BSS II Speakers

Opening Remarks: Richie Hecker,
Producer, The Bootstrapper Summit
Richie is a serial entrepreneur in New York City, who has been in the digital media and marketing industry for a decade. He founded his first company, ClickZen Worldwide, an interactive advertising network and managed it profitably through the first dot com bust. In 2002, he founded Zen Financial, a leading outsourcing company based in India catering to Fortune 1000 financial services firms. Since selling it in 2005, he has produced a TV pilot, and consulted to and invested in various marketing services companies. He is also known for running Bootstrapper.com, the popular blog and the Bootstrapper Summit Conference series. Richie recently co-founded and is Chairman of Apparition Ads, a revolutionary rich media advertising platform that in beta outperformed all competition and is an advisor to Strike Interactive, a web boutique specializing in driving exponential revenue growth for clients such as Trump, the NFL & Morgans Hotel Group.

Moderator: Rosalind Resnick,
Axxess Business Consulting
Rosalind Resnick, a former business and computer journalist who built her Internet marketing company, NetCreations, Inc., from a two-person home-based startup to a public company that generated $58 million in sales, is the Founder and CEO of Axxess Business Centers, Inc., the leader in strategic consulting, business plan development and outsourced financial and marketing services for startups and emerging businesses. She co-founded Net Creations in March 1995 and served as the company's CEO and President until December 2001, pioneering the concept of 100% Opt-In® email marketing in 1996 and spearheading the company's successful IPO in 1999. Ms. Resnick also hosted America Online's NetGirl Forum, one of the Internet's most popular online dating services, from 1995 to 1996. In 1994, Ms. Resnick co-authored The Internet Business Guide and, from 1994 to 1997, served as the editor and publisher of Interactive Publishing Alert, a semi-monthly newsletter tracking trends and developments in online publishing and advertising. Ms. Resnick began her career in the newspaper industry in 1980 at The Baltimore Sun and worked as a business writer at The Miami Herald from 1984 to 1989. Her articles about entrepreneurship and small business regularly appear in Entrepreneur.com, and Rosalind has been a guest lecturer at Harvard, NYU and Pace University business schools. Rosalind received B.A. and M.A. degrees in History from The Johns Hopkins University in 1981 and makes her home in New York City with her two daughters. She also serves on the board of Do Something, Inc., a New York-based not-for-profit organization that empowers young people to change their world

Roger Ehrenberg,
IA Capital Partners
Roger Ehrenberg is Managing Partner of IA Capital Partners, LLC, his personal investment vehicle that has made 30 early-stage investments in digital media and financial technology since 2004. Roger's investments include TheLadders.com, Wallstrip (sold to CBS Interactive), Clickable, MyTrade (sold to Thinkorswim, now TD Ameritrade), Buddy Media and Stocktwits.
Prior to forming IA Capital, Roger spent 18 years on Wall Street in Mergers & Acquisitions, derivatives and trading. He was most recently President and CEO of DB Advisors, LLC, a $6 billion Registered Investment Advisor that housed 20 trading teams in New York, London and Hong Kong. Roger's derivatives teams won "Deal of the Year" awards in 1998 and 2000 from Global Finance and Institutional Investor magazines.
Roger also writes the blog Information Arbitrage, discussing issues ranging from Wall Street, hedge funds and market structure to new technologies, social media and management theory. Information Arbitrage was recently named one of the Top 25 financial blogs by 24/7 Wall Street.
Roger lives in New York City with his wife and two children. He is a Trustee and Treasurer of Little Red School House/Elisabeth Irwin High School, and actively involved in efforts to re-develop Pier 40 for the benefit of local community.

Darren Herman,
The Media Kitchen
Darren is a serial entrepreneur, adviser, and board member within the media, advertising, and technology industries. Mr. Herman is fascinated with the white-space that exists between the above industries and looks for companies who try and bridge them together. Darren's belief is that 98% of ideas aren't really new; they are repackaged and spun differently to the marketplace. He's been through the first and second dot com wave, and learned quite a few lessons and look forward to applying them to his latest endeavors.
Over the past few years Darren has started and been involved with several companies including IGA Worldwide, The Media Kitchen, MDC Partners, Varick Media Management, FortuneCity, Shopflick, and many others. Herman has raised over $40MM for his own ventures and helped raise $30MM+ for ventures he's working with.
Herman has won numerous awards during his career for both execution and innovation but most notably, BusinessWeek's Top Entrepreuenr Award in 2007.

Cindy R. Sperling,
Softbank Capital
Ms. Sperling joined Softbank Capital in 2000 from SoftBank's former subsidiary, Ziff-Davis. Her responsibilities include reviewing deal opportunities, conducting due diligence and monitoring current portfolio companies.
Ms. Sperling has over 15 years of experience in corporate development, strategic planning, and managing private equity and venture fund investments. Prior to joining SB Capital, she was a Senior Financial Analyst at Ziff-Davis. As part of the Corporate Development team at Ziff-Davis, Ms. Sperling helped execute on multiple acquisitions and divestitures and was a member of the executive team that effected the reorganization of Ziff-Davis. Prior to Ziff-Davis, she was a Senior Financial Analyst with private equity firm Dyson-Kissner-Moran. Ms. Sperling began her career as a Financial Analyst and Auditor at a major accounting firm.
She is a CPA and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.

Hank Torbert,
Avondale Ventures
Mr. Torbert has extensive experience in financing, developing and operating media and telecom businesses. Mr. Torbert founded Avondale Ventures in 2006. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Torbert served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Broadcast Capital, a media-focused private equity firm with a twenty-five year history. Mr. Torbert expanded Broadcap's focus from investing in broadcasting to also include digital and converged media, outdoor advertising, content and programming and other sub-sectors. Mr. Torbert has played an integral role in the launch and development of Fluid Music, Inc. (TSX: "FMN") an internet-based music services company and MixcastTV, an on-line television network. From 1999 to 2004, Mr. Torbert was an investment banker at JPMorgan Chase. He served as a Vice President of the Financial Sponsor Group, Middle Market Banking, at JPMorgan Chase Bank (a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase) and also covered media and telecom clients in the Equity Capital Markets Group. Additionally, he completed over $100 billion in transactions in the media and telecommunications industry as a senior associate in the Equity Capital Markets Group, at JPMorgan Securities. As well, Mr. Torbert is currently on the Board of Directors of Medstar Research Institute, and The Taft School. Mr. Torbert speaks regularly at media industry seminars on venture capital and other investment-related topics and is a recipient of the Network Journal's Top 40 Under 40 Award. Mr. Torbert holds a B.A. from Columbia University. He earned both a masters degree in International Finance and an M.B.A. from Columbia University. Mr. Torbert is also an alumnus and Trustee of the Taft School

Moderator: Gabe Zichermann,
rmbrME
Gabe Zichermann developed the concept for rmbrME after realizing that tracking and connecting with new contacts had become unmanageable.
Rather than starting a 12-step program for social hunters, Gabe helped develop rmbrME - the first mobile solution for exchanging social contact and lead information that works with any device. Gabe is a ten- year games industry entrepreneur who previously worked for CMP Media and launched/guided Trymedia Systems from start to sale as the first successful online game DRM and distribution company.
Additionally, Zichermann has held posts at Cisco Systems, Nortel and Checkpoint Software. Gabe now resides in New York City and is the co-author of the upcoming book WebPlay, published by Manning.

Jason Yeh,
FirstMark Capital
Jason Yeh is a member of the investment team at FirstMark Capital (formerly Pequot Ventures), which invests in a wide range of Information and Applied Technology companies, especially New Media (Internet, Content, Advertising), Application Software, Infrastructure, and Data and Analytics businesses. Jason focuses on investments in the online gaming, social media and advertising space.

Ed Zimmerman,
Angel Vine
Edward M. Zimmerman chairs the Tech Group at Lowenstein Sandler. Ed represents venture and private equity funds and tech/life sciences-based businesses in venture/private equity deals and M&A and related matters.
The Chambers USA Guide to America's Leading Business Lawyers (2008) accorded Ed the highest possible ranking in Corporate and M&A.
In 2007, Ed was listed in the Investment Dealers' Digest "40 Under 40" -- as being "among the brightest, hardest-working people in the financial arena" in the United States for his work in venture/private equity and M&A. This was the fourth (and final) "40 Under 40" listing for Ed. Ed is also listed among The Best Lawyers in America in both the M&A and buyouts/private equity categories. Ed represented a NY-based tech company in a venture round which Dow Jones' VentureWire Alert described as "one of the largest single venture capital investments of [2005]," and represented another client in a series of venture and strategic transactions which FutureBanker Magazine later listed among the "Top 10 Technology Deals of 2000."
Ed is an Adjunct Professor of Finance and Economics at Columbia University Business School where he teaches Venture Capital to MBA candidates. Ed is an active angel investor and he co-founded and co-leads Grape Arbor LLC, an angel vehicle investing in tech and financial services companies. He has angel-backed 12 companies in the last 2 years. In addition to his personal investing, Ed founded and co-chairs AngelVineVC (www.angelvinevc.com), a network of angels and more than 30 venture funds dedicated to assisting early stage ventures. Ed serves on the National Venture Capital Association's Working Group on Model Legal Documents, where he is part of a select team of venture lawyers responsible for revising the industry standard venture capital transaction documents.
Ed is also very involved in community and professional organizations and currently chairs several charity and professional boards, including Hoop-A-Paluza, Inc., a charity for children which has raised more than $1.5MM since Ed and his wife founded it in 2002. Ed was a board member of (and has, continuously since 1994 served as pro bono counsel to) the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, the Dance Company founded and run by Bill T. Jones who won a 2007 Tony Award (Spring Awakening), a MacArthur "Genius" Award and who has been featured on the cover of Time Magazine.
And anyone who has spent any time at all with Ed knows that he really likes to talk about and drink wine -- so much so that Ed was the host of Radio Uncorked, a radio show about wine produced by Infinity Broadcasting. In June 2007 at the Chateau du Clos de Vougeot in France, Ed was inducted as a Chevalier in the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, where he is a member of (but can't necessarily pronounce) the Chapitre de la Vigne en Fleur.

Matt Bieber,
Originate Ventures
Matt Bieber joined Originate Ventures May 2007 as a Senior Associate. He is the initial contact for Business Plan submissions; directs the investment due diligence; conducts the financial modeling; and oversees the intern program.
Prior to joining Originate, Matt was with Bear Stearns in the Financial Analytics and Structured Transactions group (F.A.S.T.). Matt was also an investment banking analyst with Fairmount Partners, a regional investment banking boutique. He has been a member of Barclays Capital in the distressed debt group, an overseas research analyst for Deloitte & Touche based in Prague and an intern for Senator Arlen Specter's office in addition to a volunteer for former Senator Rick Santorum's campaign.
Matt is an entrepreneur through and through. He founded an online entertainment company focused on massive online role-playing games, which he rolled into IGE.com where he became a premier account vendor. Matt is the Treasurer of the Lehigh Valley Network of Young Professionals and has been a judge for Wharton's VCIC competition. Matt is a graduate of Lehigh University with a BS in Business with a concentration in Financial Mathematics.

Somak Chattopadhyay,
Greenhill SAVP
Somak Chattopadhyay joined Greenhill SAVP in 2007. Previously, he was at Edison Venture Fund, where he sourced and evaluated investments in the tech-enabled services sector and launched the firm's New York office. Prior thereto, Somak held senior marketing/business development roles at Medtower, a pharmaceutical IT software company and Dealtime, a comparison shopping company that was later acquired by eBay. Somak started his career in investment banking at Broadview International and was previously director of the Software & Information Industry Association. Somak is on the Executive Committee of The Indus Entrepreneurs (Tri-State chapter) and an advisor to numerous other regional and national technology/entrepreneurship organizations. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and an MBA from Columbia.

Vince Schiavone,
Angel Investor
Vincent J. Schiavone is a serial entrepreneur and investor with over 20 years of experience involved in Technology, Internet Commerce, Privacy, Security, and Healthcare.

Matt Turck,
Bloomberg Ventures
Matt is a Principal with Bloomberg Ventures, an incubator and strategic investment vehicle targeting businesses that are synergistic with Bloomberg L.P. Prior to joining Bloomberg Ventures in 2008, Matt was a Senior Director at Oracle, where he focused on new product launches in the search, eDiscovery and collaboration spaces. Matt joined Oracle in 2005 as a result of the acquisition of TripleHop Technologies, a venture-backed enterprise software company that he co-founded and where he served as President & COO. Matt started his career as an M&A lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York. He holds an LL.M. from Yale Law School and is a graduate of Sciences-Po Paris.

Moderator: Ryan Smith,
Credit Suisse
Ryan is a Vice President of the Customized Fund Investment Group located in New York. Ryan joined Credit Suisse in 2001. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of RNT and as an Observer at Crystal IS, HelioVolt, SolarReserve and ZeroPoint Cleantech Inc. Ryan received a BA degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1998. Ryan volunteers and serves on the Credit Committee at the Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union, a community development credit union in New York City, and is a member of the Advisory Board at Cristo Rey New York High School.

Arrun Kapoor,
SJF Ventures
Arrun is a Senior Associate in the New York City office and co-lead for the NY Chapter of the Renewable Energy Business Network (REBN). He is also an Advisory Board Member of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission Green Business Accelerator. Arrun was most recently with Bain & Company in London and Delhi. He worked with the firm's Private Equity Practice and gained experience in a range of cleantech-related industries. Prior to that he was with a successful consulting start-up. He holds a Master's in International Political Economics from the London School of Economics and completed a BA from New York University with an economics and business focus.

Michel J. Maloof III,
Braemar Energy Ventures
M.J. Maloof is an associate on the investment team. Prior to joining Braemar in 2006, M.J. was an associate consultant with Bain & Company. While at Bain, he advised clients in a variety of industries on technology, IP strategy and other internal and customer-driven solutions. M.J. graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in both Economics and Environmental Studies. While at Dartmouth, he spent a semester in Pretoria, South Africa studying resource use and conservation.

Ann Partlow,
Earthrise Capital
Ann is the co-founder of Earthrise Capital, a venture fund for new energy, power, and water technologies. Prior to founding Earthrise, she served for more than two and a half decades as financial advisor and portfolio manager to members of the Rockefeller Family. At Rockefeller & Co., she founded the Socially Responsive Investment Group where she created Odyssey Fund in 1978, one of the earliest "mission related" investment funds focused on emerging businesses addressing key social and environmental needs. The Fund was an early investor in solar and wind technologies, geothermal investing, waste-to-energy generators, numerous recycling technologies, and water treatment.
Ann has served as director and trustee of many companies, both for-profit and non-profit. She served for many years as a trustee and Treasurer of Women's World Banking (WWB), the global microfinance institution. She is a trustee of Energy Visions, the national non-profit organization advocating clean transportation fuels.
Ann has also served as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Cleantech Venture Forum. She is a member of the Investment Committee of Commons Capital, a private equity fund sponsored by Investors' Circle, a national group of socially responsive angel investors. Ann was a recipient of that group's first Social Venture Pioneer Award.

Track 5: Cool Concepts and Special Situations

Moderator: Henry Weingarten,
Conference Chair
Henry is a producer of the The Bootstrapper Summit and produces several events each year for market professionals in NYC. In 1971 he founded ASI Computers a company he ran for 20 years. As one of NYC's first Apple dealers, he set up ITT's first microcomputer division and NYC's Board of Education Apple program, with a client roster from blue chips such as ATT to many individual small businesses. He began his career as a computer industry analyst with a recommendation of a start up called APPLE and has developed a long term track record in distinguishing winning and losing high-technology strategies and stocks. Since 1988, he has been Managing Director of the Astrologers Fund, Inc., which employs Astrology as the primary analysis tool to manage investment funds and advise money managers worldwide. Over 20 publications including Barron's have documented his prediction accuracy and results.

Track 6: The Big Exit; Strategis Venturing - Discussion

Moderator: Bill Reinisch,
Serial Entrepreneur
William Reinisch served as the Vice President in Motorola's strategy and technology organization. In this role, he was responsible for intellectual property, standards and the corporate technology portfolio, in addition to positioning Motorola for growth in emerging new market segments. He joined Motorola in 2004 as a strategic advisor to the Chief Strategy Office, working to define and develop the technology, intellectual property, and investment strategy for the corporation.
Prior to joining Motorola Reinisch was Senior Vice President of operations and engineering at Magnolia Broadband, where he led efforts in engineering, operations, and RFIC development for the company until 2004. Before that, he led the global technology organization at Multilink Technology Corporation, a company focused on high-speed component solutions for advanced optical networks. Reinisch has also held various positions at ANADIGICS, Inc., including manager of strategic technology alliances. Prior to 1992, he worked for Analog Devices in the company's semiconductor division. Experienced in many different aspects of the industry in both technology and operations, Reinisch has authored several publications, presentations, two US patents and several patent applications. He holds an M.B.A. from Fordham University and a B.S. in Microelectronic Engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.

Gil Beyda,
Genacast Ventures
Gil Beyda is a seasoned entrepreneur turned venture capitalist. Gil launched his first company Mind Games in 1982 to develop games for the original Apple II. Gil then started a software consulting firm with Fortune 100 clients in the U.S., Asia and Europe. In 1995, Gil helped pioneer Internet advertising by founding Real Media, the first online ad network and ad server company. After Real Media was acquired in 2001, Gil pioneered the next wave of online advertising as CTO of TACODA, the first behavioral targeting, ad network. Following AOL's acquisition of TACODA in 2007, Gil founded Genacast Ventures in partnership with Comcast Interactive Capital to invest in seed-stage, technology-centric, Internet start-ups. Gil has a MBA and BS in Computer Science from California State University. He lives with his wife and four daughters in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Urs Cete,
Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments
Urs Cete is a Principal at Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI).
Before joining BDMI he worked for the corporate controlling & strategy department of global media company Bertelsmann, where he was in charge of group controlling and group strategy. Mr. Cete currently serves on the boards of Mojiva, a mobile AdNetwork based in New York, and Blue Lion Mobile, producers of the mobile social messenger Qeep based in Germany.

Andrew Cleland,
Time Warner Investments
Andrew is Executive Director of Time Warner's Investments Group. He sources, evaluates, and executes investments on behalf of Time Warner in early-stage media and technology companies. Andrew is currently a board director of Visible World, and a board observer of Gaia Online, Veoh, and Double Fusion. Previously, he managed Time Warner's investments in Arroyo (sold to Cisco), BigBand (Nasdaq: BBND), and Entropic (Nasdaq: ENTR).
Prior to his current Investments role, Andrew worked in Time Warner's Corporate Strategy Group where he advised senior management on a range of issues including Time Warner Cable's on-demand video strategy, and AOL's advertising and investment deal with Google.
Before joining Time Warner, Andrew was Vice President and General Manager of TrustTheDJ.com, a music and events start-up which he helped to build from inception. Previously, he worked as a strategy consultant for Booz Allen & Hamilton's Media and Entertainment Group in London.
Andrew holds an MA in Economics (1st class) from Edinburgh University, and received his MBA from INSEAD in France.