Surviving and Thriving in the Current Climate: VC, Venture Debt and Alternative Strategies

As the recent banking turmoil has created complications in what was already a challenging financing environment, founders are facing critical decisions for the long-term success of their companies. On May 24 , NY Tech Alliance will be presenting a webinar on financing and survival strategies. This webinar will feature a panel of accomplished professionals and founders covering the areas of venture capital, venture debt and startup financing and operations.

Topics to be addressed include the following:
- The current market and opportunities for VC financing
- Availability of venture debt as a supplement or alternative to venture capital
- Recent founder experiences in negotiating and closing financing transactions
- Other financial strategies to be considered in the current climate

Founders and principals of startup companies will find this session to be a valuable source of timely, practical guidance for managing their companies in a rapidly - changing economic environment.

Bring your questions for the panelists, or send them in advance – time has been set aside.

AGENDA:

This is a virtual event being held on Zoom. To register, please scroll to the bottom of this page.

11:30 - 12:00 - Virtual Networking
12:00 - 1:00 - Panel Discussion and Q&A
1:00 - 1:30 - Virtual Networking

HOSTED BY:

Paul Ellis, Managing Partner, Paul Ellis Law Group LLC

As Managing Partner of the 12-lawyer Paul Ellis Law Group, Paul counsels on issues including formation, early-stage financing (friends and family, angel and VC), joint venture and strategic partnering relationships, employment, equity plans, mergers and acquisitions, and, together with his colleagues, protection and licensing of intellectual property. His experience spans multiple industries including software, digital media, e-commerce, healthcare, fintech and blockchain and cryptocurrency. He has represented companies ranging from startups to multinationals, as well as funds, family offices and individual investors. Clients choose Paul to negotiate complex business matters and provide sophisticated, strategic legal advice for establishing, financing, operating and exiting highly successful, and often rapidly-growing, companies.

FEATURING:

Amanda Herson, Partner, Founder Collective

Amanda is a Partner at Founder Collective and based in New York. Amanda invests in Founders across all sectors at the Pre-seed/ Seed stage. Her recent investments span distributed energy, health tech, marketplaces, and B2B SaaS.

She was previously an operator and has spent time building and growing one of the largest omni-channel retailers in South Africa, launching their e-commerce and expanding the footprint to over 300 stores.

Prior to returning to South Africa, Amanda was with the Highland Consumer Fund investing in and growing retail and consumer goods companies. She spent the early part of her career gaining a solid understanding of the US consumer at L Brands in New York, launching new beauty brands and focusing on growth and innovation, and consulting with industry leaders at Boston Consulting Group in New York.

Amanda has a passion for building strong cultures in growing companies, and operational background in building e-commerce companies from the ground-up.

Amanda completed her Undergraduate in Economics at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and received her MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a mom of three and a yoga enthusiast, with a side passion for healthy cooking and living.

Kevin Zeidan

Kevin Zeidan, Managing Director, Trinity Capital

Kevin Zeidan has 25+ years of venture debt experience, and currently serves as a Managing Director on the Origination team at Trinity Capital. Zeidan is based in San Francisco, his native hometown. Zeidan began in the industry with Imperial Bank’s Emerging Growth Division back in the late 90’s and has held leadership roles with Comerica Bank, Silicon Valley Bank and, most recently, Hercules Capital. Zeidan is married with three beautiful children. He spends his free time cheering on the 49ers, golfing and hanging out with friends.

Hillary Bush, Founder & CEO, Pollen

Hillary Bush is the Founder & CEO of Pollen (www.runpollen.com), a professional network for career freelancers taking their businesses to the next level. Prior to starting Pollen, Hillary started the Growth and SEO teams at MasterClass, built communities for small business owners at Kiva, was a Product Lead at Bungalow, and freelanced for organizations like Adobe, Outlier.org, and First Round Capital. She's obsessed with making self employment accessible to all and holds a B.A. From UC Berkeley and MBA from NYU Stern.

Alan Wink, Managing Director - Capital Markets, EisnerAmper

Alan assists clients with capital budgeting, capital structuring and capital sourcing. Alan has 20 years of financial and consulting experience, having served as Director of the Interfunctional Management Consulting Program at Rutgers Graduate School of Management, a program he helped build into one of the largest business school-based management consulting practices in the country. He started his career in accounting, spending six years on the audit staff of a Big 4 accounting firm and a Fortune 500 Company. Alan left the accounting field to expand his horizons in the area of Corporate Finance. Alan spent several years as Director of Financial Analysis for AmBase Corporation (NYSE), where he led approximately $2 billion of corporate acquisition activity. He is also a past Vice President of Capricorn Management, a $100 million private equity fund specializing in restructuring and turnaround opportunities.

In addition, Alan is a leader in the firm’s Technology Group, providing a variety of industry-specific services to technology and life sciences firms, including business and strategic planning, marketing and competitive analyses, financing assistance, and operational and financial benchmarking. He has worked with many early stage and emerging growth companies on developing the appropriate capital structure for their position in the business life cycle. He maintains an active contact base with angel investors, venture capital funds and private equity funds. Alan also understands the level of returns private investors are trying to realize and devises strategies that allow both entrepreneurs and their investors to achieve desired return thresholds.

 

To register for this virtual event being held on Zoom, click here.

  • May 24, 2023 at 11:30am – 1:30pm
  • Online - Zoom
  • Doug Binette