Turning Vision into Value
If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, or if you’re visiting, please invite your friends and colleagues and join us for the Silicon Valley Innovation Institute’s Innovation Society 2010 Series…
SVII “First Wednesday”
Innovation Society Meeting
February 3rd, 2010
6:00 – 9:30 p.m.
Featured Program: The Art of Raising Venture Capital in 2010:
Don’t forget to do your homework!
Guest Speaker: Steve Goldberg of Venrock Associates
During the 1990s, the steady and monotonic upward growth of the overall economy and the dramatic growth and availability of venture capital created a clear and easily definable path for entrepreneurs to find capital. After the Internet and telecom bubbles burst in 2001 and the most recent economic downturn starting in 2008, the art of funding (on the VC side) and fund-raising (on the entrepreneur side) for early stage high tech companies has been difficult to quantify. Techniques and metrics that had worked well in the 1990s are either no longer valid, or are no longer sufficient.
With our overall economy in the processes of stabilizing, although arguably still quite fragile, both VC firms and entrepreneurs are back to the business of creating new ventures. Not surprisingly, the mindset on both sides has changed dramatically.
This presentation will summarize the current state of venture investing and fund-raising from both perspectives. The focus will be on the soft side of the decision processes including what makes a winning management team, what to look for in board members, why a no doesn’t always mean a no, and, generally, why some deals happen and other don’t.
About Steve Goldberg
Steven Goldberg is a Partner at Venrock Associates, where he supports investments in wireless, semiconductors, security, and energy markets. Prior to joining Venrock, he was CEO of several early stage wireless companies, including DataRunway, Arcwave, and CoWave Networks. He was also CEO of Vidient System, a provider of video analytics solutions.
Additionally, he was Vice President of Research and Development at Nokia Internet Communications, and V.P. and G.M. of the Wireless Communications Division at Cylink Corporation, which, after going public, was later sold to P-Com. Steve has also held senior management and engineering positions at Trimble Navigation and Hewlett Packard.
Coincident with that experience, he had a practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist for about ten years. He still sometimes lectures at Stanford and other Bay area schools on relationship issues.
Steve holds a Ph.D. E.E. from the University of California at Santa Barbara and M.S.E.E. and B.S.E.E degrees from Washington University in St Louis, Mo. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE, and a past president of the IEEE Communications Society, Santa Clara Section and holds 2 U.S. patents. He is currently a director of Quantenna Communications, Teranetics, Newport Media, Neoconix, Apacewave, Canesta, and Asoka. Steve enjoys ice skating, amateur radio, and is a USSF soccer referee.
Program Schedule
6:00 Arrival and networking
6:45 Community buffet dinner
7:15 SVII Business: Howard Richard Lieberman Chairman
7:30 Feature Presentation: Steve Goldberg, Venrock Associates
8:30 Follow-up discussion: Showing Up as an Innovation Advocate.
9:30 Closing
Event fee: $35 drop-ins, and $25 members.
Drinks are available on a no-host basis.
Please be sure to RSVP at friends@svii.org.
SVII accepts cash, checks and credit cards on-site.
Or, you can pre-pay using the PayPal drop down button below.
Memberships have recently become available and can also be purchased using the same secure PayPal cart below.
Need to reach us at the last minute? Call: 650-712-8100.
Location
Bay Cafe, Bayshore Ballroom
1875 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto
www.BayCafeRestaurant.com
650-856-0999
Embarcadero East, past Ming’s, turn left into the Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course; from the parking lot, walk up the wide path toward the golf course buildings; the restaurant will be on the right.
Archives and Outlook
For developing Archives, check out the
SVII “First Wednesday” group at
SVII Society Online.
Stay in Touch
Wish to join our mailing list? Email friends@svii.org. Plan to join the SVII Innovation Society each “first Wednesday” of the month.
Keep checking here for program updates.
SVII Sustaining Innovation Program
Is sustaining innovation important to you? Consider a support gift, supporting or sustaining membership, or event sponsorship for the SVII Innovation Society. See Sustaining Innovation for details. SVII is a 501(c)3 non-profit educational organization.
