What Builds The Most Value in A Tech or MedTech Startup

Entrepreneurs’ Network

PRE-MEETING DINNER at 5:15 PM (sharp) at Bertucci’s, Waltham.

On September 6, 2016, ENET will kickoff its 26th year with a meeting devoted to setting goals for founders and entrepreneurs. Our subject – What builds the most value in a tech or medtech startup Company? A starting point will be defining the value proposition of your company’s product or service. Do you fix a problem that has real and measurable consequences to inaction? Is this problem a top priority to your target customer? Is the market significant? Is it under served?

To build value in your company, you will be judged first on that value proposition, but then beyond that on the management team you assemble, your technology, your customers, your business model and scaling potential and the market you serve. Under the lean startup model, you build a small amount, then measure and learn. Constant iterating based on actual results from customers. In tech companies and specially in med tech and life science companies, the management team is critical to move the company through the inevitable issues you face, to be able to quickly pivot to redirect engineering efforts to keep the company on track to meet its milestones to commercialization. A key part of management’s ability to execute, will be to manage cash to reach inflection point where clinical or customer impact, IP and franchise value has been established to achieve a favorable exit.

Those are just some of the issues, ENET will parse on September 6, with our three expert speakers. Our speakers that night include the CEO of a Boston M&A firm, twice nominated for “Woman Deal Maker of the Year” for her work building value in companies to successful exits, a life sciences investor and director of an organization that brings together executives across med tech and life science fields, and the President of one of the most successful VC/angel firms that invests exclusively in Massachusetts startup companies. The panel will be moderated by ENET’s chairman who has been recognized as one of the “Top 20 Boston Startup Attorneys”.

Speaker: Walter M. (Jerry) Bird, President, MassVentures, http://www.mass-ventures.com/

MassVentures is a venture capital firm that provides capital for technology startups not adequately served by the venture community, including companies from all across Massachusetts, as well as first-time CEOs or founders, Jerry has over 25 years of experience advising and financing entrepreneurial-driven companies, the past 18 in venture capital. Throughout his professional career, Jerry has operated both as an investor and an active partner to entrepreneurs building their companies. His direct investment experience covers dozens of companies and in many cases as the lead or co-lead investor. Several of these companies were acquired by significant publicly-traded companies. Among the companies Jerry has been on the board of are e-Travel (acquired by Oracle), Andover.net (Nasdaq: ANDV, purchased by VA Linux), LinkSoft Technologies (purchased by QuadraMed), NexCen Technologies (purchased by UCMS), and Bitpipe Inc. (purchased by TechTarget). He currently is a board member or board observer at MassVentures’ portfolio companies Forerun, lifeIMAGE, and Applause (formerly uTest).. He’s on the boards of Massachusetts Audubon, Crossroads for Kids, and the Massachusetts chapter of the Trust for Public Land. In his free time, Jerry spends time in the mountains on his bike or skiing or hiking.

Speaker: Jordan Leef, Healthcare VC and Director, The BioBreak Organization http://www.biobreak.org/

Mr. Leef is a healthcare venture capitalist and member of the Board of Directors of the BioBreak Organization, an executive networking organization for the life sciences industry, bringing together senior executives from across the biotech, pharma, medtech, diagnostics and venture capital industries. He was previously a Financial Analyst for Pharos Capital Group, a private equity firm located in Nashville and Dallas. In this capacity, Mr. Leef worked as a member of the Pharos investment team to provide growth and later-stage capital for businesses in underserved areas of the nation focusing on firms in the healthcare, business services and technology industries. Prior to Pharos, Mr. Leef worked in the Biotechnology Equity Research Group at C.E. Unterberg, Towbin in New York City, where he was responsible for writing research reports, providing sector analysis and valuing drug companies and their pipelines. He also previously worked at Pfizer, Inc. in the U.S. Clinical Operations Division, where he worked with CROs to manage clinical trials and helped coordinate regulatory release of several new compounds. Mr. Leef holds a B.S. degree from University of Pennsylvania.

Speaker: Marguerite A. Piret, President & CEO, Newbury Piret & Company, Inc., http://www.newburypiret.com/

Ms. Piret is the president and CEO of Newbury Piret & Company, Inc., a leading Boston-based middle market investment bank. She has effected numerous financing and sale transactions for public and private companies in industries including manufacturing, technology, healthcare, and financial and business services both in the US and internationally. Previously, she was Managing Director of Kridel Securities Corporation, an investment bank with offices in New York, London and Paris. On behalf of European and American clients, she provided corporate finance services to the medical, biotechnological, environmental, energy and industrial products industries. Prior to Kridel Securities, Ms. Piret was a Commercial Loan Officer at the New England Merchants National Bank (now the Bank of America). In 2004, Newbury Piret & Co. won the M&A Advisor’s national award for best Industrial Manufacturing Deal of the Year in the Middle Market. Ms. Piret was also nominated for Woman Dealmaker of the Year in 2004 and 2005. Ms. Piret is an Independent Trustee and Chairman of the Valuation Committee of the Pioneer Mutual Funds. She serves as Trustee of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Foundation. She holds A.B. and MBA degrees from Harvard University.

Moderator: Robert Adelson, business and tax attorney, partner at Boston law firm of Engel & Schultz LLP (www.ExecutiveEmploymentAttorney.com), and Chairman of The Boston Entrepreneurs’ Network.

Rob has been an attorney for over 30 years specialized in business, tax, stock and options, employment, contracts, financings, trademarks and intellectual property. Rob began as an associate at major New York City law firms before returning home to Boston in 1985 where he has since been a partner in small and medium sized firms before joining his present firm in 2004. Rob represents entrepreneurs, start-ups and small companies, independent contractors and employees and executives, and family businesses. Rob is a frequent speaker on business law topics and author of numerous articles published in Boston Business Journal, Mass High Tech and other publications. He has been named among the “Top 20 Boston Startup Lawyers” by ChubbyBrain.com, a website that provides tools for entrepreneurs. Rob has been on the ENET Board since 2002 and Chairman since 2009 and is also a Co-Founder and Board member of the 128 Innovation Capital Group. In January 2016, he received the professional achievement award from IEEE-USA for “extreme dedication and contributions to the IEEE entrepreneurship community.” He holds degrees from Boston University, B.A., summa cum laude, Northwestern University (Chicago), J.D., Law Review, and New York University, LL.M. in Taxation.

Meeting Location: Constant Contact, Inc., Reservoir Place, 3rd Floor Great Room, 1601 Trapelo Rd., Waltham, MA (Exit 28B, I-95/Route 128)

Pre-meeting Dinner at 5:15 PM (sharp) at Bertucci’s, Waltham, (Exit 27B, Route 128)

Check for Updates at: Boston Entrepreneurs’ Network Website at ( http://www.boston-enet.org )

Directions: http://www.constantcontact.com/about-constant-contact/office-location-waltham.jsp

Reservations: ENET Constant Contact meetings are free to ENET members and $20 for non-members. No reservations are needed for the dinner. To expedite sign-in for the meeting, we ask that everyone — members as well as non-members — pre-register for the meeting online. Pre-registration is available until midnight the day before the meeting. If you cannot pre-register, you are welcome to register at the door.