Bootstrapping 101: Alternative Ways to fund a Startup without an Angel or VC

Surveys indicate that for the year ended, 2011, of the 543,000 new business created in the U.S., only 29,626 (that is, only 5%) received VC or angel investor funding at the seed or early stage startup phase. And for many companies lack of VC or angel investment did not impede growth. In August 2012, Inc. Magazine published its list of the 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the U.S., and 77% of the founders of those companies set up using only their own personal savings, with two thirds needing less than $100,000 to get started. And while 34% stated that access to external capital has been essential for growth, 42% have not utilized external funding in developing their business. 74% have financed their growth over the past three years largely through cash flow from operations. Apple, Google and HP all began in garages with free rent. So, how do you do it? In a word – Bootstrapping. That is - using your own resources and effectively managing your cash flow to internally generate the funds that you need to operate your startup business.

Our speakers include an attorney who will show you how to leverage funding from the SBIR program and two experienced CEOs who have also built their business by bootstrapping without VC or angel investment until they achieved important milestones and were well on their away, and one case which leveraged a strategic partnership all the way through to the successful acquisition exit.

Panel

Nick Dougherty is the CEO and co-founder of Verbal Applications Inc., www.verbalapp.com. He has a B.S. in computer engineering from Boston University, where he and his team won the Entrepreneurial Award and a Societal Engineering Award for their work on what would eventually become the Verbal Care patient-caregiver communication platform. He is Massachusetts born and raised. When he is not working at Verbal he volunteers his time at the charity he co-founded, Project Mailbox, plays hockey, and plays guitar.

Jesse Erlich is a Partner at Burns & Levinson, LLP, in Boston. Prior to joining Burns & Levinson in 2006, Mr. Erlich was a Partner with Perkins Smith & Cohen, LLP. He had previously served as Chief Patent Advisor for the U.S. Air Force. Mr. Erlich represents a wide array of clients such as universities and small and large technology companies in diverse technological fields. He provides advice on patents and other forms of intellectual property, licensing, and government-related matters such as government contracts, SBIRs, STTRs, intellectual property, licensing and technology transfer. He is also involved with the preparation and prosecution of patent applications (U.S. and foreign).

Mr. Erlich is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, and before the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a registered patent attorney with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and the Canadian Patent Office and is a Certified Licensing Professional (CLP). He serves on the Board of Directors of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), New England Chapter, has served on the Advisory Council of the National Institute of Justice, a research agency of the U.S. Justice Department. He is a member and past president of the Boston Patent Law Association, the Licensing Executives Society, and the American Intellectual Property Law Association. Mr. Erlich was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® (2011-2013) in the field of patent law. He has also been selected as one of America’s top patent prosecutors. A graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Mr. Erlich earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Foster Hinshaw, CEO and Founder, Dataupia, www.dataupia.com Often referred to as the Father of Data Warehouse Appliances, Foster brings a wealth of creative, technical, and operational expertise in both hardware and software to Dataupia. He is accomplished in designing and developing large, complex systems for both enterprise and departmental applications. Prior to Dataupia, Foster founded Netezza, a market leader in enterprise-class business intelligent appliances that successfully introduced a new category of data warehouse appliance to the market. Netezza was acquired by IBM for a reported $1.7 billion. Prior to Netezza, Foster consulted to marquee clients on large data systems and eCommerce applications. His career also includes Y2K Practice Manager at Keane, Inc., Chief Financial Officer and Director of Information Systems at VideoGuide (now part of TV Guide), and strategic positions at a number of high tech and marketing consulting firms.

Always up for the challenge of proving a technology's potential, Foster was on the team that won the world's longest electric car race with a converted 1970 Hornet, one of two vehicles that crossed the finish line. Foster has a B.S. and Masters in Engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Moderator:

Robert Weber is a successful intellectual property professional, inventor, serial entrepreneur, management consultant, and senior executive. Presently, he is Managing Director, Patent Kinetics, LLC, a company that helps clients build and monetize valuable patent portfolios. He is an inventor with more than 26 issued US patents. He helps companies develop and monetize high value patents. More information at

www.linkedin.com/in/bobweberbos/ and http://www.patentkinetics.com



Organizer:

Michael S. Chester, President, International Manufacturing Consultants, http://www.imcglobaladvisors.com Mike has founded and built companies, set up manufacturing operations, formed strategic partnerships, set up global joint ventures, raised over $40M for startups which he co-founded, both in the US and China, and commercialized technologies. Mike advises startups in high tech, clean tech, software, and manufacturing. The Chinese government has invested in Mike’s companies. One of his startups provided mobile banking services in China and was acquired by a European company. BioHermes, a biotech which he cofounded in China, was sold in 2010. Tonbu which developed web-based collaborative environments for the electronics industry grew to 142 employees. Mike spent 16 years with IBM designing robots and automation, marketing and selling IBM products to manufacturing companies, setting up global operations and supply chains, and founding an IBM consulting organization for manufacturing clients that he grew into a $20M business. Mike also lived in China from 1986-1987 while consulting to companies owned by the Machine Building Ministry and taught graduate courses at Hunan University. Mike earned his BS in Electrical Engineering and MS in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University and his MBA from Union College. He is past Chair of the IEEE Boston Entrepreneurs’ Network, has served on the board of APICS Boston, and was a member of the planning committee of the MIT Enterprise Forum for over 10 years. Mike is a frequent speaker at conferences on Global Entrepreneurship, Supply Chains, Manufacturing, and China business.