The Astia Doing it Right Silicon Valley Program: General Entrepreneur Series is an unparalleled resource for success – a transformative program designed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs who want to become dominant players in their sectors. The breadth and depth of our premium network provides entrepreneurs in the technology space with unprecedented access to capital as well as comprehensive business strategy insights and guidance.

Register for the Full Series or any individual sessions and seize the opportunity to engage with investors and serial entrepreneurs. The full series gives you access to 12 panel sessions and 3 keynote speeches taking place during the week of Nov 2-7. The following is a condensed outline of what is offered. You can find full detail of each session listed on our website by clicking here.

November 2nd

Keynote Speaker: 9:15am: Tom Kosnik on Negotiating the Triple Chasms of Generation, Gender, and Culture

As entrepreneurs who do business in global markets, we face a common challenge: How to persuade employees, customers, investors, and others to bet their money, time, talent, and other resources on our new ventures?
 
Venture creation requires negotiation, where we often face the challenge of crossing the triple chasms of generation, gender, and culture. The success or failure of a new venture may hinge on whether we are successful in negotiating the triple chasms.

Tom Kosnik and Ooshma Garg will reveal insights from a global team of more than a dozen entrepreneurial leaders who have navigated the chasms of generation, gender, and culture in hundreds of new ventures over the last twenty years.

Panel: 10-11am: Best Practices in Funding

Entrepreneurs will be introduced to best practices for investor presentations with a focus on how to position your company as an attractive investment opportunity. 

Keynote Speaker: 1:15pm:   Sramana Mitra on Bootstrapping, Weapon of Mass Reconstruction

In a world battered by economic crisis, Sramana Mitra believes entrepreneurship is the only sustainable path forward to a healthy economic world order.  And core to the success of entrepreneurial ventures today is the invigorating art of bootstrapping.  Sramana Mitra--a serial entrepreneur, strategy consultant and Forbes columnist--takes aim at this essential route along the roadmap to startup success with Entrepreneur Journeys.

Panel: 2 - 3pm: Alternative Funding Strategies

This panel will provide a candid perspective of the alternative sources of funds as well as a discussion of the different types of investors, process, typical deal terms, preference structures, and valuations.

Keynote Speaker: 5:00-5:30pm: Julie A. Kirsch on The Substance of Brand Identiy

Brand awareness, brand equity, brand identity …What is it?  What isn’t it?  Be prepared to spend a meaningful session hearing what really matters in building a brand. Going beyond advertising and logos, Ms. Kirsch will discuss the organic substance of a brand that successfully drives decisions, evokes emotion and provides sustainable, lasting value.

November 3rd

Panel: 2-3pm: Developing a Blueprint for Today's Market

This session will help entrepreneurs  gain a fundamental understanding of how investors evaluate investment opportunities; how they evaluate the structure of a company, the team, the market opportunity , IP and the business model.

November 4th

          Panel: 9-10am: Marketing from the top - understanding your market and opportunity

This panel of VCs and Investors will discuss the importance of the entrepreneur knowing their market and how they are going to acquire customers and drive revenue.

Panel: 1:30-2:30: Go-to-Market Strategies

This panel of practitioners and entrepreneurs will discuss challenges across different sectors including: channel development vs ‘missionary’ roles working directly with customers , adoption cycles in established industries that are reluctant to change, regulatory considerations, and how to get the first customers.

November 5th

          Panel: 9-10am: How to prepare your company from day one for due diligence

This session will focus on the realities of due diligence and how to prepare your company for the scrutiny of financing. Through examples the panelists of investors will highlight common mistakes in the due diligence process and the foundation needed to build a successful high growth company including managing data and records with the future in mind.

November 6th

Panel: 9-10am: Effectively Harnessing the Global Economy

This timely session will discuss the realities and opportunities posed by the global economies, why all entrepreneurs should be planning its real impact  and how to effectively navigate for success.

Panel: 11:30-12:30pm: Navigating the Corporates or Dancing with Elephants

This panel will help the entrepreneur identify opportunities and successfully navigate the maze of the multinational corporate structure to win them as customers, strategic partners and potential acquirers.

Panel: 2-3pm: Own Your Financials

This panel will prepare the entrepreneur for meetings with investors, by teaching them the terms and skills needed to create a defensible financial picuter of their company.

November 7th * Located at Reed Smith LLP, 101 Second Street, San Francisco, CA 94105

Panel: 9:00-9:15am: View from the Top

Sharon Vosmek, CEO of Astia, will provide an introduction to the final day, highlights from the week, and call to action for entrepreneurs and their advisory teams.

Panel: 9:15-10am: Current State of Venture Capital

This panel will discuss the current climate of venture capital.

Panel: 9:15-10am: Current State of Angel Investment

This panel, moderated by Sam Angus of Fenwick & West, will discuss the current climate of angel investment. 

“Astia was transformative for our company and for my own growth as an entrepreneur. It gave me access to a network of incredibly experienced and influential people within Silicon Valley who have had a tremendous impact on the progress our company has since made.” 

- Shanna Tellerman, Founder & CEO
Sim Ops Studio

The General Entrepreneur Series is sponsored by

Mintz Levin