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Bootstrapping Your Start-Up Lessons Learned from Building a Business During a Recession
3/18/2009 5:00PM - 8:00 PM      |  Send this page to a friend. 
Cabrillo Pavillion Arts Center - 1118 E. Cabrillo Boulevard, Santa Barbara, CA 93103
Presenters:

Dave Gross, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Great Pacific Capital

Panelists:

Steve Zahm, President, Procore Technologies, Inc.
Max Drucker, Founder, Steel Card
Jenna Berg, Founder and CEO, JobAps, Inc

Moderator:
Rusty Reed
Program Description:

Building a business is challenging enough during times of economic expansion.  Learn how one entrepreneur built a successful business during a recessionary environment.  Dave Gross, one of the founders of Fastclick, will present the lessons he learned in building his local internet media company between 2000 and 2003.  From the right people and right idea all the way to the right corporate orientation, it all counts when time and money are against you.  Dave will lead a discussion on navigating these treacherous waters.


When:
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where:
Cabrillo Pavillion Arts Center - 1118 E. Cabrillo Boulevard, Santa Barbara, CA 93103
Cost:
Student $15.00 Regular $30.00
At the Door $40.00 Parking $2.00
Speaker Biographies:

Dave Gross
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Great Pacific Capital, Mr. Gross is also an engineer and entrepreneur. Mr. Gross has worked in the Internet, aerospace, and alternative transportation fields. He designed and produced early electric and hybrid electric passenger vehicles as well as hardware for various aerospace applications including the International Space Station, missions to Mars, and the longest rigid structure ever deployed in space.
He was the founding CEO of Fastclick, a successful Internet advertising company acquired by ValueClick in 2005. Mr. Gross also had CFO and COO responsibilities from inception through 2003. He led Fastclick with a total of $400K in capital raised in April of 2000 through a $75M private-equity recapitalization in September of 2004. He holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Environmental Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Mr. Gross currently serves on the boards of Celerus Diagnostics http://www.celerusdiagnostics.com and BioIQ. http://www.bioiq.com

Steve Zahm
Steve Zahm is the President of Procore Technologies, Inc., a provider of web-based construction management software for commercial and residential contractors. Steve has responsibilities for Procore’s financial management, human resources, business development and marketing. Prior to Procore, Steve was Vice-President and Co-Founder of DigitalThink, Inc., one of the first multi-tenant Software-As-A-Service companies to deliver online learning for millions of adult students each year. Steve helped lead DigitalThink to a successful IPO in 2000, growing annual revenues to $60 million.  DigitalThink was acquired by Convergys Corporation in 2004 for $120 million in cash.

Max Drucker
Max founded Steel Card, a software development company focused on creating web-based applications for insurance companies.  Max co-managed Steel Card and oversaw all aspects of Steel Card’s operations:  sales and marketing, client management, personnel management, office infrastructure, etc.  In August 2006, Max and Michael sold Steel Card to ChoicePoint (NYSE:CPS), a company now owned by Lexis-Nexis, in a substantial all cash transaction.  After the sale, Max served as General Manager for the Personal Lines Software Division of Insurity, a ChoicePoint company.  Prior to co-founding Steel Card, Max co-founded and served as the Chief Information Officer & Vice President of Operations of eCoverage, a SoftBank/RRE/E*TRADE funded startup that became the nation’s first online auto insurance company.  In November 2000, Insurance & Technology Magazine named Mr. Drucker one of its Elite Eight CIOs, an award that recognizes the nation's top eight insurance CIOs.

Jenna Berg
Dr. Jenna Berg is the founder and CEO of JobAps, Inc. With 25 years of system design and programming experience and over ten years of experience working with government agencies, she directs JobAps in its mission to improve human resource processes and information access through technology.  JobAps, Inc., provides the premier web-based Recruiting Solution to the Public Sector. Jenna holds a Ph.D. from Duke University in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering with an emphasis in Statistics. She was Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at N.C. State University where she directed the Image and Signal Processing Division concentrating her research on Statistical Image Processing. She then established and directed the department of Computer Science at Meredith College in North Carolina until 1992. Prior to founding JobAps, Dr. Berg was President of Children’s Community Garden, Inc., based in Chiapas, Mexico, where she lived and directed educational and organic agricultural programs with Mayan Indian families and communities.