We are excited to have such a stellar group of entrepreneurs sharing their knowledge, tips and experience around starting and running a business. More speakers will be announced soon!
Brad has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur for over twenty years. Prior to co-founding Foundry Group, he co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and, prior to that, founded Intensity Ventures, a company that helped launch and operate software companies and later became a venture affiliate of the predecessor to Mobius Venture Capital. Brad is also
I’m a co-founder of about.me and a founding Venture Partner at True Ventures. I serve on the Board of Automattic (WordPress), Appssavvy, StockTwits, GDGT, KISSmetrics, 20×200, WeGame, RescueTime, Voxpop and led True’s investments in Typekit, Plancast and MakerBot. I also serve as a Special Advisor to AOL Ventures and Board Member at non-profit Grist. Prior,
Having served billions of page views per month to building social commerce platforms, Aaron leads the long-term technical direction and day to day development of LivingSocial’s core products. Prior to co-founding LivingSocial, Aaron was architect of RevolutionHealth and led the development of Blockbuster’s Online Subscription effort. He holds degrees in Bachelor degrees Computer Science and
David Cohen is the founder and CEO of TechStars. Previously, David was a founder of several software and web technology companies. He was the founder and CTO of Pinpoint Technologies which was acquired by ZOLL Medical Corporation (NASDAQ: ZOLL) in 1999. You can read about it in No Vision, All Drive [Amazon]. David was also
Prior to joining BrightTag, Eric was co-founder and CTO of FeedBurner, which Google acquired in 2007. After the acquisition, Eric remained at Google in a senior technology role. Prior to FeedBurner, Eric co-founded and served as CTO at Spyonit.com (acquired by 724 Solutions), served as lead technical architect at Digital Knowledge Assets (creators of the
Genevieve Thiers and Dan Ratner are a serial couple-preneur, and the founders of Sittercity.com, which they ran for nine years, and of the Chicago-based OperaModa opera company, which they have run for five years. Their third company will be launching in October of 2010. Together, they have spoken at TED Global, National CEO Conference, Tech
Dr. Mark Drapeau is the Director of Public Sector Social Engagement for Microsoft Corp. In this new role, he is involved in online and offline ways of creatively engaging Microsoft’s diverse audiences working on the business of public sector, within public service, and towards public good. Among other activities, he recently launched and is editor
Travis Kalanick is a successful entrepreneur in the areas of consumer Internet, p2p, and enterprise content delivery. His most recent company, Red Swoosh, was sold to Akamai Technologies in 2007. Prior companies include Scour, the world’s first p2p search engine where Kalanick also attained the dubious distinction of having been sued for $250 billion. Today,
Peter is president of GeniusRocket Inc., the first curated creative crowdsourcing company. GeniusRocket’s vetted community of filmmakers, animations, and motion graphic artists have created rich media content for agencies, start-ups, and Fortune 100 brands around the globe. Prior to joining GeniusRocket, Peter was with the Marketing Leadership Council, IBM, Apple, Intrepid Aviation, and for two
Micah was perviously the VP, Business Development and Chief Evangelist for Lijit Networks, the sixth startup Micah has been involved in (having sold his last startup, Current Wisdom, in the beginning of 2007). Focusing on business development, online marketing and advertising, and product strategy, Micah was instrumental in the growth of several successful companies. He
Mike is a co-founder and managing member of SproutBox, a new kind of venture capital firm that invests talent in technology startups. He also serves as the CEO of one of SproutBox’s initial companies, Squad, a web based code editor. Prior to founding SproutBox, Mike was a co-founder and CTO of Resite Information Technology, a
Serving as an Assistant General Counsel for products and technology at AOL Inc. in Dulles, Virginia, Bob Gurwin is also a lecturer and consultant on legal issues relating to the Internet and other forms of electronic communication, including copyrights, trademarks, domain name registrations, and disputes; web site terms of use, privacy policies, hosting, and development
Phil Tadros is a Chicago entrepreneur founder of Doejo and several other businesses. Doejo incubates start-ups and small businesses with web design, business consulting and social media. Tadros is also the creator of TextHog, a Web-based business expense tracking application. Additional businesses Tadros owns include Noble Tree Coffee & Tea, Dollop, Kickstand, Motionoto, Galaist and
Sarah is the founder and CEO of Zenzi, a PR and marketing firm whose mission is to help companies “Be Known” and “Be Found.” The name Zenzi means crescendo, and since 2002, Sarah has successfully created a similar effect for clients including Nestle, Chiquita Brands, Dreyer’s/ Edy’s Ice Cream, Hilton Hotels, SpeedDate.com, TECH Cocktail and
My name is Harper. I am an engineer excited about real time, social software and the open source software movement. In a previous life, I was the CTO of the awesome Threadless. When I am not working or causing problems you can find me blogging about random stuff, yoyoing, juggling, hacking random internet appliances or
David Gardner is a Partner in ColorJar, the Venture Accelerator™ that has helped numerous start-ups and celebrities with business plan strategy, brand shaping, and website production. Previously, David received a partnership offer from AOL for a start-up he co-founded in India that helped people pursue their dreams and goals. He also previously served as the
Daliah Saper is a member of the Illinois Bar and both the General Bar and Trial Bar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She has handled high profile cases and has been featured on tv, radio, and in several publications including: Fox News, National Jurist Magazine, Chicago Lawyer Magazine, Chicago Reader, Chicago Public Radio
Evan Brown is a technology and intellectual property attorney in the Chicago office of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP. He also writes the Internet Cases blog which tracks legal developments involving the internet and new technologies. Evan works with his clients to handle the legal issues arising from technology and content creation and licensing, and advises
Ross co-founded crowdSPRING – the world’s largest community of graphic designers, web designers, illustrators, writers and industrial designers. Ross actively talks and writes about startup issues, including on his blog, where he’s published over 100 videos for entrepreneurs and startups, sharing the many lessons he’s learned and his many mistakes along the way. Before crowdSPRING, for
Matt Maloney is the co-founder and CEO of GrubHub.com. Before conjuring up plans with his good friend Mike Evans to take over the online delivery world, Matt majored in physiology at Michigan State University. But as the Internet was emerging, he dreamt of becoming a “ World Wide Web-master” and decided to turn on, boot
Aziz Gilani has significant experience as an operator, consultant, and investor in technology companies, with a particular focus on software and internet companies. He currently focuses on Cgate Health, Gendai Games, Graphic.ly, Kabongo, Macheen, and ShareThis at DFJ Mercury. Prior to joining DFJ Mercury, Aziz was a Senior Engagement Leader at the newly formed Infosys
Melissa Pierce is a first time filmmaker who reinvented herself while creating a documentary about other people who have done the same: reinvented themselves as creative entrepreneurs. Before this film, she was a fairly successful life coach who home-schooled her teenage son while simultaneously parenting two preschoolers. She was so passionate about the themes in
Jeff is a vice president of Frost, Ruttenberg & Rothblatt, P.C. He specializes in providing accounting, tax and consulting services to privately held businesses. Working closely with clients, Jeff has developed a broad base of knowledge and experience in a diverse range of industies. Jeff is also responsible for the firms current technology initiatives. Jeff
John R. Dallas, Jr. is a serial company president, serving five prior technology-based services companies in New York, DC and Chicago. In 2005 he founded Hillview Partners Network, a consulting, coaching and speaking firm specializing in strategic alignment of people, money, technology, and other mission-critical resources. Several years ago John was named one of Chicago’s
