Hyde Park Angels & 1871 Entrepreneurial Education Series
Hyde Park Angels is bringing together successful, influential entrepreneurs and investors to teach you everything you need to know about early-stage investment. Attend all four programs and walk away with a thorough understanding of the early-stage investment cycle from start to finish or pick and choose programs to supplement existing knowledge. In either case, you will have the chance to learn the pros and cons of raising a round, the mechanics of doing a deal, how to grow your business through corporate partnerships, and how to manage relationships with different advisors and investors. View the entire entrepreneurial education series here.
Are You Ready to Raise?
Program One
Description: How do you know if you’re ready to raise your first round, or if raising is even your best option? Hear from successful entrepreneurs and investors to learn:
· The pros and cons of early-stage investment versus bootstrapping
· What is the right time to raise and when is too early
· What investors look for in a founder and a business
· What counts as proof of concept and what doesn’t
· What investors see as red flags
· How to move forward if you are ready
Panelists:
· Shawn Carpenter, Co-Founder/CEO, YCharts
· Mathew Joseph Elenjickal, Founder/CEO, FourKites
· Troy Henikoff, Managing Director, TechStars; Managing Director, MATH Venture Partners; Founder and President, SurePayroll
· Kristopher Kubicki, CTO of Ecommerce, Market Track; Co-Founder/Chief Architect, Dynamite Data, LLC (acquired by Market Track); Co-Founder/Editor-at-Large, DailyTech, LLC
· Genevieve Thiers, Founder, Sittercity; Founder, ContactKarma
Moderator: Pete Wilkins, Managing Director, Hyde Park Angels
Format: 1.5 hour panel with Q&A and a 30-minute networking session
Date and Time: Thursday, March 5, 6:00 pm — 8:00 pm.
Location: 1871 Auditorium
Early-Stage Investment 101
Program Two
Description: We are pulling back the curtain on the investment cycle to teach you the in’s and out’s of raising a round. Hear from successful entrepreneurs and investors who have seen every kind of early-stage investment to learn:
· The differences between funding stages (seed, Series A, etc.)
· What are the key deal points to negotiate
· How convertible debt stacks up against equity
· Who the right investors are and how to find them
· The timeline for the investment cycle
· How to “read” a venture capitalist
· The mechanics of closing a round (deal leads, legal best practices, board seats, etc.)
Panelists:
· Sach Chitnis, Managing Director, Jump Capital
· Aashish Dalal, Co-Founder/CEO, ParkWhiz
· Rishi Shah, Founder/CEO, ContextMedia; Managing Partner, JumpStart Ventures
· Ira Weiss, General Partner, Hyde Park Venture Partners; Professor of Accounting and Entrepreneurship, Chicago Booth
· Desiree Vargas Wrigley, Co-Founder/Chief Strategy Officer, Give Forward
Moderator: Pete Wilkins, Managing Director, Hyde Park Angels
Format: 1.5 hour panel with Q&A and a 30-minute networking session
Date and Time: Wednesday, June 17, 6:00 pm — 8:00 pm.
Location: 1871 Auditorium
Connecting Corporations and Startups
Program Three
Description: Working with corporations — whether as a client, partner, or strategic investor — can help you significantly grow your business. Hear from successful entrepreneurs and the industry experts they work with to learn:
· Whether you should build client, partner, or strategic investor relationships
· How to build corporate relationships
· Successful examples of corporate relationships
· How will a strategic partnership help or hurt your business
· How to secure investment capital from a Fortune 500 company
· How to manage the sales process to close your first big deal
Panelists:
· Jacob Babcock, Co-Founder/CEO, NuCurrent
· Hardik Bhatt, Chief Information Officer, State of Illinois
· Rob Diebold, Strategic Business Development Manager, Molex
· Rumi Morales, Executive Director: Strategic Investment Group, CME Group
· Julie Szudarek, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Groupon Daily Deals
· David Weinstein, Founder/Managing Partner, Freshwater Advisors
Moderator: Pete Wilkins, Managing Director, Hyde Park Angels
Format: 1.5 hour panel with Q&A and a 30-minute networking session
Date and Time: Thursday, September 24, 6:00 pm — 8:00 pm.
Location: 1871 Auditorium
How to Work with Your Advisors, Board Members, and Investors
Program Four
Description: Knowing how to effectively work with your advisors, board members, and investors can make or break your business. Hear from entrepreneurs and investors with valuable experience managing these complex relationships to learn:
· How to pick the right advisors, board members, and investors
· How to maintain relationships with advisors, board members, and investment partners
· How to ask for advice and give your advisors, board members, and investors permission to advise
· How to leverage the different resources and skills your advisors, board members, and investors offer
· How to mitigate conflict and learn to compromise
· How to take action when relationships are coming to a close
Panelists:
· Bruce Barron, Co-Founder, Partner, Origin Ventures
· Corey Ferengul, CEO, Undertone
· Constance Freedman, Managing Director, Second Century Ventures
· Jason Kunesh, Co-Founder/CEO, Public Good Software
· Mark Tebbe, Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at University of Chicago Booth School of Business; Co-Founder of Answers Corporation and Lante Corporation
Moderator: Pete Wilkins, Managing Director, Hyde Park Angels
Format: 1.5 hour panel with Q&A and a 30-minute networking session
Date and Time: Thursday, November 12, 6:00 pm — 8:00 pm.
Location: 1871 Auditorium