Case Studies in Extremely Successful Startups

Entrepreneurs’ Network

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

ENET kicks off its 27th year with an evening of learning from successful entrepreneurs. The meeting will feature case studies from at least two and perhaps three extremely successful startups.

We will hear from Raj Aggarwal, founder of Localytics. This software company, No. 279 on the Inc. 5000, provides an analytics and marketing platform to help its clients understand and predict user engagement. Making more than $9 million in sales in 2014, the site is used by a number of successful companies, including Microsoft, Salesforce.com, and The New York Times. Led by CEO Raj Aggarwal, Localytics saw a growth rate of more than 1,600 percent between fiscal years 2011 and 2014. Under Raj’s leadership, Localytics has become the leading and most powerful analytics and marketing platform for apps and secured key partnerships with some of the world’s most well-known brands, including Microsoft and The New York Times.

We will hear from Raj Aggarwal, founder of Localytics. This software company, No. 279 on the Inc. 5000 in 2015, provides an analytics and marketing platform to help its clients understand and optimize mobile engagement. The platform is used by a number of successful companies, including ESPN, CVS Pharmacy, The New York Times, Comcast and Weather Channel. Led by CEO Raj Aggarwal, Localytics saw a growth rate of more than 1,600 percent between fiscal years 2011 and 2014.

We will next hear from Ralph Folz, CEO of WordStream. WordStream is software as a service (SaaS) company which helps small and medium businesses acquires customers via paid digital media (paid search and paid social). WordStream’s 20 Minute Work Week facilitates more effective paid media campaigns across Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Facebook, resulting in more leads and more customers. Think of WordStream as a TurboTax for digital marketing. WordStream manages over half a billion dollars of advertising spend on the major ad platforms and has grown to over 230 employees. The company is based in Boston’s Back Bay. WordStream has been named a Boston Business Journal Best Places to Work for three years in a row and has been included in the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies for four years in a row.

Finally, we will hear from Janet Kosloff, Co-Founder and CEO of InCrowd, a provider of high-quality, real-time market intelligence to life sciences and healthcare firms. Today 19 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical firms, as well as other life science, healthcare organizations, and the agencies that serve them, rely on InCrowd’s solution to gain high-quality, timely insights to market questions and from them, make more informed business decisions. The company has grown to more than $10 million in revenues and 50 employees. In 2017, Janet Kosloff was named a Boston SmartCEO 2017 Future 50 Award winner by SmartCEO magazine. The program recognizes the region’s 50 fastest-growing mid-sized companies and 10 small emerging growth companies, based on a combined three-year average of revenue and employee growth.

The attrition rate for startup companies is high. According to the US Bureau for Labor Statistics, 50 percent of all new business make it to their fifth year and one third make it to their tenth year. A study from Harvard Business School stated that three out of every four ventured-backed companies failed overall. Yet many do succeed. Among the reasons often cited for startup success are:

Focus – Keeping focus on the company’s core competencies and continuing to build and improve on them.
Team – Building a strong team, compatible with complimentary competencies
Customer Validation / Feedback – Get your product and service out into the market and listening to your customers, to customize your product or services to meet the real needs of your clientele or customer base
Pivoting – Learning from your mistakes and being able to pivot quickly to get back on track.

On September 5, you will get to hear from the leaders of at least two extremely successful startups – and how perhaps their success and lessons learned might be useful to you, and also ask them questions during out Q and A. Hope to see you for ENET’s kickoff meeting for our 2017-2018 program year.

Agenda:

630-730 PM – Registration & networking
730-740 PM – ENET Chairman’s announcements
740-755 PM – E Minute – Up to 3 Startup companies’ presentations
755-845 PM – 3 expert speakers on the night’s topic
845-900 PM – Audience / Speakers Q & A
900-930 PM – Final networking including meeting speakers

Speakers:

Ellen Clark, Entrepreneur & CEO, Advent Technologies, Dakota Mining and Connecticut Index Funds

Ellen Clark ran a consulting and staffing agency for many years, originally specializing in IT professionals, then expanding the company to staffing IT, Engineering, science and math specialists (including hedge guys), management in “STEM” industries and specialized manufacturing. Most of the industries we dealt with were in pharma/medical device, structural engineering and widget engineering. Six years ago I began working with startups in these areas, and now we do staffing, benefits, business development and small time searching for grant and angel money. My vision is to have three companies when I finish my working career – Advent Technologies (“blue state” science and tech), Dakota Mining and Engineering (structural engineering for extractables in “red states”) and Connecticut Index Funds. I am doing sideline advocacy for small business and job creation in the US . I graduated from Nyack College undergraduate, got my masters at Manhattanville College in New York, and attended Duke University.

Raj Aggarwal, Co-Founder, Localytics.

As CEO from its founding in 2009 until 2017, Raj succeeded in creating the leading mobile engagement platform that is used by many of the world’s top brands. Prior to Localytics, Raj spent 12 years building a variety of technology companies. He was a management consultant focused on mobile with Bain & Company and Adventis. At Adventis, Raj worked alongside Steve Jobs at Apple to develop the business framework for the iPhone and led the formation of the multi-billion dollar Disney Mobile venture in Japan. Previously, Raj held sales and marketing leadership positions at Proco Machinery and Requisite Technology. Raj completed his MBA with Honors from the Ivey School of Business and London Business School.

Ralph Folz is WordStream’s Chief Executive Officer.

Folz joined WordStream’s board in August 2009 and was elected the company’s CEO by the Board of Directors in August 2010. He has an extensive background in the digital marketing space, including founding and subsequently selling Molecular Inc., an interactive Web design and marketing agency, to Isobar. Folz spent two years as Global Chief Operating Officer of Isobar, one of the largest digital marketing agencies in the world (part of the Dentsu Aegis network). Folz spends time mentoring and advising venture backed startups in the Boston area and spent four years as a Board Director for Backupify, prior to its sale to Datto. Folz currently sits on the Board of Codeship, a SaaS company funded by Sigma Prime and Ascent Venture Partners. Folz has been named “one of the 10 most influential leaders in e-commerce” by the Massachusetts Electronic Commerce Association, and Molecular was recognized by Deloitte & Touche as the highest-ranking Internet professional services firm in the New England region. In 2004, he was named to the Boston Business Journal’s list of “40 Under 40” and recognized as a Mass High Tech All-Star in the Internet category. He has served as President of MITX, the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange.

Janet Kosloff, CoFounder and CEO, InCrowd,

Janet was born into a family of entrepreneurs; both her parents and grandparents were small business owners. I guess you could say it was in her genes to one day start her own business. After completing a Masters in Healthcare Business, Janet’s entrepreneurial spirit steadily grew as she held founding management roles with several successful startups. As rewarding as this was, she knew it was only a matter of time before she ventured out on her own. Janet got the idea for InCrowd while cruising in her Mini Cooper, top down, sun shining, ideas flying (ironically, she sold that car to help fund the company). Having worked in healthcare market research and understanding the challenges faced by life sciences companies, Janet saw an opportunity to disrupt an industry that hadn’t evolved for more than 50 years by applying technology to automate and simplify the market research process and providing fast and rigorous results. Ask her what it’s like to start a company and Janet will tell you, at no other point in her career, has she ever been more challenged or had more fun.

Moderator:

Robert Adelson, business and tax attorney, partner at Boston law firm of Engel & Schultz LLP, 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. 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 (2004 -2015). 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. His website – www.ExecutiveEmploymentAttorney.com

E-Minute Presentations will be given at the start of the meeting. These very short presentations enable young startup entrepreneurs to gain experience in presenting their summary business plans to expert panels and audiences.

Directions: Constant Contact is adjacent to RT 128 / 95 at Exit 28B.

See: 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 premeeting 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.