11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
DH12: Session B:
Investment and Venture Capital in Broadband: From Incubator of Ideas & Talent to Financier of Operations
The investment and venture capital community in the high technology field has added an interesting strategic dimension to its operations over the past few years. Much of the industry has evolved from the old strictly hands-off analytical approach of investing to one of extensive strategic involvement in the sustained development of the operation, supplying it with both talent and ideas and providing it with strategic relationships with the firm’s other clients. With the technology sector overflowing with start-up to IPO success stories, this approach is something like Major League owners maintaining a minor league infrastructure, with managers, trainers and spring training facilities. In this workshop we will hear first hand from a number of investment, start-up and legal experts to better understand the breadth of the incubator approach and how it works in practice.
Ravin Agrawal, Partner, EastWest VentureGroup
Steve Ledger, Managing General Partner, eCompanies Venture Group
Mariana Danilovic, CEO, Digital Media X
Allen Z. Sussman, Of Counsel, Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison
Ralph E. Faison, Vice President, New Ventures Group, Lucent Technologies
Joey Tamer, President, S.O.S. Inc., Moderator
Michael Roberts is Executive Vice President of <kpe>. He oversees all aspects of <kpe>’s Los Angeles operations including the financing, development, production and launch of interactive entertainment and media businesses. He reports directly to <kpe>’s CEO, Mark Patricof. Most recently, Roberts worked as a Senior Vice President of Walt Disney Pictures. During his ten years of overseeing production of feature films for the studio, Roberts was involved in all aspects of filmmaking from conception to release. Prior to his tenure at Disney, Roberts spent two years as a Vice President of Weintraub Entertainment Group and three years as a Creative Executive at Paramount Pictures. Amongst the films Roberts has worked on are "Top Gun," "Children of a Lesser God," "Beverly Hills Cop II," "Three Men and a Little Lady," "Simon Birch," and "Mighty Joe Young." He received his Masters of Business Administration from Stanford Graduate School of Business and his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College. He is an Appointed Director of the Harvard Alumni Association, a Co-Founder of the Entertainment Industry Foundation Task Force and a volunteer fundraiser for the Los Angeles 2012 Olympic Bid Committee. Roberts brings a unique combination of creative expertise, production experience and business training to the <kpe> roster. The depth of his relationships across multiple industries enhances <kpe>’s position as the premiere entertainment-oriented Internet incubator in the country.
Mariana Danilovic: Ms. Danilovic is the CEO & President of Digital Media X, whic
h she founded in February of 2000. Digital Media Incubator LLC provides seed financing and incubation to digital media and convergence companies. Prior to founding DMX LLC, Ms. Danilovic founded and managed the Digital Media Business Incubator at KPMG LLP. This practice developed numerous "cutting-edge" clients, including Digital Entertainment Network, Internet Wire, Tonos.com, Beyond Music, mySMART.com, Internet Wire, Popular Arts, WalkThisWay.com, FirstLook.com, Bridge Entertainment, Thirsty.com, and QST.com. The practice successfully assisted the sale of the Well to the Salon. Prior to joining KPMG, Ms. Danilovic headed business development for Mandalay Entertainment. She was also in business development at Sony Pictures Entertainment and at Twentieth Century Fox International Television Group. Prior to attending business school, she worked in Product Management and Mergers & Acquisitions for Transamerica and Sun America. Ms. Danilovic earned a Master in Business Administration degree from Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from University of California at San Diego. She serves on the Board of Directors of VIC, the Board of Directors of the Zone Club, the Board of Directors of California Culture Net, the Industry-University Council of University of California’s Digital Media Innovation Program, and as a member of the Los Angeles Mayor Riordan’s Digital Coast Roundtable.Ravin Agrawal, Partner, EastWest VentureGroup: Prior to joining EastWest VentureG
roup, Mr. Agrawal was a New York -based business consultant for McKinsey & Company, the global management consulting firm. At McKinsey, Mr. Agrawal was deeply involved in the evolution of Internet commerce by helping major global banks respond to the opportunities presented by start-ups with new business models and technologies. He also managed several programs to improve the operations of media and entertainment companies, and international business development efforts for technology clients. Previously, Mr. Agrawal had founded and served as chief executive of SouthAsia.com, a pioneering web design firm in Bangalore, India, and had been a noted nationwide speaker on the commercial possibilities of the Internet for South Asian companies. While earning his MBA, he was selected by the Walt Disney Company as the first student Producer in its new electronic entertainment unit, Disney Interactive. There, he designed original video-game, PC, and online product concepts. Mr. Agrawal received a BA in Economics from Harvard College, where he served as the Producer of the Hasty Pudding show and as an editor of the Harvard Lampoon, and he received his MBA from Harvard Business School.Steve Ledger, Managing General Partner, eCompanies Venture Group: Steve is the managing general partner of eCompanies Venture Group. He is the co-founder and the managing partner of Storie Partners, L.P., a $160MM fund he formed to invest in domestic emerging growth companies. Storie Partners was the initial institutional venture investor in Earthlink, Software Technologies Corporation and a number of other internet related entities. From September 1989 to September 1993, Steve served as vice president, senior investment officer and portfolio manager at Kayne Anderson Investment Management, a Los Angeles-based investment advisor to private partnerships invested in private and public equities and subordinated debt instruments. From May 1983 to August 1989, he worked as an analyst and portfolio manager at Fidelity Management and Research, the Boston-based investment advisor to the Fidelity Investments family of mutual funds. Steve has a B.A. in economics from the University of Connecticut.
Allen Z. Sussman is an attorney with the law firm of Brobeck, Phleger & Harri
Joanna Tamer, President, S.O.S. Inc.: Joey Tamer helps companies craft their vision
Ralph E. Faison, New Ventures Group, Vice President, Lucent Technologies: Ralph Faison is a New Ventures Group Vice President at Lucent Technologies focusing on multimedia and wireless ventures. Mr. Faison joined the New Ventures Group in 1997, after having successfully launched Lucent's award-winning brand advertising campaign as Advertising and Brand Management Vice President. He has held numerous positions in sales, marketing, product management and development, and manufacturing for AT&T. Mr. Faison successfully led the AT&T Cordless business unit's global operations and was Manufacturing Vice President for AT&T's Consumer Products business unit. Mr. Faison is a member of the board of directors for several Lucent ventures: WatchMark Corp., face2face animation, and Flarion Technologies. He also serves on the boards of directors for the New Jersey Technology Council and Junior Achievement International. He is the chairman of the New Jersey Technology Council's Consumer Electronics e-Commerce Track. Mr. Faison holds a Bachelor's degree in marketing from Georgia State University in Georgia and a Masters degree in business administration from Stanford University in California. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and three children.