Upside of the Downturn: What Business Models and Ideas Work in Today’s Economic Environment?
6:00pm – 7:00pm – Networking and Hors D’oeuvres
7:00pm – 8:30pm – Panel Discussion and Q/A
Location
Stanford Business School
This event is SOLD OUT!
Moderator
Drake Mosier, Serial Entrepreneur & Investor
Panelists
John Hagel III, Director & Co-Chair, Center for Edge Innovation, Deloitte
Renaud Laplanche, Founder & CEO, Lending Club
Carol Sands, Co-Managing Member of The Halo Funds, and Founder of The Angels’ Forum
John Squire, Chief Strategy Officer & SVP, CoreMetrics
Rich Wong, Partner, Accel Partners
Event Description
Opening VLAB’s 2009 panel series, January’s event will highlight business models and business ideas positioned to succeed because of the downturn.
How has the downturn changed consumer and business behavior and how are business models being adjusted in order to meet those new needs? How can you think differently about the product or service your company offers in order to better meet shifting consumer and business requirements?
Despite a worsening economic environment, start ups continue to receive funding and companies previously struggling are experiencing unforeseen opportunities as a result of the downturn. Companies are succeeding by targeting their models, operations and financing strategies and are positioning themselves to emerge from the downturn in a stronger position.
Come learn about the opportunities the downturn presents for entrepreneurs. This panel will bring together start ups from the last downturn and this downturn, leading edge investors and pundits in identifying new business opportunities and models for a spirited discussion on how entrepreneurs can thrive in this downturn.
Bios
Drake Mosier, Serial Entrepreneur & Investor
Drake Mosier is an entrepreneur and pioneer in the online investment industry. In 1995, he founded mPower, the first online investment advisory firm, serving as Chairman and CEO until 2000, at which point the company had 14 million clients. In 2000, Drake became an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with Capital Z Partners in London, a $4 billion private equity and venture capital partnership. While at Capital Z, Drake purchased Sort Ltd and was Chairman and CEO of the semi-to-fully-automated pan-European investment advisory platform until it was sold to a US investor group. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Forbes, Fortune, BusinessWeek, the Economist, The Financial Times, The London Times and more. He previously served as a member of both the American Savings and Education Council and the Association of Private Pensions and Welfare Plans and received the prestigious “In Five” Award for being an “on-line pioneer for bringing on-line advice to the masses” by the Plan Sponsor Magazine. Drake has sat on numerous boards including Individual Investor Inc (NASDAQ: INDI), Decision Analytics, LLC., the Gaslamp Foundation and several advisory boards and is an angel investor.
John Hagel III, Director & Co-Chair, Center for Edge Innovation, Deloitte
John Hagel III is co-chairman of the Deloitte Center for Edge Innovation, which conducts original research and develops substantive points of view for new corporate growth.. In nearly 30 years of experience as a management consultant, author, speaker and entrepreneur, he has helped companies improve their performance by effectively applying information technology to reshape business strategies. Prior to Deloitte, John was principal at McKinsey & Co., where he was a leader of the Strategy Practice and founded and led McKinsey’s Electronic Commerce Practice; chief strategy officer of 12 Entrepreneuring, Inc.; and senior vice president of strategic planning at Atari, Inc.
John is the author of a series of best-selling business books, including Net Gain, Net Worth, Out of the Box and The Only Sustainable Edge. He holds a BA from Wesleyan University, a B.Phil. from Oxford University, and a JD and MBA from Harvard University.
Renaud Laplanche, Founder & CEO, Lending Club
Renaud Laplanche is founder and CEO of Lending Club. Prior to founding Lending Club, he was the Founder & CEO of TripleHop Technologies, a VC-backed enterprise software company he founded in New York in 1999 and led to a market leadership position that resulted in its acquisition by Oracle Corporation in June 2005. Prior to founding TripleHop, Renaud was a Senior Associate at New York law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, where he specialized in technology and finance transactions. Renaud earned a Master of Business Administration from HEC and London Business School and was honored with the HEC “Entrepreneur of the Year” award in 2002. He won the French sailing championship twice, in 1988 and 1990.
Carol Sands, Co-Managing Member of The Halo Funds, and Founder of The Angels’ Forum
Since 2000, Carol Sands has co-founded and managed 4 venture funds that invest in early-stage, Silicon Valley based start-ups. Carol and her partners’ latest fund, Halo Fund III, was founded in 2007. She is also the founder of the Angels’ Forum, a revolutionary angel investing company that organizes individual investors with previous entrepreneurial experience to invest, as a single entity, using a venture capital model for due diligence, mentoring, and board management.
Carol has 36 years of experience in investing, entrepreneurial and/or large corporate institutions. She has held marketing and sales positions with Motorola and Xerox Computer Services, as well as being an executive at Arthur Young (now Ernst & Young) and Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers). She also founded Sands MarketingPlus, an international sales management and marketing consulting firm with advertising & PR agencies.
In addition to her investment-based responsibilities, Carol is the Chair of the Global Women’s Leadership Network, and a board advisor to Facing History and Ourselves. She is a Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), an Advisory Board Member for Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs (SVASE) and the ANZA Technology Network, as well as a member of The Forum for Women Entrepreneurs & Executives (FWE&E) and the Women’s Forum West. She is also a Director of the Sands Family Foundation. ‘
John Squire, Chief Strategy Officer & SVP, CoreMetrics
John Squire is a recognized online marketing optimization thought leader. He is frequently asked to speak at noteworthy regional, national and worldwide events, such as Shop.org, eTail, WITI, Web Guild, Online Marketing World, and NCDM. Also known as an accomplished writer, his timely and most recently published article addresses “How analytics can protect your budget” in iMedia Connection. He also leads the Company’s vision of the market and technical strategy for Coremetrics solutions.
John has held various positions at Chemdex culminating into his role as Senior Director of Product Management and membership on the Executive Team. John also worked for 3Com in Market Development where he developed and managed partnerships with Siemens, Fuji Medical Systems, Acuson, GE Medical, and other medical application providers. Prior to 3Com, John spent five years with Chevron Products, USA as a Process Engineer. John holds an M.B.A. with High Distinction from the University of Michigan and a B.S. from the University of California, Davis.
Rich Wong, Partner, Accel Partners
Rich joined Accel in 2006, with a focus on mobile infrastructure and services. Rich currently serves on the boards of AdMob, the largest mobile advertising player, and Parature, a leader in SaaS based customer support. Rich works closely with the management team of Getjar Networks, the largest mobile development community and free mobile apps download portal. Rich also serves as a board advisor to Plaxo (acquired by Comcast), Sana Security, and Simplicita (acquired by Sandvine). Prior to Accel, Rich served as SVP/GM of Products, GM of Messaging Products, and Chief Marketing Officer at Openwave where he founded and chaired the Messaging Anti Abuse Working Group. He also was Chief Marketing Officer and EVP/GM of Value-Added Services at Covad Communications, and a management consultant for McKinsey & Company.
At the CTIA Wireless Internet Caucus 2008, Rich was awarded a “Mobile Six” award as one of the 6 most influential individuals shaping the wireless industry by executives in the InMobile.org community. Rich holds a B.S. and an MBA from MIT.
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