Entrepreneurship

Being an entrepreneur is hard. Not everyone should be an entrepreneur. It is lonely, challenging, and not always rewarding. You need passion, commitment, and luck. You also have to have the right team, the right idea, and be in the right place at the right time.

This talk provides an introduction and overview of entrepreneurship. Whether you already have an idea, are eager to start your own company, or simply want to learn more about what an entrepreneurial career would be like, this talk exposes you to the opportunities and challenges of entrepreneurship. We will develop a conceptual understanding of the entrepreneurial process as a whole – including such as testing/adapting a business concept, defining a market entry strategy, understanding the target market, developing a business model, as well as sources and uses of capital and financing an enterprise.

eCommerce & Social Media – What Every CEO Must Know

The rise of eCommerce represents the single most important wave of retail innovation since consumer brands first began selling goods and services online over 20 years ago. eCommerce, trading in products or services online, represents less than 10% the total retail in the US. Globally, that number is even less. Given the size of the opportunity, entrepreneurs who successfully execute on new business models before the rest of the market stand to reap outsized returns. Opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to build the next billion-dollar eCommerce company exist across many categories. In order to capitalize on this opportunity, the first step is to understand the eCommerce ecosystem, as well as the key trends, parameters, and industry players. Additionally, the role of social & mobile commerce, on-demand services, payments, and marketplaces are becoming increasingly important.

This talk will provide a 360-degree view into the building, funding, and running an omni-channel business. As this will be a small group, we will establish an in-depth understanding of the fundamentals, language, and terminology of eCommerce as well as the process and requirements during each stage of a company’s lifecycle. Using current, real-world examples, we will review and examine which companies are being funded, and which ones are not, and the reasons why. We will learn key definitions such as cohort analysis, CAC, churn, and LTV and look at the impact of vertically integrated commerce, electronic payments, supply chain integration, data collection and analytics, and marketing & promotion.

Building a Sustainable Tech Ecosystem

Drawing on his over thirty years of global experience in running tech companies, venture capital investing, and his role in taking companies through multi stage investments to exit, Ivan Nikkhoo will be discussing what it takes to create a sustainable digital ecosystem. Ivan is actively involved with a number of accelerators, incubators, and ecosystems across the globe, and he will describe the essential ingredients that a digital ecosystem must have for long-term success. As part of this journey, he will discuss what it takes to stimulate debate on where action needs to happen in creating such clusters.

Raising Capital - A Strategic Approach

Every good CEO knows that he/she may need to raise money through the lifecycle of the company. But the needs and challenges of the company change from stage to stage, and the sources and uses of funds change accordingly. This talk will focus on how to raise money during each stage of the company. Using current and pertinent examples, we will discuss companies that have been successful, and others that have not been successful in raising capital. We will discuss how and what professional investors look at such investments in each stage, as well as current market trends. We will further discuss the specific parameters that are most important during each stage.