To JOIN the event, please use this Airmeet link: https://www.airmeet.com/e/6b6e2260-cc07-11ec-bbf7-9d321ad58be4

ABOUT THIS EVENT: 

With tech stocks down and the market for VC financing becoming less founder-friendly than it was just a few months ago, many startups are reassessing their current operations and financing plans. In light of this, NY Tech Alliance will be presenting our 2022 update on the VC financing market for early-stage companies.  This event will feature a panel of accomplished VC professionals, including prominent VCs along with Paul Ellis, Managing Partner at Paul Ellis Law Group and Alan Wink, Managing Director – Capital Markets at Eisner Advisory Group, both of whom advise on VC transactions. Topics to be addressed include the following:

• The impact of current economic trends on the VC financing market for early-stage companies and expectations looking forward
• Trends in valuation and other significant deal terms
• Strategies for founders who are attempting to lock in a round of early-stage funding
• Guidance that VCs are giving their portfolio companies to survive this period and thrive going forward

Whether you are currently pitching to VCs or are looking to do so in the future, this session will be a valuable opportunity to hear from this seasoned panel about the latest trends in a rapidly-evolving marketplace.

This event will allow ample time for questions, so be prepared with questions for the panelists or send them in advance to [email protected]. 

AGENDA:

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

HOST:

Paul Ellis, Managing Partner, Paul Ellis Law Group LLC

As Managing Partner of the 10-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. Beyond the internet/mobile/IT industries, he has practiced in industries including telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing, banking, real estate, consumer products, and entertainment. He has represented companies ranging from startups to multinationals, as well as funds and individual and institutional investors.

PANELISTS: 

Amanda Herson, Principal, Founder Collective 

Amanda is a Principal at Founder Collective in New York. She has a passion for mission-driven companies with strong cultures, and an unfair advantage, investing across all sectors at the seed stage. Amanda is an experienced builder and operator, growing e-commerce companies from the ground up. She launched e-commerce for one of the largest omni-channel retailers in South Africa, while expanding the footprint to over 300 stores.

Previously, Amanda was with the Highland Consumer Fund investing in and growing retail and consumer goods companies. She has been fascinated by consumers and decision-making from her early years, and was at L Brands in New York, launching beauty brands and focusing on innovation. She began her career at Boston Consulting Group in New York. She 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, a recent pet parent, with a passion for healthy cooking and living.

Travis Milks, Managing Partner, Topmark Partners

Travis Milks is responsible for the overall operations of Topmark Partners, including sourcing, underwriting, and executing the firm’s growth equity investments. He is based in Topmark Partners’ Tampa, Florida headquarters.

Travis began his career in 1999 when he served as the first undergraduate intern in Stonehenge’s Tampa office. Prior to rejoining Stonehenge in 2004 as a senior associate, Travis was an associate in the Investment Banking Group at Morgan Keegan & Company. While at Morgan Keegan, he assisted clients from various segments of the technology marketplace including enterprise software, specialty semiconductors, and security technologies. He has participated in several private and public equity offerings as well as mergers and acquisitions, and was instrumental in executing the firm’s investments in RedVector. He also worked as a summer business development manager in the Online Services Division of Microsoft Corporation. 

Travis earned a B.S. in Finance, with honors, from the University of Tampa and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Gabby Munoz, Managing Director, Hearst Ventures

Prior to joining the Ventures group, Munoz spent six years at Hearst working in various investment and strategy roles, including senior vice president of strategy and operations for Hearst Newspapers and vice president of special projects for Hearst’s corporate finance group. In these roles, Munoz worked across Hearst’s 360+ brands and businesses to identify, assess and pursue various growth opportunities, including acquisitions, investments, partnerships and product development initiatives.

Previously, Munoz led the customer insights division at Rent the Runway, and, before that, she was an associate at the global growth equity firm General Atlantic, where she focused on building and managing the firm’s portfolio of consumer, media and technology assets.

Munoz began her career as an investment banking analyst in the Media & Telecommunications Group at Merrill Lynch after receiving a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University.

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.