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PEDA Member Rate: $99
Non-Member Rate: $129
An Introduction to Angel Investment and Venture Capital
Attendees will gain a fundamental understanding of the roles and aspects of angel investors and venture capitalists in financing high growth potential companies. Opportunities, processes, key players and what can be done to successfully access this funding arena will be explored. Attendees will gain a solid understanding of this forum, how this option fits into the overall funding picture, and what distinguishes successful recipients of this funding.
Moderated by John Sider, Managing Director of Statewide Initiatives with Ben Franklin Technology Partners, this session will include a panel discussion. Following discussion of the key objectives, attendees will work as teams, engaging in a case study exercise that will take them through the appropriate analysis this type of investor goes through when assessing an opportunity. Teams will make hypothetical funding decisions based on real world scenarios and the techniques they’ve been taught. Teams will present their funding decisions and factors considered to the panel and their fellow attendees. After each team has had the opportunity to explain its decision, the panel will evaluate the decision-making processes employed by each and will provide customized feedback aimed at improving and expanding attendees’ related skill sets.
Credit analysts, lending professionals and business development officers would benefit from attending this program, as well as other individuals needing to gain a fundamental understanding of the investment capital process.
Presenters of this session will include the following:
John Sider: Managing Director of Statewide Initiatives, Ben Franklin Technology Partners
Mike Hund: Mike represents publicly held and privately held businesses, as well as early-stage technology companies and investors who acquire interests in such companies. He regularly counsels companies on compliance with federal securities laws, including exemptions from the registration provisions of such laws. He represents many early-stage life sciences and other technology companies. Mike’s practice covers a wide variety of corporate and securities law issues, including venture capital financing and other capital formation transactions for investors and for companies. He also handles mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, and contests for corporate control. Mike represents life sciences and other technology companies, particularly early-stage and emerging growth businesses involved in the commercialization of intellectual property. He regularly counsels companies involved in the licensing and transfer of technology from and to universities and other institutional entities. He regularly works with management teams in coping with the challenges of managing rapid growth following an investment by a venture capital fund or other third party investor. Mike is also a certified public accountant (inactive) and, prior to attending law school, worked with a large accounting firm. Later, he served as an assistant chief accountant and as a senior attorney in the Division of Corporation Finance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC. Prior to joining McNees, he was a partner in two large Pittsburgh-based law firms.
Michele Washko: Michele is Vice President of Strategic Services for the Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central Pennsylvania and adjunct instructor of entrepreneurship at Harrisburg University, has roughly 17 years’ experience in marketing, communications and business development, with particular expertise in start-up companies and new product launches within the biotech, pharmaceutical, and healthcare arenas. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Emory University, an M.A. in English from Arcadia University, and an M.B.A from Pennsylvania State University. She has sat on the board of several start-up companies, and is currently a Director at Strategic Polymer Sciences, Inc.
Ed Harrell: Dr. Harrell is an economist with more than 30 years of experience in managing private and public programs in the areas of privatization, technology commercialization, entrepreneurial training, capital market development, private investment in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East and early stage financing of technology companies. He has held senior managerial positions with Rohm & Haas Co., E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., the State Department, the Agency for International Development and Price Waterhouse, LLP. He has lived and worked in India, Japan, Thailand and Jordan and is currently the Managing Partner, Harrell Partners, LLC, a family owned early stage equity investor in seed and early stage IT and biotech companies. He holds a BS in Chemistry from Dickinson College (with Honors), a Certificate from the East Asian Institute (Japanese studies), Columbia University, a PhD in Economics, Columbia University and attended the AMP (Advanced Management Program), Harvard Business School. Dr Harrell was the Executive Director of a new and expanding incubator for start-up and expanding companies in Carlisle, PA for three years while he was an Adjunct Professor of International Business and Management, Dickinson College. He is currently teaching a course on Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Financing at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology where he serves as the University’s first Entrepreneur in Residence.
Pam Martin: Pam is the Executive Director of the Ben Franklin TechCelerator@ Carlisle and the Regional Director for Ben Franklin Technology PArtners South Central Region. Pam has participated as part of the initial startup team for four opportunities, some of which have been very successful. Pam specializes in evaluation of software companies growth issues.
Dean M. Kline: Mr. Kline is a Managing Member of the General Partner, a Member of the Investment Committee, and a Managing Director of the Management Company of Penn Venture Partners, L.P. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Corporate University Xchange, Probity Medical Transcription, Senators Partners (the Harrisburg Senators Baseball Club), and Thermacore. His focus in support of portfolio companies includes finance, internal controls, business development, and follow-on investments. Prior to joining Penn Venture Partners, Mr. Kline was Vice President of a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage technology companies nationwide. He is the former Executive Vice President, responsible for finance and business development, of an international, non-profit health sector organization. Previously, Mr. Kline was Vice President of Planning at a late-stage manufacturing company. He also served as the Assistant to the Executive Director at the World Bank, and was responsible for improvement of loan quality, education and health sector projects, audit and controls, as well as the portfolio for Africa and subsequently Asia. Mr. Kline began his professional career as an International Economist at the Treasury Department, where he worked on financial and economic relations with Asia and the Middle East, including exchange rate negotiations, financial market liberalization, and funding related to the Gulf Crisis. He received his Graduate Diploma and M.Phil. from Cambridge University and his B.A. from Wheaton College.
Attention Certified Providers: This course is approved to provide 2.0 organizational PDUs (Finance) as explained in the Guidelines for Certification of Economic Development Organizations issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and in the Institute’s Policies and Procedures.
*Note: We reserve the right to reschedule or cancel this offering. In the event of a cancellation, a full refund will be provided to registrants.
