The View From All Sides: What It Takes and Means to Secure Seed Funding in Today's Economy

Foley was pleased to sponsor the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge Innovation Series titled, The View From All Sides: What It Takes and Means to Secure Seed Funding in Today’s Economy on Wednesday, June 10, 2009. Foley Partner Gabor Garai played an integral role along with program organizers Kristen Collins of KMC Partners, Rob Go of Spark Capital, and Pearl Freier of Cambridge BioPartners in selecting the moderator and panel presenters as well as the discussion topics for the evening.

The conversation featured:

• Moderator: Lee Hower, co-founder of LinkedIn, Venture Capitalist, Point Judith Capital
• David Friend, angel investor and serial entrepreneur, Chairman & CEO, Co-founder of Carbonite
• Rich Miner, Managing Partner, Google Ventures
• Rob Go, Venture Capitalist, Spark Capital, Start @ Spark
• Shawn Broderick, Executive Director, TechStars Boston and Founder/CEO, TrustPlus

Discussion topics included:

• Is a new paradigm emerging for startups and their seed and angel investors? How is seed funding changing and what does it mean for this generation of start-ups?
• What are some of the opportunities and challenges that entrepreneurs and investors face in finding - and then managing - a seed-stage deal?
• Are there unique - and more successful - approaches to angel investing?
• Do VCs need to change their approach to seed funding, or perhaps alter their focus in terms of stage of investing?

For more information, please visit the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge Web site.