Date: June 25, 2008
Time: 5:15 pm - 8:30 pm
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Location: Show mapEmbassy Suites Boca Raton
661 N. W. 53rd Street
Boca Raton, FL 33487
Email: reservations@gcvca.org
"The Art of the Start-Up:
Taking Your Big Idea from Drawing Board to the Market"
Guest Speaker
with Panel Discussions
Building a new enterprise and raising the capital to fund it is most often an uphill battle and, at best, a daunting task. History validates that while there is an art to navigating the intricacies associated with a start-up, there is a sequence of activity or science perhaps that represents a "best practices" approach to starting a scalable business. Our presentation and subsequent panel discussion will focus on the phases that a typical start-up goes through, the roadblocks and issues that an entrepreneur will likely face during the process, and a dissertation on the really silly deal killing mistakes that are frequently made.
Our guest speaker has been in the trenches and will share his numerous epiphanies. We have also assembled a distinguished panel of experts from various specialized disciplines. Each have significant experience guiding entrepreneurs through their early challenges. The ensuing discussion and Q & A promises to be lively and informative. Armed with this insightful new information, we believe that fear and uncertainty will be removed and you, the entrepreneur, can move forward with clarity and confidence. This is one of our new and exciting "can't miss" educational events.
Guest Speaker
Facundo Formica
President & CEO Deluo, LLC
Facundo Formica thrives on bringing innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology together. An entrepreneur since his tender young years, Facundo Formica opened his first business at just 15 years old, providing computer services and training while attending high school and college to get his Information Systems degree. At the mere age of 22, he ran a franchise of the major computer training center called The Argentinean Institute of Computers with over 200 establishments in Argentina. His innovative contributions for this center included his work in the Robotics Program to teach logic and programming to children in 1994. He continued on his path of innovation as a founding partner and Vice President for one of the first independent Internet Service Providers in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1996 and also led a team developing a GPS tracking system in the same country in 1998. He was partner and President of Advanced Information Systems, a Microsoft Certified Training Center, leading the company to become a premium Microsoft® Certified Solutions Provider. His more than 20 years of experience in IT Solutions include assisting in the e-commerce development of the recently redeveloped S&H Greenpoints and consulting for American Express as a Senior Systems Engineer and Systems Architect.
These paths culminated in 2001 when Facundo Formica started his newest venture, Deluo LLC, a consumer electronics company focusing on accessory products for people on the go. He has since forged a great many relationships with some of the top tier Fortune 500 companies. Deluo Products are available today through a large distribution channel including Best Buy, CompUSA, Circuit City, Amazon, etc.
Panel Moderator:
Gerald Heller, President, HAI Financial
Mr. Heller is a professional with more than 45 years of management, financial and mergers and acquisition experience. In his career Mr. Heller has worked with an extremely broad range of businesses from beverage distributors to software developers. His engineering background is invaluable in analyzing and marketing technical and scientific businesses, however he has the experience and expertise to both market businesses and to advise buyers of any business category. Mr. Heller has held management positions in a number of companies both private and public. His areas of expertise include Technology, Consumer Products, Finance and Marketing Services. Mr. Heller co-founded and served as President of ILC/DDC, a successful public company manufacturing electronic computing devices. Following a successful sale of DDC, Mitsubishi retained Heller to turn- around Optel, a public Liquid Crystal Display and Watch Company. As Chairman and President he restructured the Company and with the help of G.E.Capital, Optel emerged as a highly profitable public Company. Mr. Heller formed HAI Electronics to take advantage of the need for professional technical sales and marketing representation in Florida and Puerto Rico. HAI became the largest electronic manufacturing sales company in that market. Heller sold HAI Electronics to Datel, a computer peripheral manufacturer and client of HAI. Mr. Heller then acquired the distribution rights for Snapple beverages in South Florida. Within three years Snapple was distributed in 100% of the South Florida markets and represented 60% of the southeast market. Snapple acquired the rights to Snapple of South Florida when the company went public. Mr. Heller is a member of the planning committee of the Internet Coast Investor Group. Mr. Heller has been active in two start-up companies in the WI-FI wireless and the electronic publishing industry. Mr. Heller is an Electronic Engineer and received his Bachelors of Science degree in Engineering with a Computer Specialty from C.W. Post College. His graduate work was in Applied Science at Adelphi University.
Panelist:
Jane Teague, Executive Director, Enterprise Development Corporation of South Florida
Ms. Teague is Executive Director of a public/private partnership organization that assists emerging science and technology companies. In her role she is responsible for oversight of EDC's mentor/protégé program, the Technology Business Incubator, annual EDC conferences, fundraising, and other programs that EDC runs in support of the emerging local science and technology community. Ms. Teague has been an active supporter of the technology community since moving to Florida in 2000. She has supported the InternetCoast (iCoast) initiative, helping to brand the region as a center for high-technology excellence, and has served on a number of committees dedicated to the growth of Florida's technology sector. She participates with organizations such as the South Florida Technology Alliance, BioFlorida's South Florida BioScience Consortium, the MIT Enterprise Forum, and Enterprise Florida's Technology, Entrepreneurship and Capital Council, and is a frequent guest speaker on entrepreneurship in South Florida. Ms. Teague has over 20 years experience in the software and technology industries. Prior to joining EDC in April 2002, Teague held a variety of marketing management positions with Dun & Bradstreet Software, (formerly McCormack & Dodge), and HighGround, Inc., a provider of public relations and marketing support for emerging technology. Teague graduated McGill University, Montreal, Quebec in 1980.
Richard C. Bulman, Jr., Esq., Attorney
Mr Bulman is practicing attorney for more than 20 years, Mr. Bulman has counseled start-up, growth and Fortune 500 companies with global operations within a variety of technology industries including life sciences, computer hardware, software and services, telecommunications, and e-commerce, information and media. He has served in executive and legal capacities with such organizations as KL/Gates (formerly Kirkpatrick & Lockhart), IVAX Corporation (AMEX:IVX), American Lawyer Media, LLC, Akerman Senterfitt, Diversified Communications Industries, Ltd. (formerly AMEX:DCI), and Concordia Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Bulman is also a co-founder and Managing Director of Beyond r+d, a consulting firm that specializes in product commercialization, venture development and IP monetization. He serves as General Counsel to Acorn Biomedical, Inc, a start-up Ft. Lauderdale biopharmaceutical company, as US director of Northwind Software, an Ontario, Canada software company, and on the Advisory Board of Institute of Technology Innovation at Florida International University. Mr. Bulman earned his B.A. from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at SUNY Albany and a J.D. from the Faculty of Law and Jurisprudence at SUNY Buffalo.
Sean Dannelly, CPA, President, Dannelly & Company, P.A.
Sean Dannelly and Dannelly & Company, P.A., a full service certified public accounting firm. He has an impressive track record of guiding start-ups through their early development in multiple industry sectors including health care, banking, distribution, construction, and emerging markets. An experienced senior executive formerly with a "Big-6" firm, Mr. Dannelly provides accounting and financial support critical to clients' finance operations. Mr. Dannelly is also a founding partner of Paladin Global Partners, a consulting firm that provides mission critical guidance and hands-on management to solve complex business challenges and ensure effective execution. Mr. Dannelly focuses his consulting practice on the firm's M&A, turnaround, and strategic development clients with projects such as managing due diligence on several acquisitions, developing succession plans, mentoring finance management, providing audit assistance, and establishing internal controls and infrastructures to maintain audit compliance
Peter Haines, Managing Director, Horizon Growth Advisors
During the last 35 years Mr Haines has built and/or fixed six businesses, and served clients from Boston to Miami in their pursuit of profitable growth. Mr. Haines was President and CEO of Cybex International, and built the business from a relatively small company to a global brand with distribution in 70 countries around the world. Under Mr. Haines' leadership the company was a finalist for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and was rated #1 in customer service by its dealers year after year. Mr. Haines's experience includes running and helping both public and private companies. He is a Board Member of MIT Enterprise Forum. Mr. Haines is an active member of The Beacon Council and a Trustee of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.
