Alternative Funding Strategies

Surviving and Thriving When Venture Money is Not Available

Marc Raibert, ( www.bostondynamics.com )
Marc Raibert has been President of Boston Dynamics since 1992. The company develops dynamic legged robots and advanced human simulation tools for military and government applications. The robotics work has an R&D flavor, sponsored by several government contracts. The human simulator the company builds is the leading product world wide for adding life-like humans to real-time training simulators. Before starting Boston Dynamics, Raibert was Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT from 1986 � 1993. Before that he was Associate Professor of Computer Science and Robotics at Carnegie Mellon. Before joining CMU Raibert was a member of the Technical Staff at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a Visiting Professor at CalTech.

R. Scott Morris ( [email protected] )
Scott is co-founder of Phoenix Innovation who, together with his partner, Dr. Brian Dixon, is currently working on a new type of lithium battery that will offer high specific energy without compromising safety. Phoenix is a four-year old company that is funded primarily through the SBIR program. The firm�s mission is to develop advanced coatings and electrochemical energy storage materials and market these innovations in the private and public sectors. Scott has more than twenty years experience as a �seat of the pants� electrochemist and small business entrepreneur. He holds eight US patents for inventions ranging from photoactive antifouling paints to new polymer electrolytes for lithium batteries. Scott has been a co-founder of four small R&D companies, in all of which he has served as either President or Vice President. He was one of the first recipients of a DESAT award; DESAT was the predecessor of the SBIR program.

Jacob (Jesse) N. Erlich ( [email protected] )
Jacob (Jesse) N. Erlich is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia and a registered patent attorney. A graduate of WPI, Mr. Erlich earned his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Erlich served as Chief Patent Advisor for the United States Air Force. He provides advice on intellectual property matters, licensing and government issues, including providing assistance in obtaining SBIR grants as well as representing clients in government (SBIR) contract matters. Mr. Erlich is also involved with the preparation and prosecution of patent applications (U.S. and foreign). He has contributed to numerous publications in the fields of intellectual property and technology transfer, and has co-authored a number of books in the field. Mr. Erlich serves on the Board of Directors of the National Defense Industrial Association, New England Chapter, is a past President of the Boston Patent Law Association, and has recently been selected by his peers as one of the top 5% of lawyers in Massachusetts.

Robert Weber ( [email protected] )
Robert Weber is a Business Architect and Management Consultant working with start-ups and established companies to realize shareholder value from technology, business models, products, services, and intellectual property. He is a serial entrepreneur, inventor and author who has served as a senior executive in several technology-based companies. Previously Weber was SVP, Business and Technology Strategy, at InterTrust Technologies, where he made substantial contributions to InterTrust�s intellectual property portfolio that was eventually licensed by Microsoft for nearly a half billion dollars. Prior to InterTrust, Weber was a management consultant with NCRI prior to its acquisition by NerveWire where he formed and led the information commerce strategy practice. Weber earned a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Connecticut.