Category Archives: Events

Preccelerator Workshop: Establishing Your Business Metrics w/ Ken Malouf

“Establishing Your Business Metrics”
Presented by Ken Malouf

In business, what doesn’t get measured doesn’t get done. While business owners are focused are achieving their goals, many have not identified and do not regularly track the essential metrics that will get them to those goals. Determining the right metrics for your business also begins with having true clarity in the vision and goals for your company. This presentation provides an overview of why it’s important to establish business metrics, how to identify the key metrics that align with your business goals, what some of the different results and performance metrics (KRIs and KPIs) are that you can measure for your business. This also includes a discussion of some of the key levers that drive customer and revenue growth, and how to establish a simple process for tracking your business metrics. By learning how to define, track, and evaluate your business metrics, business leaders will be more effective in establishing the processes and metrics to achieve business performance while better ensuring the progress and focus necessary to accelerate them to their goals.

Tuesday, February 18th, 2020
12:00PM – 1:30PM

Presented by:

Ken Malouf

• President & Owner, Game Time Strategies, LLC

• FocalPoint Certified Executive Business Coach

• 20+ years of business management experience

• Wharton MBA

Ken Malouf is a business management, strategy and brand marketing executive, certified FocalPoint business coach, consultant, and Wharton MBA. In the last 20 years, Ken has had key strategic roles at top companies including Nestle and Disney, and executive roles leading key businesses and divisions for large and small entrepreneurial companies in the dynamic toy industry. He is known for being strategic, collaborative, insightful, and versatile with proven results across a range of industries including consumer products, toys, entertainment, automotive, advertising and consulting involving a wide range of consumer targets.

Ken is currently the President and Owner of Game Time Strategies, LLC, an executive business coaching and consulting company. As a trusted advisor, strategic business executive, and elite business coach, Ken partners with successful executives to help spark key insights and ideas and take actions that can accelerate them to their goals.

*THIS EVENT IS ONLY FOR STARTUPS, all others will be removed from the list*

SA&M Preccelerator Encourages You to Attend Startup World Cup Regional Finals

Startup World Cup Southern California Regional 2020

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

5:30 PM

Smothers Theatre Malibu, CA

Startup World Cup is a global conference and competition that brings together the top startups, VCs, entrepreneurs and world-class tech CEOs. The Startup World Cup is the largest pitch competition in the world with a grand prize of $1 million dollars.

The contestants for this year’s Startup Up World Cup regional championship are:

Coral Drowning Detection Systems, the Los Angeles developer of the Coral Manta, an A.I. powered device that gives an alert when it detects a person drowning in a residential pool.
HomeZada, a platform to help homeowners manage information such as finances or home improvements, based out of El Dorado Hills.
vRotors, a Los Angeles-based platform allowing users to fly real drones around the world using a computer or VR headset from home.
MyShoperoo, an Orange County-based A.I. powered platform allowing users to have errands run for them while they are at work.
Miso Robotics, a Pasadena developer of a “robotic kitchen assistant” called Flippy, capable of working grills and fryers, switching tools, and more.
Gifts for Good, the Los Angeles-based startup that helps companies curate ethical and sustainable corporate gifts.
Limbix, who assists with mental health treatment using VR.
OPKIX, a Costa Mesa maker of small cameras that can be attached to hats, sunglasses, necklaces, and other kinds of apparel.
LexSet, a platform that generates data optimized for retail, augmented reality, warehouses, supply chains, and more.
Saya Life, a Los Angeles-based platform designed to help property owners conserve and monitor water usage.

Stubbs Alderton & Markiles client, AudioCardio, was among the finalists for last year’s top prize of $1 million dollars. The Startup World Cup grand finale will be held on May 22nd at the Hilton Union Square in San Francisco.

To find out more about this year’s competition, visit here.

Preccelerator Program Class 13 Demo Day + Angel Investor Panel

Preccelerator ® Program Class 13 Demo Day + Angel Investor Panel – Cohort companies get a chance to pitch to investors + fellow founders.

Clear your calendar – It’s going down!

The Preccelerator ® Program Class 13 Demo Day kicks off on February 26th @ 6:00 pm, and you’re invited to take part in the festivities.

Preccelerator cohort companies are early stage, and we work hand in hand with them throughout their term to know their market and users, foster their leadership skills, build and test their product, avoid legal pitfalls, ensure the defensibility of their products, acquire users and partnerships and prepare them for the fundraising process. Now it’s time to showcase their efforts.

Class 13 Company Pitches

As people become more passionate about a hobby or activity, the related items they want become more customized, expensive, or harder to find. Auxxit is an innovative mobile marketplace platform that brings together communities of like-minded people and provides them with peer-to-peer commerce tools that make it easier and more fun to discuss, buy, and sell their passion-based items. Our solution provides hobbyists with easier access to reasonably priced goods and quick cash to make upgraded purchases. Visit https://www.auxxit.com/

UNOMI is a SaaS for animators and video game developers. UNOMI leverages advanced, patent-pending voice recognition and motion capture technology that automates a lot of the most time-consuming aspects of animation production. Our voice recognition software understands human speech in multiple languages. This allows animators to easily create the speech of multiple 2D and 3D animated characters and for some, UNOMI gives them the ability to create content on a daily basis. UNOMI’s motion capture software will give content creators the ability to easily track human movement within their home or studio, which will eliminate the need to rent expensive motion capture studio space and equipment. Large-scale animation studios will be able to drastically reduce costs allowing them to create more content in a significantly shorter amount of time. UNOMI will also be releasing an Augmented Reality and VR, 3D object plugin for Adobe software which will allow users to easily implement and animate 3D objects quickly and easily. Each UNOMI software will be intuitive, which will eliminate a learning curve for most users. Visit www.getunomi.com

Investor Panel

Investors will be joining us from Tech Coast Angels, Pasadena Angels, and Women Founders Network.

More details to follow!

SA&M Preccelerator Encourages You To Attend UCLA’s First Friday Event Featuring Len Lanzi and SA&M Partner Kevin DeBré

SA&M Preccelerator Program Managing Director, Len Lanzi, and Stubbs Alderton & Markiles’ Partner Kevin DeBré, will be featured at UCLA’s First Friday event on February 7th at 9 AM. They will be discussing “Building Companies and the Community: The Preccelerator.” First Friday is an early morning event that provides an opportunity for the campus and local communities to network.

To find out more about the event and to register:

About Len Lanzi
Leonard M. Lanzi has over 30 years of organization management and fund development experience. He has been serving as the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Venture Association since 2007. In his capacity at LAVA, Len works with the LAVA board of directors to direct the strategic plan and organize educational and informational programs within the venture-funded startup ecosystem in the greater Los Angeles region.

Len brings a well-rounded knowledge from such diverse human service organizations as the Community Kitchen of Santa Barbara, Court Appointed Special Advocates, Junior Achievement of Southern California and the Boy Scouts of America. To view Len’s full bio, visit here.

About the Kevin DeBré:
Kevin leads the Intellectual Property and Technology Transactions Practice at Stubbs Alderton and Markiles, LLP, where he advises entrepreneurs and companies that use intellectual property to build their businesses. Kevin is the personal business attorney for several UCLA faculty members and represents a number of UCLA-founded companies in licensing intellectual property created on campus. He has been recognized by his peers for excellence in his practice, having been selected for Southern California Super Lawyers® for seven years. Kevin is a frequent guest lecturer in undergraduate and graduate level entrepreneurship courses at UCLA and other universities. To view Kevin’s full bio, visit here.

About First Friday:
First Friday is an early morning event that provides an opportunity for the campus and local communities to network. The group encourages you to kick off your day with exciting presentations on topics relevant to intellectual property and entrepreneurship at UCLA. To learn more about First Friday and more of UCLA’s Technology Development Group, click here.

SA&M Preccelerator Managing Director Len Lanzi Featured as Keynote Speaker for ASU Innovation Open Finals

SA&M Preccelerator Program Managing Director, Len Lanzi will be featured as the keynote speaker at (ASU) Arizona State University’s Innovation Open Finals. Attend to watch university students compete for a chance to win up to $300,000 in price funding. The event will also feature venture pitches and networking along with keynote speech from Len Lanzi.

The ASU competition is designed to challenge and advance university student innovators who aim to develop hard tech ventures. They provide critical venture mentorship and funding for student competitors who are launching a hardware enterprise within a wide variety of cutting-edge marketplaces including but not limited to hardware solutions, IoT and social enterprises with a focus on conscious capitalism.

Companies pitching to win the top prize include Frost Control Systems, Acoustic Wells, SmartRest, NeXST Rehab, Showcase, Kiri, PreOv, Feros Freight, AlgenAir, Contraire, Sensagrate, Insanirator, Ocular Technologies, KnoNap and more. To check out all the participants visit here.

To find out more about ASU’s Innovation Open Finals and to register :

Agenda
1:00 pm Competition Kick-Off

San Tan Club (300 Level East)

1:30 pm Innovation Open LIVE Experience
San Tan Club (300 Level East)

2:00 pm ASUio Keynote (Len Lanzi) + Q+A
San Tan Club (300 Level East)

2:30 pm Finalist + Winner Announcements, Laureate Presentations, and Q+A
San Tan Club (300 Level East)

3:30 pm Closing Remarks
San Tan Club (300 Level East)

3:45 pm Semi-Finalist / Showcase Demos + Networking
San Tan Club (300 Level East)

Preccelerator Workshop: Driving with Data w/ Sari M. Kern

“Driving Data”
Presented Sari Kern

All companies generate information from the day-to-day operations. The question is: how can businesses organize and use this data to drive success? This workshop will walk you through the steps of how to use data to inform strategy and make decisions.

This workshop will walk you through the steps of how to use data to inform strategy and make decisions.

Tuesday, January 14th, 2020
12:00PM – 1:30PM

Featuring:

Sari Kern

Sari is the founder and CEO of S Kern Consulting, a business strategy consulting firm which focuses on using data to drive business decision-making. Her diversified career as an entrepreneurial and strategic operations executive has touched various industries and markets such as healthcare, health-tech, clinical research, strategic consulting, nursing, leadership, visual arts, scuba diving and poker. Sari’s experience and approach give her an edge when it comes to discovering and interpreting information to develop comprehensive and evidence-based strategic business plans.

In addition to her consulting experience, Sari has worked on the corporate side of companies of various growth stages and industries, developing strategic corporate plans, financial projection models for boards and investors, and developing and growing new verticals.

Sari earned her MBA from the Graziadio School of Business at Pepperdine University. While pursuing her degree and since, she has delivered impressive tangible and measurable results for various companies in competitive markets focused on strategy, finance, budgeting, marketing, change management, and competitive landscape analysis.

SAM Preccelerator
1316 3rd Street Promenade, Suite 107
Santa Monica CA 90401

*You must register with your name & email to attend this event.

Preccelerator Workshop: Term Sheets w/ Caroline Cherkassky & Kelly Laffey

“Fundraising Essentials – Term Sheets 101”
Presented by Caroline Cherkassky & Kelly Laffey

Topics that will be covered include:

Type of financing: convertible notes vs SAFEs vs priced equity rounds
Convertible notes and SAFEs: caps, discounts, and other key terms
Priced equity rounds: economic provisions, voting rights, and other key terms

Tuesday, December 17th, 2019
12:00PM – 1:30PM

Featuring:

Caroline Cherkassky

Caroline Cherkassky is a partner of the firm.

Caroline’s practice focuses on advising emerging growth, development stage, and middle market companies on a variety of matters, including venture capital and other financings, employee compensation, securities laws compliance, technology transactions, mergers and acquisitions, stockholder agreements, equity incentive plans, corporate governance, and other general corporate matters, including serving as outside general counsel to early-stage companies. She also advises the funds and other investors that invest in these types of companies.

Kelly Laffey

Kelly Siobhan Laffey is an associate of the firm and the Director of Business Affairs at the Preccelerator.

Kelly’s practice focuses on advising emerging growth and middle market companies in the technology, digital, internet, interactive media (i.e., AR and VR), and entertainment industries. Kelly counsels clients on issues related to corporate governance and formation, venture capital and other financings, joint ventures, employee compensation, complex stockholder and operating agreements, securities law regulation and other general corporate matters. Kelly also advises investors and funds in connection with venture capital and other financings.

Kelly also counsels clients in connection with mergers and acquisitions matters, including asset and equity acquisitions and dispositions, cross-border transactions, spin-off transactions, secured lending transactions, financing restructurings, and corporate reorganizations.

Drawing on her diverse work experience in the entertainment arena, including time spent with talent agencies, and music and television production companies, Kelly also assists on matters related to licensing, marketing, and exploitation of intellectual property rights.

SAM Preccelerator
1316 3rd Street Promenade, Suite 107
Santa Monica CA 90401

*You must register with your name & email to attend this event.

Preccelerator Workshop: Employment Contracts & Alternative Compensation for Startups

“Employment Contracts & Alternative Compensation for Startups”
Presented by Louis Wharton

For a company founder, it is easy to understand the benefits of providing stock or stock options to employees. It’s a way of compensating employees that doesn’t drain cash from the business. Employees will feel invested in the future success of the company. Join us to get insights and wisdom about maximizing opportunities and minimizing mistakes in creating equity compensation.

Tuesday, December 10th, 2019
12:00PM – 1:30PM

Featuring:

Louis A. Wharton is a partner of the firm and president of the Preccelerator Program. Louis’ practice focuses on advising venture capital funds and angel networks, along with early-stage, emerging growth, middle-market and public companies in corporate finance, securities compliance, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters.

He counsels clients in the technology, e-commerce, digital media and entertainment industries, among others.

SAM Preccelerator
1316 3rd Street Promenade, Suite 107
Santa Monica, CA 90401

We hope to see you there!

*You must register with your name & email to attend this event.

Preccelerator Workshop: Pivoting With Constraints W/ Jim Cooper, Braid Theory

“Pivoting With Constraints”
Presented by Jim Cooper of Braid Theory

Direction and position of a company’s pivot, relative to risk and other factors, strongly affects how a startup progresses through barriers and objects in the market. These constraints can be difficult for a startup to identify, navigate and adjust to. By applying the constraint model, allows alignment to pivoting. To know more about this characteristic of constraints, make sure you’re familiar with the “axis” of your company. Pivoting can be disastrous for some companies without intellectual capital and customer evidence to support the move. In this workshop we investigate the challenges..

Tuesday, November 19th, 2019
12:00PM – 1:30PM

Featuring:

Jim Cooper, CTO, Braid Theory

Jim has 20 years of experience in commercialization and concentrates on bringing to market novel early-stage technology startups in emerging market segments. He specializes in customer and market validation, competitive analysis, regulatory pathway, business modeling, and go-to-market strategy. He is an inherent of evidence-based entrepreneurship and utilizes the Lean startup methodology, design-thinking, as well as other more traditional approaches to business modeling, and creating a pedagogy for startups to coalesce around to create meaningful benchmarks, waypoints, and milestones. Educated in both Australia and the United States, his background in economics and the life sciences, as well as experience in both the public and private sectors, positions him to assist companies in the deep sciences and engineering fields: Ag and Food Tech, Biotech, Aerospace, Advanced Manufacturing, Transportation, Marine and Maritime spaces, at his company, Braid Theory. Braid Theory is a strategic advisory company, which also supplies incubation resources for early-stage technology startups, taking the nascent to latent demand, pathway. Braid Theory looks for opportunities for revenue, and matches startups in the relevant space, and has raised a fund to support startups in the above market areas.

SAM Preccelerator
1316 3rd Street Promenade, Suite 107
Santa Monica, CA 90401

We hope to see you there!

*You must register with your name & email to attend this event.

Preccelerator Workshop: Employment Law for Startups with Rachael Lavi

“Employment Law for Startups”
Presented by Rachel Lavi

Rachael Lavi, an Attorney specializing in Labor and Employment matters in California, will be speaking on the top employment law risks for startup companies in California, including: (1) best practices for hiring employees; (2) independent contractors and misclassification issues; (3) how to utilize interns; and other significant legal risks.

Tuesday, November 5th, 2019
12:00PM – 1:30PM

Featuring

Rachael S. Lavi, Associate, Littler Mendelson

Rachael S. Lavi advises and represents employers in all matters of labor and employment law, including discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and wage and hour claims. Rachael has vast experience representing clients in litigation in both California state and and federal court, as well as before state and federal agencies, such as the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement, the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, the Public Employment Relations Board, and the National Labor Relations Board.

In addition to managing a diverse litigation docket, Rachael also provides clients with direct advice and counsel to help her clients come to the best legal and business decisions regarding compliance with state and federal employment and labor laws, including wage and hour requirements, leaves of absence, paid sick leave, handbooks and written employment policies, best practices for hiring, disciplining, and terminating employees.

During law school, Rachael was a judicial extern for the Hon. Andrew Wistrich of the U. S. District Court, Central District of California and was a volunteer law clerk for the Cancer Legal Resource Center. She was a lead articles editor on the Pepperdine Law Review, a teaching assistant, and a magister of the legal honor society, Phi Delta Phi. As an undergraduate, she was an intern for Hagen Resources International in Switzerland and U. S. Senator Dianne Feinstein.

SAM Preccelerator
1316 3rd Street Promenade, Suite 107
Santa Monica, CA 90401

We hope to see you there!

*You must register with your name & email to attend this event.