Invention 2 Venture:
BASICS OF TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Learn how to turn your technology idea into a commercial opportunity.

One day Workshop

Cost: $10 Students, $25 Faculty Members & NEU Staff and $50 Community & Others. Participant guide, lunch & continental breakfast are all included in the fee.

Please click here to register at the Invention 2 Venture website.

Presentations will focus on venture capital, marketing, intellectual property, business plans, and related topics. The guest speakers are experts drawn from the region including Bob Davis, Highland Partners as the Keynote speaker!

Over 7 individual workshops are held throughout the day. Invention to Venture workshops areheld in cooperation with the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). This workshop is open to the public but it is intended primarily for college and university students.

Welcome and Introduction:

Paul M. Zavracky
Dean, School of Technological Entrepreneurship
Jean C. Tempel Professor of Entrepreneurship

Is Entrepreneurship for you?
The ups, downs, challenges, risks, and rewards of starting a new venture:

Bob Davis
General Partner at Highland Capital Partners

Bob is a General Partner at Highland focusing primarily on digital media and the internet and has been with our team since 2001. He currently represents Highland on the boards of Bullhorn, Hangout Industries, NameMedia, Paragon Lake, Quattro Wireless and Turbine and previously served on the board of Fastclick (Acquired by VCLK) until its successful merger with ValueClick (Nasdaq: VCLK), Going (acquired by AOL), Quigo (acquired by AOL) and Navic (acquired by MSFT).

Bob is the best-selling author of "Speed is Life: Street Smart Lessons from the Front Lines of Business (Currency)."

Background
Prior to joining Highland, Bob served as the Chief Executive Officer of Terra Lycos (TRLY) formed in October 2000 with the $5.5 billion acquisition of Lycos by Terra Networks of Spain. Previously, Bob was the Founder of Lycos, Inc (LCOS) and served as its President and Chief Executive Officer since its inception in 1995 where he led Lycos from a start-up with $2 million in venture capital funding to become the most visited online destination in the world with over 100 million unique visitors. Under his leadership, Lycos jumped from the fastest IPO in Nasdaq history, a mere nine months from inception to offering, to a global media entity and an esteemed member of the Nasdaq 100.

Bob has served on the boards of several public and private sector companies including John Hancock (JHFS), Ticketmaster (TCMS), Terra Lycos (TRLY), Lycos (LCOS) and Lycos Europe (LCY). He also serves as a Trustee for Children’s Hospital Trust Board, The Rivers School and also serves on the Board of Advisors for the Boston College Carroll School of Management and the Northeastern University School of Technological Entrepreneurship.

Bob has advised former President Clinton on matters relating to internet commerce and regulation and has addressed Congress, The United Nations, The National Press Corps and the U.S. Council of Foreign Relations on similar matters.

Education
Northeastern University, B.S.
Babson College, M.B.A.
Bentley College, Honorary Doctorate of Commercial Sciences
Northeastern University, Honorary Doctorate

Honors
Bob has been inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs and received the Massachusetts Interactive Media Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award

Idea Validation and Opportunity Assessment:
Strategies for determining the viability and feasibility of a new venture

Mark Basler
Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Azuki

Mark Basler is Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Azuki, responsible for strategic account development and distribution relationships. Mark brings deep mobile content and digital media industry experience to his role along with a solid record of growing sales and strategic partnerships for emerging and established businesses.

Most recently, Mark was Vice President / General Manager at IMG who is a worldwide leader in sports and entertainment marketing and media. Mark led a venture between IMG and Sprint focused on the creation of made-for-mobile video programming, selling advertising and sponsorship with firms such as Pepsi and Nissan and delivery as a new exclusive video channel to the Sprint mobile platform.

Previously, Mark was a co-founder and Senior Vice President at InformTV, which is a spin-out from Avid Technology focused on interactive sports entertainment involving video streaming and interactive television technologies for digital cable broadcasters, branded sports websites and stadiums/arenas. Prior to this spin-out, Mark was Director of Sales and Marketing for the New Media Products Group at Avid Technology where he and forged partnerships with such companies as Microsoft, Yahoo, Broadcast.com, Real Networks, Apple and Intel.

Mark has also worked closely with handset OEMs and mobile operators while serving in executive business development and marketing roles for several display technology startups. Earlier in his career, Mark held engineering and product management positions with Motorola and Analog Devices.

Mark has an MBA from the Babcock School of Management at Wake Forest University and a bachelors of science in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Selling and Marketing Technology - Principles and strategies for selling a new product or technology

Bruce Lampert
Vice President of Sales at Azuki

Bruce Lampert is Vice President of Sales at Azuki, responsible for leading the company’s sales organization, forging new market opportunities and creating synergies across all distribution channels. Bruce is a well-seasoned professional with over 20 years of marketing and business development experience in start-up companies. Bruce’s comprehensive understanding of market segmentation and customer voice, along with his strong business partnership skills and innovative, results-driven marketing campaigns will help him meet key revenue objectives. His expertise in designing successful business models and generating new revenue streams has provided major contributions to the growth and success of numerous start-ups.

Most recently, Lampert was the Vice President, Business Development & Marketing for Myvu Corporation, where he developed the Myvu brand, corporate identity and strategy, and forged strategic partnerships that enabled the company to become the leader in its industry. Prior to Myvu, Lampert was Vice President, Business Development at GoldPocket Interactive, Inc, where he created a successful, innovative business model for monetizing interactive television, and provided sales leadership and strategic direction. Lampert also served as President and CEO of United Technical Products, Inc., where he orchestrated a three-way strategic alliance and license agreement which led to the successful sale of the company to Fidelity Capital.

Bruce has an MBA from Babson College and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rochester.

Building a Team:
Tips for organizing and assembling a successful venture team

Rich Corley
Founder, CTO and VP Engineering, Akorri

Rich brings more than 20 years of experience leading and contributing to technology-based companies. He is responsible for leading Akorri's engineering and R&D teams.  Before founding Akorri, Rich was the founder and Executive Vice President at Pirus Networks, where he was responsible for the company's overall leadership, technical strategy, and product architecture leading up to its acquisition by Sun Microsystems in 2002. Previously, Rich was Director of Advanced Technology at Nortel. Earlier in his career, Rich held founding and engineering management positions at Aptis, Arris, Chipcom, Data General, and Concord Data Systems. Rich holds an MSEE from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a BSET from Northeastern University. Rich is an active member of the College of Engineering Industrial Advisory Board at Northeastern and was awarded the College of Engineering Outstanding Alumni Award in 2004.

Intellectual Property - Avenues for obtaining patents or protection for intellectual property

Stanley M. Schurgin
Senior Managing Partner, Weingarten, Schurgin, Gagnebin & Lebovici LLP

As the Senior Managing Partner of the firm which he joined in 1967, Stan Schurgin's practice extends to all facets of intellectual property law. He is a specialist in the licensing of technology and patents and in counseling corporate and university clients in patent, licensing, trademark and other intellectual property matters, and has extensive experience in the establishment and maintenance of internal company procedures for the management of intellectual property. With over thirty-five years in practice, Mr. Schurgin is often called upon to evaluate intellectual property as part of start-up, acquisition and financing ventures, to conduct due diligence studies, and to render legal opinions on issues of infringement, validity and ownership of intellectual property. He also provides counsel in technological transactions and in the strategic use and protection of intellectual property.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Schurgin commenced his career as a patent engineer and then as a corporate patent attorney at a large international electronics and communications company where he was engaged in the protection and analysis of a broad range of technology, particularly electronic systems, and in government contract patent and data requirements.

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University (1959) and obtained his law degree, cum laude, from the New England School of Law (1964), where he was an Adjunct Professor of patent law for ten years. He has organized and participates in numerous seminars, conferences and continuing legal education programs on many different intellectual property topics.

Mr. Schurgin has been registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office since 1962, a member of the Massachusetts Bar since 1964, and is admitted to practice in the Federal District and Appellate Courts of Massachusetts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He is a member of the Boston Patent Law Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association, Licensing Executives Society, and the International Trademark Association.

The Perfect Business Plan

Rana K. Gupta
Chief Executive Officer, HistoRx

Previous to joining HistoRx, Mr. Gupta was a Managing Director at Navigator Technology Ventures (NTV), the lead A Round investor in HistoRx. Prior to his position with NTV, he was Product Manager for Global Services with yet2.com, a B2B marketplace for technology transfer. Before that, Mr. Gupta founded IndoSine U.S. Link, Ltd., a business development company that helps clients to expand businesses in India, China, and the U.S. While at IndoSine, Mr. Gupta co-founded a wireless software company, International Solutions, for which he served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He also served as Manager, PRC Investment Strategy for Zeneca Pharmaceuticals in China. Before joining Zeneca, he was Senior Consultant at Arthur D. Little, Inc. and served as a member of the start-up team for the company's Bangalore, India office. He holds an MBA in Finance and International Business from New York University's Stern School of Business, an MS in Operations Research from Stanford University, and a BA in Mathematics from Earlham College.

Finding the Money:
Options for funding new ventures

Woody Benson
Prism

Woody joined Prism in 2004 and runs the firm’s digital media practice. He also has extensive experience in mobile and transformational business. Woody is a director for LogMeIn (NASDAQ: LOGM), KickApps, Worldwide Biggies and Everypoint. Formerly, he was on the board of Maven Networks, acquired by Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) and M:Metrics, acquired by comScore. (NASDAQ: SCOR).
Prior to becoming a venture capitalist, Woody had an extensive operating career. Career highlights include serving as Chairman, President and CEO of MCK Communications (NASDAQ: MCKC). MCK Communications went public in 1999 and completed a secondary offering in 2000. Before MCK, Woody was a senior executive at Shiva Corporation (NASDAQ: SHVA) and Lotus Development (NASDAQ:LOTS).
Woody is a frequent speaker and panelist on topics from redefining venture capital to trendsin digital media. Woody is a member of On Hollywood’s Top 100.
In 1999 he was awarded the "CEO of the Year" by the Mass Telecom Council.
Woody serves on the board of the Massachusetts Network Communications Council, the MIT Enterprise Forum 10-250 Committee, The American Red Cross-Metro West and the Bentley Private Equity Council. He lives with his wife and two children in Newton, MA.

Mark Spitzer
CEO of Photonic Glass Corporation

Mark B. Spitzer is the CEO of Photonic Glass Corporation where he is developing new processes for solar photovoltaics applications. Spitzer earned the B.A. in physics at Boston University in 1975 and the Ph.D. in physics at Brown University in 1981. In 1980 he joined the technical staff of Spire Corporation where he was engaged in the development of advanced high efficiency solar cells. While at Spire he participated in NSF's first SBIR program. In 1987 he joined Kopin Corporation where he directed various solar cell and active matrix display R&D projects. In 1995 Spitzer formed The MicroOptical Corporation (now Myvu Corp.) whichdevelops novel optics and eyewear-based displays. In each of these companies, Spitzer obtained and directed successful SBIR projects funded by DOE, NASA, DOD, NSF, NIH and other agencies.

Joe Caruso
“Advocate for entrepreneurs”

For the last 20 years Joe has served as mentor, coach, and personal advisor to CEO’s and entrepreneurs — dealing with issues of strategy, leadership, team building, and venture capital and matters of personal growth. In recent years, he has served as investor and active director with numerous companies, public and private.
Joe has served as interim CEO for companies in need of strategic change and has served as personal advisor to numerous company presidents. Joe is a Director and active investor in Boston MicroMachines and i2Chem. He is currently a member of CommonAngels, eCoast Angels, and a Managing Partner of Brookwood Partners, and was previously a principal in Walnut Venture Associates, all investment groups for early stage companies.

Joe is past-president of the National Association of Corporate Directors (New England Chapter), a member of the advisory board for the Boston University Photonics Center and Northeastern University's School of Technological Entrepreneurship. Joe has served as a Charter Member of TIE Boston (The Indus Entrepreneur), a global not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of entrepreneurship. Joe is recipient of the Leadership in Private Corporate Governance award from the National Association of Corporate Directors New England Chapter. A graduate of Northeastern University (BSEE with honors) and the Harvard Business School (MBA).

Previous board memberships include: ACT Medical, Acumenta, Adhesive Technologies, American Fantasy Sports, Audiofile, Boston Restaurant Associates, Coffee Connection, Colonial Mills, Common Angels, Corion, Cyborg Corporation, General Analysis, Haymarket Bank, Iconics, Laser Science, Metrisa, MicroE, Nimbit, Qiave Technologies, QD Vision, Quant Funds (trustee); Tytronics, Wwwhoosh, Zentox, the Turnaround Management Association (founding director, New England Chapter), the National Association of Corporate Directors (New England Chapter), the Association for Corporate Growth (New England Chapter) and WEST (Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology). Joe has also served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association.

Early in his career, Joe worked at Teradyne and Autex, Inc., and was CEO at Cyborg Corporation, a venture-funded company that was a pioneer in the use of PC’s in laboratory and factory automation.

Jonathan Gordon
Partner, Stage 1 Ventures

Jonathan Gordon invests in early stage technology companies and helps these new enterprises develop new customers and channels of distribution. Mr. Gordon uses investment strategies that draw upon his more than 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur, executive, and investor. The main goal of his organization is to identify, develop, and help grow tomorrows leading technology based companies.

Mr. Gordon has been at the forefront of many historic market and technology changes in the global high tech economy. For example, Mr. Gordon’s companies have worked on many diverse projects ranging from embedding graphic software onto the original IBM PC to creating the PC compatible market with the Phoenix Technologies BIOS when personal computing was in its infancy. More recently, one of his organizations, EndPoints, Inc. was an early leader in the development of technology to allow the integration of imaging chips into cell phone. This came at a time when people were quizzical as to the need to use a camera on a cell phone.

During Mr. Gordon’s career, he has seen technology progress from an analog world through work at Tektronix, Inc. to a completely digital experience. Mr. Gordon’s success is directly attributable to his deep appreciation of how change effects new market opportunities. Moreover, he understands the importance of building solid IP and technology strategies as well as how to monetize these approaches through a variety of business models.

Mr. Gordon’s passion is to foster the development of great ideas and facilitate their transformation into leading edge technology companies. Additionally, he welcomes the opportunity to work with creative and talented people as they navigate through the innovation and marketing process on the way to success.