THE STARTUP SERIES.

Are you thinking of founding a tech company based upon that big idea, invention, or discovery?

Have you already started a technology-driven company, but would like to make certain you are as prepared as you can be.

The Startup Series is for you.

The Startup Series will provide you with a background in and some experience with “the nuts and bolts” of starting, funding, and managing a scalable company.

Sessions will be interactive, grounded in real world scenarios, and cover topics include incorporation, staging risk, fundraising, intellectual property, and more.

DATES: Mondays, September 14 through October 26
TIME: High Noon until 1:15PM EST
WHERE: 225 E Main Street, on the Downtown Mall
PARKING: FREE, details to follow
COST: FREE, with lunch included
RSVP: Via the Button below

RSVP HERE FOR THE STARTUP SERIES

15 SEP - Anatomy of a Startup

Let's start this Startup Series with a pitch from a founder: Jane Chen and her company's novel solution, Embrace. We will use this discussion of the components of a pitch to surface the key ingredients of a compelling startup.

BACKGROUND MATERIALS

Chen, J. "A Warm Embrace that Saves Lives." (video)
Blank, S. (2013). "What is a Startup?" (video)
Touve, D. "The Startup Pitch."

22 SEP - Starting Up & Staging Risk

What is the different between RISK & UNCERTAINTY? How do founders and investors “tease out” the former while navigating the latter? What are the resulting consequences for ownership and the cap table? The early history of the relationship between Genentech and VC Kleiner Perkins will provide the story supporting our discussion.

BACKGROUND MATERIALS

Carta, "What is a Cap Table? A Founder's Guide."

29 SEP - Show Me the Money - Part 1

Our discussion today centers on the Funding Landscape & Term (Sheets). Who are the different players in the funding landscape and how are they different? What are the types of terms we might see from these investors and what can be the consequences?

BACKGROUND MATERIALS

Carta, "A Founder's Guide to Raising Capital."
Carta, "What is a SAFE?"
Carta, "Term Sheets."
Wilson Sonsini, "Term Sheet Generator."

06 OCT - Show Me the Money - Part 2

Today we will continue our discussion on the funding landscape, with particular focus upon the comonents of later stage term sheets.

BACKGROUND MATERIALS

NVCA, " Model Term Sheet," 2020.
Carta, "Term Sheets."

13 OCT - Intellectual Property Primer

Whose Idea was This, Anyway? Today we will discuss the key differences among Copyrights, Trademarks, and Patents alongside a deeper dive into the underlying issues and processes.

20 OCT - May the Board be With You

What kinds of boards can you form as a young company, and who might be the right fit for these roles? When is the right (and the wrong) time to begin forming a board, and under what terms?

27 OCT - Exit, Stage Right

On this day in 2012, Facebook acquired Instagram for $1,000,000,000. Explain.

What are the different methods and perspectives through which startup companies might be valued? Let's discuss.

Background Materials

Evelyn M. Rusli, "Facebook Buys Instagram for $1 Billiion," The New York Times, 09 April 2012.
Touve, D. "Startup Valuation Methods."