I read a lot about how startups need to build value quickly within their company and many of these articles talk about important things like having a great product, supply chain, customer service, etc., they tend to ultimately think of building value as adding customers. At the Angel Capital Summit this year, we’re focusing on ways startups can build value above and beyond the obvious (yet important) value of getting a lot of paying customers.
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Eight Themes for Creating Value
We will have speakers and panelists looking at different ways value is built into companies including brand value, building great teams, building a strong foundation of guiding principles, patents and IP, velocity and rapid growth, being a part of an entrepreneurial community and Mergers and Acquisitions.
In between each of these speakers and panels we will have approximately twenty four startups and early stage companies give their pitch for raising capital.
Here is a summary of the topics you can expect to see at the Angel Capital Summit this year:
Keynote: Kim Jordan, CEO, New Belgium Brewing
Companies add value starting with a strong foundation. New Belgium, the makers of Fat Tire and other great beers, started by codifying their guiding principles. Kim will share stories and insights about how taking the time to draw a map to their future let to the success that New Belgium is experiencing today.
Luncheon Keynote: Michael Vaughn, Co founder and CEO of the Regis Company
Mike is the author of The Thinking Effect: Rethinking Thinking to Create Great Leaders and the New Value Worker, a revolutionary approach that redefines smart thinking and effective learning by teaching leaders and w
orkers how rather than what to think. His previous book, The End of Training: How Simulations are Reshaping Business, explores the applicability of computer-aided simulation technologies to leadership development and workforce transformation.
Creating Brand Value
Companies with strong brands know that brand stewardship is a multi-billion dollar business. Angel investors and startups struggle to determine the value of brand and to determine the strategies, costs and efforts needed to actually build a brand. For entrepreneurs the panel will discuss how to develop and implement a brand strategy to add value to your company and for investors, the panel will provide insights about how to assess the potential value of a brand.
Creating Value through Patents and IP
How do companies build value through their patent strategy? Patents are only valuable if they can be used to defend against competitors or to gain revenues through licensing. We will hear multiple perspectives on patent strategy from the point of view of the VC investor, the CEO and intellectual property attorneys.
Community Values
Colorado is becoming well known as a center for entrepreneurial leadership with four of the top ten startup cities right here on the front-range. The Governor’s office set out to find out what accounted for this success and where the gaps remain in providing the best environment for entrepreneurship and job creation in the state. In this presentation representatives from the Governor’s office will share their findings and outlook – and we expect you may be surprised at the results!
Velocity Creates Business Value
What drives the huge multiples that entrepreneurial companies are getting when they “exit” and are acquired or IPO? This panel discusses the important and non-obvious role that velocity plays in driving high exit values. How do companies use venture capital to accelerate their progress and what about the companies that bootstrap and build long term value over a period of time? Our panelists will share insights from both sides of the fence.
Social and Environmental Impact
Companies that focus on economic value alone are leaving money on the table. This panel discusses the economic and non-economic impacts that entrepreneurs can make in by creating social and/or environmental value. How do these companies balance the elements of “Triple Bottom Line” accounting where economics is just one third of the equation? And how, ironically, can focusing on social and environmental impact end up resulting in greater economic value for shareholders in the end?
How M&A Creates Corporate Value
Companies that are entering the Mergers and Acquisition process often think of selling their company in the same way that they think of selling a used car. Our panel of Investment Bankers and M&A experts tell us how companies can dramatically increase value sometimes by 100% or more by creating and executing an effective M&A strategy.
The Angel Capital Summit is hosted by the Rockies Venture Club at the University of Denver, March 18-19th, 2014. The event is followed by an Angel-Only session the morning of March 20th where Angels can work together to evaluate deals, conduct due diligence and negotiate term sheets together.
What: Angel Capital Summit
Where: University of Denver, Sturm Hall, Davis Auditorium, 2000 E. Asbury, Denver, CO
When: March 18-19 Conference, March 20 Angel only event
Cost: The event is open to the public and non-members may attend for $299. RVC Basic members $249, Full Members $199, Students (with valid ID) $49 and RVC Keystone members are always FREE. Consider becoming a member while signing up for the conference to save on your entry!
More Information: http://www.angelcapitalsummit.org
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Angel Capital Summit is a two day event, March 18-19 at the University of Denver Sturm Hall, Davis Auditorium. Twenty companies will pitch to investors. This year’s theme is “Building Value” and we have an all star group of speakers and panels who will address investor interests in building value in early stage companies.
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Peter Adams is Executive Director of the
[ibimage==24716==Original==http://http://www.amazon.com/dp/1118642236/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_dFpctb186YKCRYZW==self==ibimage_align-left]Rockies Venture Club, Managing Director of the Rockies Venture Fund and co-author of Venture Capital for Dummies, (John Wiley & Sons 2013) Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and your local book store.
