Brian is the author of “What Every Angel Investor Wants You To Know: An Insider Reveals How To Get Smart Funding For Your Billion Dollar Idea” published by McGraw Hill. He continues to guest lecture at Columbia and NYU. He has spoken in dozens of countries helping create and build their angel investor ecosystems.

As a technology media strategist, Brian is considered one of the fathers of science & technology strategic communications, and founded Technology Solutions, Inc. (TSI) with his wife in 1983. Notably, TSI received the Gold CIPRA Award in 1998 for the IBM Deep Blue/Gary Kasparov Chess Match Concept and Communications Program. TSI was recognized as the #1 fastest-growing agency in the United States.

Brian sold the company to The McCann Erickson World Group in 1997. Brian was the publisher the first computing publications including Computer Systems News and InformationWeek Magazine. As a recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award, Brian holds a Masters Degree in Science Communications from Boston University’s School of Public Communications. He has been on numerous Boards, including People For the American Way, The World Frontiers Forum, and BUILD.org.

Note to attendees: We always keep the group small so that everyone has an opportunity to participate.

Events are hosted by Bonnie Halper and Josef Katz. Josef helps early-stage startups with Go-To-Market Strategies, Growth Marketing, and Customer Acquisition.

The post Investor Insights Brian Cohen Founder, New York Venture Partners first appeared on Marketing Maestro.

Early in his career, he co-founded Mediaplex, one of the original online ad serving platforms. The Company went on to a successful IPO, with a valuation in excess of $4.5 Billion. It was later acquired and is now part of the ValueClick family of companies. Other notable exits include Intellicom – acquired by Softnet Systems; Jotter – acquired by Saflink; and SFLK – where he restructured the business and successfully relisted the Company on NASDAQ, where the valuation climbed from roughly $18M to over $425M.

In addition to his work in the areas of finance and operations, Mr. Argenbright has extensive experience in business development, marketing and distribution across many verticals. In commerce, he’s negotiated agreements with Walmart, K-Mart, Target, Price / Costco, Sam’s Club, Walgreen’s, Phar-Mor Drugs, Sav-On, Toys-R-Us, Kay-Bee Toys, and Shop at Home. In tech, he’s forged strategic partnerships with Apple, Microsoft, VISA, Unisys, and Accenture. In entertainment he’s worked with VIACOM, Sony / Tri-Star / Columbia Pictures, Walt Disney Company, and many others.

Glenn has appeared as a guest lecturer at numerous universities and startup events throughout the U.S. In addition, he’s been interviewed for both print and television, including Barron’s, Bloomberg, Business Week, CNBC, CNN, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Fox Business, Fox News, Inc. Magazine, Wired, and many others. His education includes a Law Degree from the University of San Diego, Advanced Studies and Certification on International Trade from Oxford University, Magdalen College, Oxford England, and degrees in Urban Planning and Political Science from the University of California, San Diego.

About Quake Capital: Quake Capital is an early-stage VC that oversees seven funds and 261 portfolio investments. We launched our first fund in 2017 in NYC, and we’ve since opened additional offices in Austin, Los Angeles and Europe (through a partnership with Deutsche Telekom). We strive to remove bias from our process, with a heavy focus on undervalued founders, markets, technologies and geographies. In fact, a 2021 study utilizing published CrunchBase data, found that Quake was the #1 supporter of diverse founders and teams (BetaBoom study of 3,400 global funds and accelerators). In terms of performance, this approach has served us well, placing us in the top 2% of all early-stage investment vehicles worldwide for exits, generating 2X+ returns across all funds, a 42% Internal Rate of Return on our current fund, and an incredible 92% (5-year) survival rate of our startups.

Note to attendees: We always keep the group small so that everyone has an opportunity to participate.

Events are hosted by Bonnie Halper and Josef Katz Josef helps early-stage startups with Go-To-Market Strategies, Growth Marketing, and Customer Acquisition.

The post Investor Insights with Glenn Argenbright Founder Quake Capital first appeared on Marketing Maestro.

Warning to VCs you might not “appreciate” what Joe has to say. He has some strong opinions about why too many Venture Capitalist follow the pack, focus on optics vs fundamentals, and have unsophisticated investing practices. Joe did not disappoint (and never does ) it was 90 minutes of jam-packed, direct-to-the-point conversation.

If you want an invite to future events all you have to do is ask. These events give you access to speak directly with investors and other founders/entrepreneurs in the room.

About our Guest: Joe Milam is the Founder of AngelSpan, Inc., an Investor Relations Service for Startups, and the Legacy Fund’s ‘Venture Turnkey Asset Management Platform or V-TAMP, which is a division of AngelSpan. AngelSpan leverages Joe’s almost 30-year career in financial services to address the last great inefficiency in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Joe is also an instructor at the University of Austin, where he teaches how we properly fund innovation in this country. We’re not covering straight-on investing this time, but rather, how the venture model is changing – and why you need to be informed! • SEC changes to transparency requirements • Changes in the accredited investor rules • QSBS • Changes in the venture model In 1993, Joe founded Legacy Capital Management, Inc., a fee-based RIA following the purchase of G.T. Investment Counsel from the Bank in Liechtenstein. Legacy was headquartered at 3000 Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park. Managing both ‘old money’ and new – with clients from Sequoia Capital, Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati and Silicon Valley Bank, e.g., – gave Joe a unique perspective on both wealth preservation, wealth creation, and institutionally rigorous portfolio management. Having witnessed and participated in the birth of ‘modern’ angel investing, in 2000 Joe founded AngelSpan’s predecessor firm – Angel Legacy – to address the funding inefficiencies for early-stage companies. About AngelSpan: AngelSpan provides best-in-class Investor Relations for early-stage companies. By using AngelSpan, startups receive business execution tracking to reveal the milestones driving the company toward success as well as potential roadblocks. Execution tracking is automatically integrated with our customers’ investor communications to create SMART IR. This structure provides a disciplined roadmap used to assess a startup’s operational execution across key value creation milestones throughout the startup lifecycle.

Note to attendees: We always keep the group small so that everyone has an opportunity to participate.

Events are hosted by Bonnie Halper and Josef Katz Josef helps early-stage startups with Go-To-Market Strategies, Growth Marketing, and Customer Acquisition.

The post Investor Insights Joe Milam, Founder, Angelspan first appeared on Marketing Maestro.

Kyle Asman is the Managing Partner of Backswing Ventures, a private investment fund based in Orlando, Florida. Kyle was a Co-Founder of BX3 Capital, a NYC based Boutique Investment Bank. Kyle also spent time working at Duff & Phelps, and Goldman Sachs. He is passionate about working with and growing early stage companies. He has spoken extensively on outlets such as CNBC, and Cheddar around financial topics. Backswing Ventures just launched its second $15M Seed Stage Fund, investing in companies that have $1M in revenues, and will be profitable in 18 months with investment. Backswing is primarily focused on the defense technology space, however they will consider deals across a number of other industries.

Note to attendees: We always keep the group small so that everyone has an opportunity to participate.

Events are hosted by Bonnie Halper and Josef Katz Josef helps early-stage startups with Go-To-Market Strategies, Growth Marketing, and Customer Acquisition.

The post Investor Insights with Kyle Asman first appeared on Marketing Maestro.

About our Guest: Arsen Pereymer is a successful serial entrepreneur who has built, launched, and managed a multitude of tech companies, particularly in the mobile app space, with a focus on AI and Crypto. Arsen has launched 400+ apps, reaching over 100 million in downloads, with several ranking in the Top 10 on the app store worldwide. Having achieved both profitability and successful exits, Arsen also became a venture capitalist and angel investor. Plus, he has been a long-time mentor at Founder Institute, so he has a deep understanding of entrepreneurship through his personal experience and through having mentored countless other entrepreneurs.

Our thanks to Josef Katz for sponsoring. Your go-to-market plan is one of the most essential aspects of building your business. Working with the right team or staff is critically important. That’s where Josef comes in… As a “Startup Marketing Guy” he helps early-stage companies go from unknown to well-known. It is time to get back to the basics… Ask Josef how he can help your organization utilize some of the best keep marketing secrets to grow your business.

Note to attendees: We always keep the group small so that everyone has an opportunity to participate.

View all Investor Insight event recordings on our YouTube channel.

Related Events

Breakfast with an Investor Arsen Pereymer Investor and Long Time AI Developer

The post Exploring the Boundaries Unveiling the Pros and Perils of Generative AI first appeared on Marketing Maestro.

These are his top 3:

• Founder Fit – is the founder the right person to solve the problem?
• Is this the right team to solve the problem?
• Do they have the mindset to solve the problem? Do they understand their early adopters and do they know the experiments needed to bring the product to market?

Some other characteristics Michael looks for include:

• Not average people
• Founders with a chip on their shoulder/Willing do what is needed to get the job done
• Big motive force/they have a big distance between where they are to where they want to be. (see video)
• Is the problem being addressed a “painkiller” or a “nice to have” solution.
• How does the business create value for the customer and how do they know there is value.
• There was a ton of great info shared for anyone working on or building a startup. As always, too much for this one post. Watch the full recording for the full session and all the questions asked by the audience.

Join us every other week for another discussion with a new investor to hear their point of view on startup investing.

About our Guest Startup Investor:

Michael is the Managing Partner at Outbound Capital. He leverages his prior experience in management consulting to identify business problems and electrical engineering / technical management to help guide their solutions. He leads the identification, analysis and ongoing support of Outbound Capital’s portfolio of B2B startup companies. He invests in startups with strong founding teams solving large, complicated and important business and societal problems.

Prior to Outbound Capital, Michael was a partner at Trend Discovery, a hedge / VC fund. Trained as an engineer and analytical problem solver, Michael previously led management consulting engagements for global Fortune 100 clients. Prior to consulting, Michael was an electrical engineer and product manager at the United States Department of Defense, where he managed multimillion-dollar product development efforts.

Michael earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Bucknell University, and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

Outbound Capital Fund II: Outbound Capital is an emerging VC firm pioneering a superior model for investing in early-stage B2B software companies. We are raising a $20M+ Fund II that will invest in 30+ startups globally. We will use our exclusive product-market fit (PMF) data to double down on our winners.

The post What do early-stage investors look for in a company? first appeared on Marketing Maestro.

About our Guest Investor:

Hayden joined BrandProject as a Partner in February 2019 and is based in the firm’s New York office. BrandProject is an early-stage venture capital fund that leads pre-seed and seed-stage rounds in consumer companies. BrandProject invests in digitally-enabled retail and virtual services, consumer platforms & marketplaces, and consumer products. Prior to BrandProject, he was a Principal at BBG (Built By Girls), a stage venture capital fund focused on consumer internet and mobile startups with at least one female founder. His background is in investment banking and FYI, he began his career in the startup world as a founder himself, so he knows exactly what entrepreneurs go through on a daily basis. Note to attendees: We always keep the group small so that everyone has an opportunity to participate.

Events are hosted by Bonnie Halper and Josef Katz Josef helps early-stage startups with GTM Strategies, Growth Marketing, and Customer Acquisition you can learn more here https://josefkatz.com/

View all Investor Insight event recordings on our YouTube channel.

The post Investor Insights Hayden Williams Partner BrandProject first appeared on Marketing Maestro.

With his experience and knowledge, we were all quickly drinking out of a firehose as he shared a ton of great information about Angel Investing and Venture Capital. He covered the processes many startups use to get funding along with the pros and cons of different paths.

His presentation clearly explained the difference between different types of early-stage funding and the experience (and the expectations) #startups will have while working with each investor group including:

-Friends and Family
-Angels (along with the difference between Individual, Professional, and Angel networks)
-Venture Capital

-We discussed why many companies fail due to VCs pushing the company to spend too quickly. This might be counter-intuitive to some but listen to the full recording to hear the discussion.

-The importance of exit plans.

-How to value your company at different stages of growth and fundraising (and if the valuation has any meaning at some stages.)

3 reasons early-stage companies fail:
1) Not having the right team (including investors and partners)
2) Not having an MVP 
3) Following false positives (early adopters of products are not always aligned with the larger market)

3 reasons later-stage companies fail:
1) Lack of talent
2) Moving too fast to expand and not getting the market right
3) Failed moonshots

There was a ton of great info shared for anyone working on or building a startup. Too much for this one post.

Join us every other week for another discussion with a new investor to hear their point of view on startup investing.

About our Guest Investor: Jason E. Klein is an experienced media CEO and builder of digital and traditional businesses who has led two successful turnarounds. He is the founder and CEO of On Grid Ventures with a portfolio of 25+ early-stage companies. Mr Klein is co-President of the HBS Alumni Angels Association with 18 chapters across four continents, and Chairman of the largest chapter, HBS Alumni Angels of Greater New York. Mr. Klein was previously CEO of Newspaper National Network LP; and CEO of Times Mirror Magazines/Time4 Media, publisher of Golf Magazine, Field & Stream, and Popular Science. He began his career as a consultant with McKinsey. He is one of AlleyWatch’s “25 Angels Investors in NY You Need to Know” and a member of New York Angels. Mr. Klein has an MBA from Harvard Business School and an AB from Dartmouth College.

Note to attendees: We always keep the group small so that everyone has an opportunity to participate.

View all Investor Insight event recordings on our YouTube channel.

The post What Venture Capital Firms Don’t Want You to Know About Their Revenue first appeared on Marketing Maestro.

About our Guest Investor: Cris Haskell is a seasoned operator with 24+ years of executive experience in Enterprise, SME and most recently startups. He’s a rare breed generalist who has lived and breathed Tech and Product business models. He’s recently become an Angel investor and also is part of investment group as well as a LP in a few VC’s focused on early-stage companies. His investment focus is primarily in Consumer Packaged Goods however he has invested in other sectors such as FinTech, BioTech, Gaming and SportsTech. He is currently in stealth mode building a lead-generation marketplace where individuals can monetize their networks for cash and/or equity.

Note to attendees: We always keep the group small so that everyone has an opportunity to participate.

View all Investor Insight event recordings on our YouTube channel.

The post Investor Insights Cris Haskell Angel Investor and Successful Serial Founder first appeared on Marketing Maestro.

Paul Tyler and Laura Dinan Haber knocked it out of the park and pulled together over 43 panelists/speakers for this one-day event.

Here is just a snapshot of the content covered:
– State of Innovation in Insurance and the Mind of the Retiree
– The State of the Annuity Industry
– Building The Next Generation Retirement Company
– Delivering Retirement Solutions Through Advisors In A Digital Age
– Disrupting the Annuity Back-Office
– The Future of Digital Retirement Advice – Predictions & Pitches
– The Future of Retiretech Investing – Where Will the Money Go?

Given all the current events including rising interest rates, svb, ai (and by extension chatgpt) there was no shortage of engaging conversation about the future of retiretech/fintech/insurtech products and services.

Every session throughout the day was packed with useful insights and practical advice. However, the highlights for me were the startup pitches, the VC panel, the delivering retirement solutions session and hanging out with my PrimeLife podcast cohosts.

One soundbite idea that stood out for me (since it is marketing related) was the description of 3 types of insurance/financial services customers:

1 – Do it for me (advisors)
2 – Do it with me (ie turbotax)
3 – Do it myself (enough said…)

Overall it was great seeing old friends and making some new ones. Already looking forward to RetireTech 3.0

Want help putting together an event to market your business, product, or services? Let’s discuss your event marketing ideas.

The post RetireTech A Great Example of Event Marketing first appeared on Marketing Maestro.