Please join the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at 12:30 pm Wednesday, February 27th in the LaRose Digital Theatre (KBC) for the fourth installment of the web conference series on Creating and Funding University Startups:
What Do Early Stage Investors Really Look For In Startups? (II)
Wednesday, Feb 27, 2008, 12:30-2:00 ET
Panelists: Jura Zibas, Dan Gordon, Stephen Ringlee
Panelist Information:
Jura Zibas – President, Clear Springs and Executive Vice President, S.N. Phelps & Co.
Ms. Zibas oversees the development and future funding of Clear Springs and Mr. Phelps’ foundation. Central to her role is identifying and selecting companies to receive funding via the Clear Springs investment fund. Clear Springs and S.N. Phelps have invested in early stage companies working closely with management on turn around strategies of companies to benefit the investment. By way of background, Ms. Zibas brings over 16 years of legal experience handling corporate transactions with a focus on intellectual property, litigation, and business development. A chemist by training with an award from the American Cancer Society for her research in alpha interferon, Ms. Zibas holds a BS from Newcomb College of Tulane University and JD from Capital University and attended dental school at The Ohio State University. Presently, she is on the board of trustees of the Creative Education Foundation, PolkWorks, PCC Education Foundation and the board of directors of CORCO, Adapt 4 and Safety Dynamics.
Dan Gordon – Director of Research, Valhalla Partners
Dan has thirty years’ experience working with technology, as a computer scientist, software developer, manager, analyst, and entrepreneur. Prior to joining Valhalla Partners, Dan was a Director and senior staff member at the PricewaterhouseCoopers Global Technology Centre, analyzing technology trends and consulting on technology-oriented strategies in the software, e-business, wireless, optical, networking, semiconductor IP, and life sciences arenas. He worked with clients from North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. Dan was a Contributing Writer and Contributing Editor to the Technology Centre’s annual Technology Forecast, and a frequent speaker at industry and general business meetings. Prior to joining PwC, Dan spent 20 years in Silicon Valley as a software technologist, manager, director, and entrepreneur, including senior technical roles at well-known Silicon Valley firms like Symantec, Intuit, and Oracle. Dan has also been involved in startup companies in the applied Artificial Intelligence and Web applications fields. Dan has a B.A cum laude from Harvard University and an M.S. degree from New York University in Computer Science. He is a Professional Member of the IEEE and ACM.
Stephen Ringlee is Partner of Centesimus Capital, an early stage investment firm in Ames, IA, and formerly Managing Director of investment manager Cimarron Capital Partners LLC which develops and manages regionally-targeted private equity programs to enhance economic development. He has been an active investor and entrepreneur for almost twenty years. He lives and works in Ames, IA and Boston, MA. He has founded or co-founded a number of firms in manufacturing, life sciences, and information sciences as well as participated as a founding investor in others. He is board member of the Iowa Taxpayers Association, a business tax policy group and of a large manufacturer in New England. He is active in statewide industry groups and is a regular speaker on entrepreneurial capitalism at industry, banking, and university conferences. He graduated from UC Berkeley in engineering and from Dartmouth’s Tuck School with an MBA in finance and served as a Captain in the United States Air Force.
This series is broadcast from the National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer (NCET2) and is presented in cooperation with Elon University Executive Education and the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. Although these sessions are part of a series, you are welcome and encouraged to attend any individual session that you find of interest.
Admission is free.