.  Follow him on twitter @JKNews.

HBS Angels of NY Announces a new VC Advisory Board

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HBS Alumni Angels

The new Venture Capital Advisory Board for the HBS Alumni Angels of New York is comprised of leading, senior-level, NY-area venture capitalists who are advising HBSAANY on its growth and development.

  • Chip Austin, Co-Founder & General Partner, i-Hatch ventures
  • Jordan Bettman, Principal, Bain Capital Ventures
  • Deborah Farrington, Founder & General Partner, StarVest Partners
  • Matt Gorin, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Contour Venture Partners
  • Rick Heitzmann, Managing Director, FirstMark Capital
  • Jim Robinson, Managing partner, RRE Ventures

Meet the Committee

Chip Austin, Co-Founder & General Partner, i-Hatch ventures
Chip has advised and built companies in Technology and Media for his entire career. In addition to founding BOL.com, Bertelsmann’s E-commerce division, Chip was a member of the senior executive team leading the buyout and restructuring of Prodigy, and was a co-founder of McKinsey’s Interactive Practice, where he spent seven years advising Fortune 500 companies on their media strategies.

Most recently, Chip was President and CEO of Bertelsmann Online, where he was responsible for building Bertelsmann’s global e-commerce business. Chip was the first employee at BOL, and built parallel services in the UK, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, France (via joint venture with Vivendi/Havas), and the US (via Bertelsmann’s 50% investment in BarnesandNoble.com). Chip served as Chairman of the Board of BOL France, and was a Board Member and officer of Doubleday Direct, BCA, BOL, Inc., and Bertelsmann’s E-commerce Control Board. BOL has been the recipient of several industry accolades, including CeBIT Innovation of the Year Winner and the highest rated European e-commerce site by a Forrester Research.

For the launch of BOL, Chip secured internal capital of over $400 million, built a world class team totaling over 200 people in six countries, partnered with strategic vendors such as Oracle, Don Peppers, Ogilvy & Mather, Fleishman-Hillard, Net Perceptions, Cambridge Technology Partners, USWeb and Sun, negotiated major strategic and marketing alliances with major Internet portals such as AOL, Compuserve, DoubleClick, EMS and Earthlink, and established back-end operations, including call centers, fulfillment, logistics, financial clearing, and warehousing, in each country of operation.

Chip maintains an advisory and investor relationship with Bertelsmann Ventures, an independent venture capital fund capitalized by Bertelsmann. Chip also served as Acting CEO of European-based DealPilot.com, a Bertelsmann Ventures portfolio company. DealPilot.com, the first commercial Internet-based comparison shopping service, subsequently sold a majority of its shares to Bertelsmann and then merged into Shopping.com (NASDAQ:SHOP).

Prior to Bertelsmann, Chip was a member of the management-led buyout of Prodigy, where he was SVP of Sales and Business Development and General Manager of Prodigy’s first Internet Service. While at Prodigy, Chip built an ISP from scratch, launched Prodigy Internet, which replaced Prodigy’s Classic proprietary service, and was responsible for all customer acquisition and subscription revenue. In addition, Chip was responsible for all major account relationships, including OEM channels such as Packard Bell/NEC, and technology/distribution providers, such as Microsoft, Netscape, and Excite. Prior to sale to SBC, Prodigy’s initial public offering had a market capitalization that had exceeded $3 billion dollars.

Before joining Prodigy, Chip spent seven years at McKinsey in the Media and Interactive practices advising clients out of New York, Los Angeles, Australia and various European offices. While at McKinsey, as a co-founder of the Interactive Practice, Chip shaped the New Media strategies of the world’s largest media companies in the fields of newspapers, magazines, yellow pages/classifieds, cable programming, network TV and film studio production.

Chip is a frequent keynote speaker and panelist on Technology, Media, and Angel Investment-related topics as well as serving on the boards of several public and private companies. Chip has also worked at Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking division and IBM’s Personal Computer division during the launch years of the IBM PC. Chip has a degree in Computer Science and Economics from Duke University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Jordan Bettman, Principal, Bain Capital Ventures
Jordan joined Bain Capital Ventures in 2008. Since that time, Jordan has worked on both early-stage and growth-equity investments in a variety of industries, including data services, marketing services, financial services and technology, and digital media. He has also worked closely with numerous portfolio companies on senior level recruiting, strategic planning, business development, and company exits. Prior to joining Bain Capital Ventures, Jordan was an associate consultant at Bain & Company, focusing on a number of strategic and operational issues for clients across a handful of sectors. He also worked in Bain & Company’s Private Equity Group, performing diligence on multi-billion dollar companies.

Jordan received a BS in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Outside of work, Jordan enjoys outdoor sports, especially skiing and golf. Additionally, Jordan is a member of the Social Investment Council of Echoing Green, a Board Member of the Boston MS Gala, and a part owner of a restaurant. He and his wife, Lauren, now reside on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Deborah Farrington, Founder & General Partner, StarVest Partners
Deborah Farrington is a founder and general partner of StarVest Partners, a New York City-based venture capital firm founded in 1998.

StarVest invests in technology-enabled business services companies with a focus on software-as-a-service, ecommerce and internet marketing. StarVest was an early investor in the software-as-a-service trend: in 2000, it invested as the only venture firm in NetSuite (NYSE: N) whose December 2007 IPO, at the time, was the highest market capitalization for a venture backed company since Google. Other noteworthy investments where Ms. Farrington served on the board include Fieldglass, acquired by Madison Dearborn, and Insurance.com, bought by QuinStreet. Prior to founding StarVest, Ms. Farrington held positions including: President and CEO of Victory Ventures, LLC, a New York-based private equity investment firm where she also served as chairman of Staffing Resources, Inc.

Ms. Farrington currently sits on the Boards of NetSuite, where she is lead director and chairman of the Compensation Committee, Xignite, Host Analytics, and PivotLink on behalf of StarVest. She is also a director and chairman of the Compensation Committee at Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT). She was named to the Forbes Midas 100 List of top venture capitalists in the United States in 2008, 2009 and 2011.

She is a graduate of Smith College and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she is a member of the Dean’s Visiting Committee. She is also a member of the President’s Advisory Council and investment committee of Smith College; a board member of the Harvard Business School Club of New York City; a member of The Committee of 200 and the Economic Club of New York; and a board member of Opportunity International, a leading international microfinance organization.

Matt Gorin, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Contour Venture Partners
Matt Gorin is a co-founder of Contour Venture Partners and has experience in technology operations, start-ups, venture capital and turnaround management. He is passionate about helping to build early stage companies, with a focus on the financial services, internet and applied technology sectors. Contour invests in seed and early stage technology companies in the northeast United States with a focus on the financial services, digital media and the internet sectors.

Matt was previously with Promontory Financial Group, a merchant banking firm focused on the financial services sector. He was part of the launch team at Promontory Interfinancial Network, a financial services technology platform company which has subsequently grown to over one hundred employees. Prior to this, Matt worked for Red Hat in its Strategic Planning & Corporate Development group where he was responsible for starting Red Hat’s Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Partnership Program, ultimately establishing extensive business and technology partnerships with many of the top global independent software vendors. Matt also worked at Morgan Stanley in its strategic venture capital fund, concentrating on making investments in early-stage financial services companies. Earlier in his career, Matt was a turnaround consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he helped devise and implement operating strategies for troubled companies in various industries.

Matt is the Founder of StreetWise Partners, a nonprofit focused on providing low-income individuals with a path to a successful career through mentoring, job skills and professional experience. He co-authored a Harvard Business School case study analyzing the origins of free trade and a paper in the World Economic Outlook on the economic and political risks in the Middle East.

Matt received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and B.A. in Economics and American Studies from Brandeis University, where he was co-captain of the tennis team.

Rick Heitzmann, Managing Director, FirstMark Capital
Rick Heitzmann, a founder and managing Director of FirstMark Capital, focuses on investments in the media, adtech, gaming, and mobile sectors. Prior to founding FirstMark Capital, Rick was a Partner with Pequot Ventures. Rick also serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Venture Capital Association.

Current ventures include: dashlane, Live Gamer, Meteor Entertainment, Pinteret, Playnomics, SneakPeeq, Sulia, Tapad, Tubular, WePlay. Historical investments include: Clickable (acquired by Syncapse in 2012), Riot Games (acquired by Tencent Holdings in 2011), FirstAdvantage (acquired by First American in 2009), StubHub (acquired by eBay in 2007), and US Search (acquired by First Advantage in 2003).

Rick received a B.S. from Georgetown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Rick has traveled all seven continents and is a huge Philadelphia sports fan. Friends claim he has seen every movie on Netflix.

Jim Robinson, Managing partner, RRE Ventures
Jim Robinson is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner at RRE Ventures. He has been active within the technology community for nearly 30 years as a venture capitalist, entrepreneur, banker, and futurist. Jim received his B.S. in Business Administration from Antioch College, and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He is an MBA program lecturer at Columbia Business School and Stanford Business School, and a PhD / Master’s program lecturer at CUNY Baruch and The New School.

Ex-Officio members
David Teten, Chairman, HBSAANY; partner, ffVC
Jason E. Klein, Chair, External Relations, HBSAANY; founder/CEO On Grid Ventures

Ultra Light Startups, May 9, 2013

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Jason KleinBrad HarrisonRahul GandhiBrian Cohen

Join us at Ultra Light Startups:

Thursday, May 9, 2013 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 

Microsoft, 1290 6th Ave, New York, NY 10104

sign up at http://ultralightstartups.eventbrite.com/

Investor Panelists

Agenda

  • 6:30pm – Pizza, networking and introductions
  • 6:45pm – 8 startup pitches; investor panel provides actionable advice following each pitch
  • 8:15pm – The audience votes for the best startup; winners announced and prizes awarded
  • 8:30pm – Drinks at nearby location

Objectives

  • To help early stage startups refine their investor pitch
  • To provide actionable advice and feedback for each presenting startup
  • To provide insight on how investors evaluate startups and pitches
  • To award prizes to the most viable startups, based on audience voting

Hosts

Venture Capital Forum 2013

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Join us for an evening of discussion about venture capital and a wine reception. I’ll be moderating a panel of leading venture capitalists for a discussion of what to expect in the next 12 months: developments in the field; the state of start-ups; what’s likely (and not likely) to be funded in the year ahead.

Any questions or topics you’d like covered?  Let’s us know @JKNews, or email.

Gotham Media Digital Cocktails
Venture Capital Forum 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
New York, NY 

Panelists:

  • Steven Brotman Managing Partner, Silicon Alley Venture Partners @StevenBrotman
  • Habib Kairouz Managing Partner, Rho Ventures @HabibKairouz
  • Charlie O’Donnell Partner, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures @ceonyc
  • David Pakman Partner, Venrock @pakman
  • Jerry Spiegel Partner, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC 

Moderator:  Jason E. Klein Founder and CEO, OnGrid Ventures @JKNews

To register, click here:  http://gothammedia.eventbrite.com/

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