Click on the Video Below and Sample a Session from a previous Digital Hollywood event. For Additional Video Sessions, Click Here Digital Hollywood, October 17-20, 2011 Ritz Carlton Hotel, Marina del Rey, California Tuesday, October 18th The SuperSessions Special Workshop I, Screening Tent I, Poolside 10:45 AM - Noon - DHFi-5 Investment, Funding Strategies and Deal Flow A Primer for Content and Technology Companies I. Understanding Funding and Strategy Phil Palazzo, Founder and President, PALAZZO Advisory | Acquisition Greg Akselrud, Partner, Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP Richard Hull, Producer & Financier Derek L. Norton, Managing Partner, Watertower Group Art Chang, founder and CEO, Tipping Point Partners Joey Tamer, President, S.O.S. Inc., Moderator Phil Palazzo, Founder and President, PALAZZO Advisory | Acquisition: Phil Palazzo founded PALAZZO Advisory | Acquisition in 2009 with the desire to create an M&A firm focused on the strategic deal making and operational advisory services needed by management of today’s marketing services agencies. To date, Phil has acted as advisor on some of the industry’s high-profile transactions and also designed long-term growth strategies for clients looking to improve their firms’ operations and build their enterprise value. Phil brings nearly 30 years of experience in advertising, marketing and investment banking to his New York City based firm, including: Partner and Managing Director of an M&A advisory firm focused on the marketing services industry. CEO of MC2, an event-marketing firm for corporate events, meetings, exhibits and environments. President of Ammirati Puris Lintas, where he oversaw $600 million in revenue as a member of the worldwide board. General Manager, CFO and Partner of the renowned and highly respected Ammirati & Puris advertising agency. Phil led the highly successful sale of the agency to IPG delivering a remarkable 25:1 return on equity to shareholders. His experience within the banking and marketing worlds as a former owner and seller offers an unparalleled advantage to clients in digital advertising, public relations, media buying, and other marketing services sectors seeking M&A and financial counsel. Phil is often quoted in the press, and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, where he is a recognized expert in developing practical strategies for creating and driving shareholder value, and in helping owners formulate succession and exit strategies. Greg Akselrud, Partner, Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP: He chair’s the Firm’s Internet, New Media and Entertainment practice group. Greg advises a wide range of public and private clients across a number of industries, including companies in the entertainment, Internet, technology, and apparel industries. Greg’s practice involves providing advice in connection with general corporate matters (including company formation, stock incentive plans, executive employment agreements, and various commercial and business contracts), venture capital and angel financings, mergers and acquisitions (including public reverse mergers), private equity and debt securities offerings, public offerings, federal and state securities law reporting requirements, intellectual property strategic counseling, Internet and e-commerce matters, and entertainment, content and digital media transactional matters. Greg is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, teaching Business Planning I: Financing the Start-Up Business and Venture Capital Financing. Greg is the author of Hit Man: The Fourth Circuit’s Mistake in Rice v. Paladin Enters., Inc., 19 Loy. L.A. Ent. L.J. 375 (1999). Richard Hull, Producer & Financier: Richard Hull is a proven leader of private equity backed media and entertainment companies; a successful operator, financier and dealmaker with particular expertise in growth and turnaround situations; and a seasoned steward of investor capital. He occupies a rare position at the heart of traditional media and entertainment, digital distribution and finance. Most recently, Hull was recruited by Ignition Partners, a venture capital firm comprised of early Microsoft employees with almost $2 billion under management, and charged with salvaging and rebuilding the asset value of Blowtorch Media & Entertainment. The company had previously raised $50m for the distribution of content to young-adult audiences, including feature films, advertiser-financed digital content and online media applications. As an early pioneer in Hollywood’s charge towards online and mobile content, Hull previously advised major media companies such as Warner Bros., the Walt Disney Company and MTV Networks, as well as major private equity and venture capital groups, on digital entertainment strategy, distribution and finance. A former award-winning film and television producer/financier constantly on the leading edge of market trends, Hull quickly proved himself as one the most prolific in the business with collaborations that include virtually every major studio, network and media company. His 20+ projects, primarily geared toward teen and young-adult audiences, have collectively grossed hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide and include one of the most successful teen movies in history, SHE’S ALL THAT. Hull co-authored the upcoming book Dancing With Digital Natives: Staying in Step With the Generation That's Transforming the Way Business Is Done (Cyberage Books, December 2010) which blazes the trail for how brands can better utilize digital entertainment distribution. To kick off the launch of the book, he recently delivered the keynote speech for the Buying and Selling eContent Conference. Hull recently led the recapitalization, and joined the Board of Directors, of Manana Media, one of the largest DVD and digital content distribution companies for U.S.-based Latino audiences. Derek L. Norton, Managing Partner, WATERTOWER GROUP: Derek Norton is an accomplished entrepreneur and venture capitalist with over 19 years of business building and executive management experience in the technology, internet and media industries. Derek is the founder and Managing Partner of Watertower Group, an industry leading boutique investment bank, and the Managing General Partner of the Watertower Early Opportunity Fund, a seed and early stage venture capital fund. Prior to founding Watertower Group Derek was with Entertainment Media Ventures, a Michael Milken backed seed and early stage venture capital fund located in Los Angeles, California. Derek spent the first half of his career as an operating executive founding and building two prominent southern California based technology companies. Derek was previously an investment professional at Entertainment Media Ventures, a $120 million dollar seed and early stage venture capital fund focused on investments in broadband infrastructure, consumer internet and digital media sectors. Having lead investments in Kassena, Matchcraft and Relegence amongst others, Derek helped guide and support EMV portfolio companies with their growth, strategic initiatives and capitalization strategies. Prior to Entertainment Media Ventures, Derek spent the first ten years of his career as a technology entrepreneur. Having founded both Jeffries Technologies and Digital Boardwalk, where he developed a diversified background in technology, media, business building and executive management. From 1991 until 1998, Derek helped build Jeffries into one of Inc. Magazine’s 500 fastest growing privately held U.S. companies providing network enterprise architecture and systems integration to Global 2000 businesses. In 1995, he founded Digital Boardwalk, a provider of web based service solutions to traditional businesses and new media business ventures. As Netscape’s second commercial partner, Digital Boardwalk was a pioneer in the provisioning of internet technologies, e-commerce development, and marketing solutions to a wide range of companies and industries. Clients included CBS SporstLine, eToys, Office Max, Hughes Global Services, News Corp, and Hewlett Packard. Derek holds a BA in Communications from the University of Southern California. He serves on several corporate boards, and is the founder of Connex. He supports charities focused on improving the lives and education of under privileged youths. He is a past member of the board of directors of The Fulfillment Fund, a Los Angeles based organization providing educational mentoring and support, and was previously Vice President of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, Contemporaries. Art Chang, founder and CEO, Tipping Point: It's hard to believe that I've spent 25 years with emerging growth companies, especially the past 10 years in the New York City venture capital community. I founded Tipping Point Partners in 2005 to bring my experience as an entrepreneur and investor to helping other entrepreneurs find and realize their next big idea. We especially like companies that have figured out that data captures and empowers the connection between people and the stuff they are passionate about. Tipping Point Partners works for startup companies and new divisions of established companies, generally as hands-on management and board members and occasionally as investor. In 2008, I helped start Cookstr.com, where I serve in the lead finance and operations role, in addition to my responsibilities at the Tipping Point companies. I worked on about $1.5 billion in private investment and M&A transactions, including enterprise software, grid computing, interactive television, power generation, biotech, real estate private equity, and legal services. I admit to being addict to the speed/punishment of the startup life, I was a founder or manager in eight start-ups, including e-commerce, television, online music and real estate and spent six years in government. I started my career in architecture, ending with the architect I.M. Pei. One of my favorite jobs was waiting tables in college. I volunteer as an advisor to the Catherine B. Reynolds Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurship at New York University, served on the Board and Executive Committee of the Brooklyn Public Library Foundation and spent 8 years on the Board of Safe Horizon. I also interview undergraduate applicants to Yale University. I received my MBA from New York University and my BA from Yale in women's studies with an art history concentration. I'm a licensed securities broker, securities principal and financial operations principal. I live in Brooklyn with my wife, Allison Thrush, a private equity professional, and my two fun-loving boys. I was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Joey Tamer, President, S.O.S. Inc: is a widely-acclaimed strategic consultant to technology and media CEOs, U.S. and worldwide. Her work helps create wealth for founders and investors of entrepreneurial ventures, and a high return on investment for Fortune 500 in-house ventures. Her capital strategies drive up her clients' valuations and profitability. She has a special expertise in working with emerging and disruptive technologies. She consults to Fortune 500 companies, capitalized start-ups, and investment funds, often serving as a "shadow CEO" to extend her clients' bandwidth. She advises product and service companies and consultants. Her work optimizes her clients' growth, dealflow and profitability. Her clients have included J.P. Morgan Capital, Sony, IBM, Apple, Hearst, Blockbuster, Technicolor, Harper Collins, Discovery Channel, Time-Warner, Agfa and Scitex, and many early stage ventures such as Earthweb and iSuppli. Her clients say she is "a brilliant strategist and a practical, down-to-earth, get-it-done person," "invaluable in understanding the competitive landscape and alternative strategies" and that she "cuts right through the noise, giving a clear vision of the future," "protecting us from liability and cutting our costs." She has consulted since the early days of the PC through to her Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 clients of today. Her clients have been in the business, enterprise and consumer sectors, with companies in technology, hardware and software, media and entertainment, publishing and advertising, distribution, and investment and venture funding. She has worked in the U.S., Europe and China. A strategist, policymaker, dealmaker, and negotiator, her work includes strategies on entry, exit, capitalization, return on investment, growth, positioning, pricing, distribution, risk-assessment, new market and international expansion, due diligence, and intellectual property.