Empowering your company’s human capital

SVOD15 is proud to announce amazing speakers – Jim Barnett, serial CEO, Founder, Investor and Jeff Crowe, Managing Partner, Norwest Venture Partners.

Jim Barnett, serial CEO, Founder, Investor.

Jim is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Glint Inc. He is an accomplished executive and entrepreneur, having run several successful companies. He is also chairman and co-founder of Turn Inc., where he was CEO for many years, and chairman of Sojern Inc. Prior to Turn, Jim served as president of Overture Search, a division of Overture Services, Inc. Jim joined Overture via its acquisition of AltaVista Company, where he was President and CEO.  Prior to this role, Jim was president of Ancestry.com (previously named MyFamily.com) and chairman, president and CEO of Accolade Inc. Prior to that Jim was chief operating officer of an “Inc. 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies.”

Jim has served on the boards of many private and public companies including SideStep, Inc. and Extole Inc. where he was chairman and Petco where he was also an early investor. Jim earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and J.D. from Stanford Law School.

Glint is a real-time employee engagement platform. Glint helps you see into your organization in revolutionary ways, giving you power to create real impact on employee engagement, retention and performance.

Glint is a real-time employee engagement platform that has raised $15.5 million in funding. Norwest Venture Partners and Shasta Ventures led this round of funding.

Jeff Crowe, Managing Partner, Norwest Venture Partners, has more than 20 years of CEO and executive experience in technology companies.   He joined Norwest in 2004 and became managing partner in 2013. Jeff focuses on investments in the internet, consumer, and software arenas. 2015 marked his second consecutive appearance on the Forbes Midas List of tech’s top investors, and he was one of the earliest investors in Lending Club– the largest U.S. Internet IPO of 2014.  Jeff currently serves on the boards of Lending Club (NYSE: LC) and RetailMeNot (NASDAQ: SALE) and private companies Badgeville, Extole, Glint, HoneyBook, Madison Reed, Owler, and Turn. He is a board observer at Minted and is responsible for Norwest’s investments in Jet, Spotify, and Uber. Jeff’s past investments include AdChina (acquired by Alibaba), Admeld (acquired by Google), deCarta (acquired by Uber), Jigsaw (acquired by Salesforce.com), Nano-Tex (acquired by Crypton, Inc.), The Echo Nest (acquired by Spotify), true[X] media (acquired by 21st Century Fox), Tuvox (acquired by West Interactive), and he was previously a board observer at Cast Iron Systems (acquired by IBM).

Prior to Norwest, Jeff served as President, COO and board member of DoveBid, Inc., a privately held business auction firm, which expanded during his tenure via internal growth and acquisition from a $10M revenue run rate to a $120M revenue run rate with 400 employees.

From 1990 to 1999, Jeff was co-founder, President, CEO and Board member of Edify Corporation, a venture backed enterprise software company focused on voice and internet e-commerce platforms and applications. Jeff was responsible for all strategic and operational activities at Edify as the company went from start-up in 1990 to $80M in revenue and 400 employees. Edify held its IPO in 1996 and was sold to S1 Corporation in 1999.

Want more? Join us June 10-11 for our annual Silicon Valley Open Doors Investment Conference – #SVOD15, where the most senior leaders and best minds meet to discuss the latest growth strategies.

REGISTER HERE: http://svod2015.eventbrite.com

What is in common between SVOD and Tesla Motors?

We live in the times when Energy, one of the largest industries in the world, is experiencing an innovation renaissance. After a century of lagging behind the innovation that defines Silicon Valley: generation, efficiency, storage, transportation, and so many other sectors are undergoing a 21st century metamorphosis. Ira Ehrenpreis, a long-time venture capitalist focused on the sector and a visionary, will discuss the state of the energy innovation industry at SVOD – Silicon Valley Open Doors Conference (June 10-11, 2015).

Ira leads the firm’s Cleantech practice, investing in energy technology, water technology, and advanced materials. In 2007 Ira was named one of the “Top 50 Most Influential Men Under 45” and in 2014 was inducted into the International Green Industry Hall of Fame.

In the venture community, Ira has served on the Board and Executive Committee of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), was Chairman of the 2010 NVCA Annual Meeting, and has served on the Board of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists (WAVC). Ira also serves as the Co-Chairman of the VCNetwork, the largest and most active California venture capital organization.

In the energy sector, Ira is the founder and Chairman of one of the most prominent annual industry events, the World Energy Innovation Forum (WEIF), which convenes the who’s-who in the industry to discuss the important issues and opportunities of our time. In addition, Ira has served on several industry Boards, including the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advisory Committee (ERAC), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Advisory Council, the Clean-Tech Investor Summit.

Ira is an active leader at Stanford University, where he has served on the Board of Visitors of Stanford Law School and has been an advisory board member of the Stanford Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP). Ira has also been a guest lecturer, including teaching the course on Venture Capital.

Ira received his JD/MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and Stanford Law School, where he was an Associate Editor of Stanford Law Review. He holds a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude.

REGISTER HERE: http://svod2015.eventbrite.com

Are there conferences in the Silicon Valley, where entrepreneur-to-investor ratio is 2-to-1?

Are there conferences in the Silicon Valley, where entrepreneur-to-investor ratio is 2-to-1, where you can freely access some of the top angels and venture capitalists without formal introductions, where famous speakers do not use VIP rooms to enter the stage? SVOD – Silicon Valley Open Doors Investment Conference (http://svod.org) is the best place to find it.
Early Bird tickets are still available. Register NOW http://svod2015.eventbrite.com/

Apply to pitch your startup at SVOD2015 Technology investment conference: http://www.svod.org/apply-to-pitch-at-svod15/…

Check partial list of confirmed investors at http://www.svod.org/speakers/investors2015/

For startups and emerging growth companies SVOD is undoubtedly a must place to be

June 12, 2014 – SVOD14 – Silicon Valley Open Doors Conference

For startups and emerging growth companies SVOD is undoubtedly a must place to be. Our company, Rukuku.com – Interactive Courses, has had an amazing experience at SVOD 2014. For presenting companies, the experience starts long before the conference opens doors. As a presenting company, we had comprehensive guidance and coaching from Stas Khirman and Anna Dvornikova who went out of their way to make sure our presentation was well positioned for success at the conference. This attention to detail, coaching and personal involvement of the organizing team makes a ton of difference!

The conference was impeccably organized: no wonder SVOD is so well attended!

SVOD is an exceptional networking opportunity as the roster of conference attendees is impressive! You are likely to meet truly legendary personalities from the worlds of technology, entrepreneurship, venture capital, finance and government.

If your company is looking for quality exposure, or just if you want to make quality contacts in Silicon Valley, SVOD provides you a truly exceptional opportunity for that. Simply amazing!

Denis Zaff, CEO, Rukuku

The App, Often Referred To As Instagram On Steroids, Conquers New Ground With Its Innovative Face Tracking And Face Modification Technologies

SAN FRANCISCO – June 18, 2014 – Looksery, Inc. recently announced the launch of their Kickstarter campaign to raving reviews. The app, bearing the company’s name, quickly got the media’s attention and news channels such as CNN, HLN were heavily impressed with the excellence and limitless possibilities that this new and innovative technology offers.

During the Silicon Valley Open Doors 2014 conference (SVOD’14), Looksery participated in pitch sessions to showcase their new app and technology to the excitement of the over 1,000 conference visitors. By showcasing the incredible plethora of real-time video and photo face transformation filters, the app quickly became one of the focal points of the conference.

Selected as the winner of the Best Innovative Startup Award, it is clear that the interest for a much richer and more immersive social media and real-time video and photo messenger app is growing fast.

“The conference demonstrated the growing interest in the Looksery app and our technology. This was an exciting competition and we are very happy to win this award!”, said Julie Krasnienko, Director of Business Development at Looksery, Inc.

Looksery recently also announced further details about the app and its real-time selfie filters through their Kickstarter campaign page. The app will initially feature a set of 10 powerful presets that can be combined and used simultaneously to create incredible real-time photo and video effects.
The user will be able to further expand the effects library through in-app paid options which include filters such as 3D generated avatars and incredible face tracking action driven effects.

Looksery is looking to license its core face tracking and face modification technologies to call centers, handset manufacturers, cosmetic companies and telcos. Simply put, the Looksery app is a messenger app with a unique ability to enhance selfies and transfer human emotions through 3D generated avatars. One of the most important, and perhaps the app’s most distinguished feature, is the ability to optimize and provide a new and improved level of video communication.

More information about the Looksery project and technologies can be acquired here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1160359951/looksery

Our extensive press kit is made available for download here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/a87zlcdxbapra77/AAApR88OKPnSBLaYZog3y5–a

About Looksery, Inc.:

Looksery, Inc. is a company based in San Francisco Bay Area which was founded in 2013. The company specializes in face tracking and face modification technologies for real-time video messaging. Looksery will soon launch a mobile application that aims to change the selfie landscape forever with its new and superior real-time photo and video messaging effects.

The core technology is also available for licensing to a variety of potential partners in the video communication industry. Several of the company’s technologies, including its face tracking, face modification and traffic optimization technologies, are currently pending patents.

 

Press Contact:
Julie Krasnienko
Director of Business Development

Looksery, Inc.
Email: julie@looksery.com
Phone/Mobile: (415) 351-9076
Website: http://www.looksery.com

Silicon Valley Speaks with the Future

The Silicon Valley Open Doors Conference (SVOD) was a gathering of different sects of the same religion: technological innovation.

 

Unleashing a pool of creativity, SVOD hosted more than 650 talents from all over the world, including Russia, Ukraine, New Zealand, France, China , Australia, and Israel. Speakers from top financial and technological institutions, investors, and entrepreneurs gathered at The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA on June 11^th and 12^th to participate in and bear witness to presentations, discussions, inspiration, and advice.

 

Startups entering the market are competing against companies like Google and Salesforce. Presenting key-note speakers and live interviews with successful investors such as George Zachary, Managing Partner of Charles River Ventures and member of the Midas List, SVOD provided a space for strategic discussion between emerging startups and prosperous companies. When asked what the best advice Alexander Lupachev, Partner with Siguler Guff and an on-stage judge of Thursday’s second round of start up pitches, could offer to entrepreneurs, he commented that the most important aspect of getting your startup off the ground and running is to build connections. Once you do that, you can “consider [that] half of your job is done.” Lupachev, a top investor, sat on a panel with Alfred Lin, Partner of Sequoia Capital, and Manu Kumar, Founding Partner of K9 Ventures, as startup leaders stood one at a time and presented their innovations in five to ten minutes. Everything from electric car chargers to online education was pitched to a front row of 13 investors as an auditorium of people seated at round tables looked on.

Alexander Lupachev, Partner with Siguler Guff

Alfred Lin, Partner, Sequoia Capital
Manu Kumar, Founding Partner, K9 Ventures
Alexander Lupachev, Partner, SigulerGuff

 

In addition to the five rounds of start-up pitches, a key aspect of SVOD included a room of startup Founders, CEOs, and Representatives who spoke one-on-one about their innovations with interested parties. According to Eugen Cozonac, Founder and CEO of Firstly, an online platform that allows for secure exchanges of information, pitching to and receiving comments from potential clients and investors keeps innovation alive.

 

With a smile on her face, Yana Sikorsky, entrepreneur and first-time attendant of SVOD, described the conference as “invigorating” and a sneak peak into the direction of technology’s future. Although Sikorsky’s own business ventures differ from many of the startups presenting, listening to and networking with others in her field was a chance to learn from the mistakes she need not make.

 

Author: Aleksandra Bril

SVOD’14 opens doors to Silicon Valley for the 10th time!

Thursday, June 12, 2014, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA.

The second day of SVOD’14 – Silicon Valley Open Doors conference is off the a great start with the beautiful exhibit hall of Computer History Museum in Mountain View jam packed with attentive audience, which could have come out straight from the “who is who” list of Silicon Valley.  At least 30 VCs from the top venture capital firms are tuned into the 20 startups pitching their companies on stage throughout the day.

The networking and deal making opportunities at SVOD’14 are real for both sides, the startups have been carefully selected in advance and some are designated by the SVOD founding team as “Hot Startup”, a much coveted boost in their efforts to seek attention from the investors. Mike Medvinsky, the CEO of Nedelma, a SVOD “Hot Startup” said: “Pitching on stage at SVOD is the best exposure you can get anywhere in Silicon Valley. Having to answer the difficult questions from investors is a fantastic learning experience for a startup entrepreneur.”

The investors came to the second day of the conference ready to network and to do business, looking to find exciting new additions to their startup portfolios. They are ready to listen to multiple pitches on stage as well as in the hallways throughout the day. Sometimes it only takes a 30 second summary to spark the interest and facilitate next steps in the investment deal.

Those who have attended and participated in the SVOD conference in the past know that this is the key part of the magic that SVOD creates.  An introduction by a fellow SVOD attendee or simply a chance meeting during the networking lunch break have led to multiple successful collaborations, partnerships, deals and ideas.

The agenda of today’s conference is full of presentations and panels by Silicon Valley’s business and technology stars and successful entrepreneurs. The day opened with the pitch session judged by three veterans of venture capital: Tim Guleri, Managing Director of Sierra Ventures, Igor Taber, Director of Intel Capital and Eric Buatois, a Partner at Sofinova Ventures. The 5 startups pitched their companies and answered some of the tough questions from investors.

The stimulating agenda continued today with the fireside chat by Trip Hawkins, the legendary Founder of Electronic Arts Foundation and CEO of If You Can. The interview was conducted by Don Clark, Deputy Bureau Chief at Wall Street Journal, and the introductions were made by Ross Hangebrauck, Managing Director of Almaz Capital, a venture capital firm, which is one of the sponsors of SVOD conference this year.

Not letting the energy slow down for a moment, the stage was taken by Kira Makagon, Executive Vice President of Innovation at Ring Central, an over one billion dollars valuation company, and a long time SVOD conference partner. Kira described her vision for the BYOD – Bring Your Own Device issues. The relevant subject matter presentation was well received by the SVOD audience, who remained seated in anticipation of the upcoming fireside chat by Keith Rabois a Partner at legendary Khosla Ventures, moderated by Cromwell Schubarth, a Senior Technology Reporter at Silicon Valley Business Journal.

The audience of investors, finance and legal professionals, startups, innovators and successful business leaders is well taken care of by the organizing committee of SVOD who, with the help of its dedicated sponsors, created an outstanding environment, which includes gourmet hors d’oeuvres and lunch, as well as plenty of freshly brewed espresso to keep everyone energized throughout the day. The event will conclude with the exciting award presentation to the winning startup by the SVOD Sponsor – Microsoft, and a wine and cheese networking reception, assuring that no one leaves without the opportunity to make valuable introductions and lasting connections.

Some of the overwhelmingly positive comments about this year’s SVOD conference include the one by Daniil Stolyarov, Investment Director at Almaz Capital, who shared his experience at the SVOD conference: “A decade-old SVOD emerged as a prime forum for aspiring international entrepreneurs, seeking ways to connect with the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Organizers continue to impress us with amazing speakers, thoughtful content and highly engaged diverse audience. We are proud to be a partner of SVOD.”

Later, after pitching his company on stage, Pavel Cherkashin, President of Minutta, whose badge announces his title as Chief Trouble Maker, said that SVOD conference is the best place for a successful Russian startup to begin its journey and expansion in the USA and globally.

David Mosby of the Keiretsu Forum Academy enjoyed his time at SVOD, and after attending both days of the event shared his thoughts: “SVOD is an amazing community; much more than a typical organization. The people are welcoming, open to new ideas and passionately engaged in making the world a better place through innovation, entrepreneurship and global investment.”

SVOD conference continues to raise the bar on its reputation as the top technology entrepreneurship and investment conference in Silicon Valley with global reach and cross-boarder appeal. You can follow events at SVOD’14 on twitter at #SVOD14, and watch streamed live at http://svod.org/stream.

 

SVOD TEAM

STARTUP ETIQUETTE: HOW TO CONTACT TECH JOURNALISTS

What is the etiquette to contact a tech journalist about your startup?

Robert Scoble gives us some tips:

– Keep it short
– Explain why you are an example of how the future is changing
– Bring up anything that backs up your story (for instance, do you have a famous developer who already changed the world at, say, Apple?)
– Make it easy to dive in. Do you have a blog? A video? A bunch of people talking about you on Twitter or Google+ or Facebook? A successful Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign? 
Work hard on a great headline. Lots of us get 1,000 press releases a day. Think about how to stand out
– Get someone we trust to refer you. If Marc Andreessen emails me and says “Scoble, you gotta see this new company” you bet your bottom dollar I’ll stop and pay attention
– Always carry your demo on your phone or iPad and be willing to show in weird places. Accidental PR is the best. I’ve found many of my favorite companies away from “official PR.”
– Be persistent, but not overbearing. Sometimes trying a second try when you have something new to announce works. I don’t know why. It’s just the luck of the draw. The difference between being persistent and being overbearing is a very thin line, though
– Be good at listening to feedback
– If in a crowded market (photo sharing services, for instance) you better be 10x better and you better be able to demonstrate that in 30 seconds or less. Google was the 17th search engine, but in just one search I was hooked and saw why it was better. 

(by @Scobleizer at Quora) 

SVOD’13 begins today

Hello everyone, we are happy to announce that SVOD’13 has now officially began! At 8am on a beautiful Bay Area morning we kicked it off with a breakfast in the spacious Computer History Museum in Mountain View, followed by an opening ceremony at 9 am.

Today will bring along a lot of excitement, including startup pitches and panels with successful entrepreneurs, angel investors and top venture capitalists from all over the world.

Make sure not to miss out on anything by following our official Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (svodclub) pages.

Can’t make it to SVOD for the two full days? No problem, there are other options!

As the SVOD conference approaches, by popular demand of those who are not able to attend the two full days, but would not want to miss the opportunity to be a part of this special event, SVOD Winter’13 opens additional registration option:

December 3, 8:00am – 11:00am

· Networking breakfast
· Authentic, brewed just for you, coffee by Verve Coffee Roasters
· Two amazing fireside chats featuring:

Aydin Senkut, Founding Partner, Felicis Ventures, know as the Sequoia of angel funding moderated by Anna Dvornikova, Founder, SVOD and Managing Partner, TEC Ventures.

Andy Page, President, 23andMe moderated by Leena Rao Senior Editor, TechCrunch