The Angel Capital Summit Team
My background is in helping companies address business development issues through a unique problem solving approach. Over the past 15 years, I have conducted several executive workshops and consulting engagements designed to help start-ups and established companies define their business models and develop strategies to enter new markets.
I developed my problem solving approach while working with the clients of marketing and consulting firms, as well as within start-up and venture capital funded companies. My professional experience has included serving as Director of Wireless Services and Senior Business Strategist for Boulder-based XOR (acquired by Fair Issac), and Manager of Business Development for Kansas City-based BlairLake New Media (acquired by Compuware). About five years ago I made a shift from IT to financial services. This has included serving as Director of Research for The Bornhoft Group (Denver) and Third Party Solutions Manager/Research Analyst for hedge fund manager Quantitative Equity Strategies (Highlands Ranch).
My industry experience includes Internet, wireless, entertainment, retail, health, construction, freight, and financial services. My client work has included projects with The Sporting News, Vitamins.com (acquired by HealthCentral.com), Mark Shale, Hilton Gaming, and the International Channel (Liberty Media Corp.)
My education includes a BBA with honors and an MBA from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
Click here to view Anthony's full professional profile.
Drew Bolin is a principal of Halo Companies. Halo Companies work with entrepreneurs seeking funding for clean energy and green building businesses.
Drew has successfully helped fund start-up incubators, dozens of companies, co-created the "Advance Colorado Center," "Certified Capital Companies" venture capital program and the successor "Colorado Venture Capital Authority" and the "Colorado E85 Coalition."
Drew brings almost a decade of experience with a owl's view of these industries as Cabinet head of the Governor’s Energy Office (2005 – 2007) and as statewide business development director and deputy director in the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (1999 – 2005).
David's past experience lies primarily in working for high-net worth early stage investors, building/managing/growing start-up companies from the ground up. He has extensive experience in deal screening and helping start-up companies identify and correct potentially fatal problems. His current project is as President/CEO of Absolute Concrete Finishing, a four year old, customer-centric concrete coatings/polishing/staining company based in Lone Tree, CO. Absolute Concrete strives to combine innovative solutions, cutting edge technology and a superior client experience and serves luxury residential and commercial markets. David's key areas of experience include retail, resturant, travel and a wide range of luxury products including automobiles, clothing, private yacht charters and luxury flooring solutions.
Click here to view David's full professional profile.
Alison M. Hotard is a versatile leader with experience transforming international operations across functions. She leads and mentors functional professionals throughout the project management life cycle to create organizational value. As Global Project Manager, Alison balances short-term task management and achieving project goals as part of a strategic plan. She anticipates problems, and works across functions and geographic teams to address and resolve them.
Currently Alison is Global Project Manager at Agilent Technologies, specializing in Order Management. She has led large cross-functional and cross-cultural projects and programs in the areas of acquisition integration, software application implementation and process improvement, in Order Management and in Finance.
Alison holds an MBA and an MS in Information Management from Arizona State University. She has also studied socio-cultural anthropology, European history, and spent a year studying in Paris, France.
Click here to view Alison's full professional profile.
Angela Libby Jankousky of Turning Point Presentations is a speaking coach, specializing in technical and business presentations.
Angela helps speakers, entrepreneurs, technical professionals, and corporate presenters make effective and memorable presentations.
Bad presentations often result in bad business decisions. For example,
good projects may be overlooked, or presenters may provide information that is either too specific or too broad for the audience. In either case, an opportunity is lost.
Angela has a B.S. and M.S. in engineering and an MBA. She helps clients with the content of the presentation, not only the delivery.
Click here to view Angela's full professional profile.
Conference Chair
Kevin Johansen wears many hats. He is a Director for the Capital Markets Group, an investment banking firm based in Dallas, TX, the Entrepreneur in Residence at the DaVinci Institute, and Founder of the Entrepreneurial Standards Forum. He is also a serial entrepreneur, a recognized innovator, author and has served as a business development consultant and interim CEO to a number of early stage high tech companies.
Mr. Johansen has a broad understanding of early stage investment options for startup businesses, and personal experience working in both pre-funding and post-funding environments.
Click here to view Kevin's full professional profile.
Jim has been a CFO for over 20 years and has “specialized” in technology (Avalon Software), hamburgers (Red Robin), real estate (various), chocolate chip cookies (Famous Amos Cookies) and beverages (Stewart’s Root Beer). He tried early retirement but it didn’t stick. He is looking for something interesting to do, which may or may not include a personal investment. Jim is a born salesman trained to be a pessimist (CPA). Loves real businesses with real revenue growth that may fly under the private equity radar!
Click here to view Jim's full professional profile.
David C. O’Brien
Biography
Dave O’Brien is COO & CFO for Motellus, Inc., a privately held organization that manages several companies in the design, development and deployment of mobile applications. Most recently he was the Executive Director and the Entrepreneur in Residence for the University of Colorado Bard Center for Entrepreneurship where he helped entrepreneurs develop, manage, obtain funding, and grow their companies. In the last year he has supported over 30 companies in a variety of stages of growth.
Dave has over 18 years of Senior Management experience as the COO and CFO roles in two successful startups, as well as Senior Operational management positions for four fortune 500 companies, including GE and AMD. Recently Dave was the COO/CFO for P2 Energy Solutions, a privately held $90M software and services company based in Denver.
Dave has MBA in Finance and Strategy from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University. He is on the Board of Directors of Progressive Health Center, a non-profit complementary health care facility located on the Swedish Campus. Dave also participates as a CTEK board advisor to several local software companies and as a board advisor to other non-profits.
Click here to view Dave's full professional profile.
Chuck Ray is a Principal at gNav llc, a consultancy which helps companies develop go-to-market strategies for new products and services in the location and mapping market space. He has 10 years of entrepreneurial experience, primarily in technology and software. Chuck is experienced in mobile GIS and GPS mapping platforms and location based applications. Previously, he was the Chief Executive Officer at Fusion Numerics Inc., and now serves in business development and fund raiding roles for GIS clients launching new mapping and location capabilities.
Click here to view Chuck's full professional profile.
ACS Chief Marketing Officer
Kirk Sanders has 15+ years of leadership and sales experience in growing fast-paced startups and emerging private and public companies to the next stage of development, funding or sale. His ability to provide visionary leadership and detailed business and marketing strategy to realize corporate goal has enabled him to achieve successful business startup and company turnarounds across a multiple of ventures that include Entertainment, Internet E-commerce, Real Estate-Mortgage, Sports-Product Related and Waste Management-Recycling. His efforts and achievements have been noted by CNN, local business media and other trade publications.
Kirk Sanders’ track record for making an immediate impact on sales and profits is based on his ability to quickly capture the big picture, accurately assess the catalysts and inhibitors of growth and sales, lead organizational and cultural change, identify marketing niches and opportunities, communicate effectively, work collaboratively across company functions and lead by example.
Click here to view Kirk's full professional profile.
Cindy Schaffer is a leader, facilitator and coach. She has over 10 years experience coaching entrepreneurs and executives on how to get their product from conception to market.
Cindy’s experience encompasses both corporate, and government settings. She currently mentors individuals on how to increase cognitive abilities such as memory and focus. As a Regulatory Scientist at the Environmental Protection Agency, she coached entrepreneurs and large corporations through the maze of federal directives. Cindy also balanced agency priorities and implemented them into their strategic plan. Earlier, she held research and product development roles in small and large biotechnology companies.
Cindy has an outstanding ability to lead and advise professionals from idea inception and design through execution.
Click here to view Cindy's full professional profile.
In the last 15 years, Chaz Shively has successfully started, grown, and sold six businesses. He has raised millions of dollars of financing; sold and negotiated several $1MM+ contracts; developed and managed client relationships with Fortune 100 companies, federal, and state governments; managed over thirty simultaneous projects on time and budget; lead his companies to more than 40 employees; and overseen all aspects of company direction, growth, management, sales, marketing, and operations. Shively, 33, is a key leader of Denver’s entrepreneurial, angel investment, and non-profit communities.
Click here to view Chaz's full professional profile.
ACS Chief Technology Officer
As Executive Director of the Entrepreneurial Standards Forum, Jonathan ("Jono") Shuster helps business owners and managers understand the dynamics that drive entrepreneurial success, and apply these principles to drive their own business success.
Jono's experience spans entrepreneurial, corporate, and academic settings. As president and co-founder of a software technology company, Jono financed product development through a mix of sales and Federal technology development contracts. As a research faculty member at Virginia Tech, he led the development of software systems to solve complex industrial management problems. Earlier, he held marketing and engineering management roles in large and small technology companies serving the Federal marketplace.
Jono's passion is helping entrepreneurs succeed in taking innovative ideas and technologies to market, where they can help solve complex problems.
Click here to view Jono's full professional profile.
Tim currently serves as the Director of Process Improvement for Adam Aircraft, Inc. He has 14+ years of progressive experience in Finance and Operations with manufacturing and distribution companies. The majority of his career has been spent working in the International Business Arena. He received his Masters Degree in International Finance and Spanish from The American Graduate School of International Management.
Tim began his career at Federal Mogul Corporation, a $2 billion manufacturer and distributor of automotive parts, culminating as Finance Manager and Controller for Federal Mogul’s business unit in San Juan Puerto Rico. Following that Tim spent the next 5 years culminating as President of International Operations with the The GSI Group Inc, a $250 million manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment. Prior to joining Adam Aircraft Tim served as the Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer for Pacific Valves, a $40 million business unit of Crane Co., a $2 billion diversified manufacturing company (NYSE=CR). Aside from Finance and Operations Tim brings skills to the table in Transactional Process Improvement.
Click here to view Tim's full professional profile.
