Entrepreneurs Uncensored
Wednesday | Apr 16, 2014 Register

Entrepreneurs Uncensored

The Atlanta entrepreneur community is invited to join MIT Enterprise Forum for Entrepreneurs UncensoredCome hear Bernie Dixon moderate a discussion between entrepreneurs Val Rahmani and Randall Foster, two serial startup veterans from the Atlanta technology community, as they talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly about starting their own businesses. Bios are available on our Read More page.

Possible discussion questions include:

  • Selling the Vision: Have you ever gone too far or gotten too far out in front of the actual development?  How did you walk the line between selling sizzle, integrity and ability to deliver?  How fast did you try to scale to market?
  • The FOCUS thing: Did you ever fall prey to seduction of the opportunistic sale taking you too far off the roadmap?
  • Major Crises: Did you have them? What form did they take: financial, missing delivery, product failures?  What are your stories?  How did you recover?
  • People management:  What were your WORST hires?  Who were the toughest people to manage (types- not names!).  How do you find/attract the BEST?

Location:

Peachtree and 25th Building, 1720 Peachtree Street NW, Atlanta, GA, 30309, Suite 660. Near Amtrak station on Peachtree.  Free valet parking in front of building. Easy free parking in building’s lot on 25th Street.

Date/Time:

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

11:00 a.m. – 11:55 a.m.  Networking Lunch -- Sponsored by Atlanta Property Group

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Program

Open to all

 

Special thanks to Networking Sponsor 

 

 

Thanks to Event Partner

 

 

 

 

 

 

Featured Speakers

Bernie Dixon, Moderator

President Atlanta Tech Angels, Founder CEO Advising Angels

Bernie Dixon, Moderator

Bernie is a distinguished and accomplished businesswoman. Capping her broad career in private industry, she heads up the private investment network, the Atlanta Technology Angels, a 130 member investment network that sources, performs due diligence and post deal stewardship for early state technology companies in Georgia and beyond. ATA ranks in the top 10 networks in the US in portfolio size, members and opportunity flow and invests in technology based companies with large market potential. 

Bernie also leads an angel investment and advisory group, Advising Angels, LLC aimed at early stage technology oriented companies owned and operated by women. Bernie has been passionate about impacting policy and is an advocate for women in technology. Most recently, Bernie served as Vice President, HP Services Americas leading a $1.2B business supporting Manufacturing, Technology, Industrial, Consumer Products, Retail, Transportation, and Distribution Industries in the Americas. In that position, Bernie was recognized for her P&L improvement and for her active role in embedding customer service mentality with outstanding results. 

Prior to HP, Bernie spent 12 +years as the Chief Information Officer at Fortune100 companies: Carrier Corporation, a Division of United Technologies Corporation, Hamilton Standard, also a division of United Technologies and Raytheon Corporation, the world’s largest defense electronics producer. She has been responsible for leading and directing IT strategy and operations to run large, global enterprises in the consumer products, technology and National security markets. She also served at the national and international levels to establish National Security and Telecommunication policy and practices. She has led the Information Technology practice at one of the largest business consulting companies, Booz, Allen and Hamilton, where she supported US leadership in the White House, State Department and Department of Defense.

Val Rahmani

Start-Up Advisor, former CEO of Damballa and General Manager at IBM

Val Rahmani

Val Rahmani has over 30 years experience in the Technology industry, with a strong history of success as a corporate executive, Board member and start-up CEO.  She has proven strengths in technology, innovation, strategy, sales and marketing, corporate development and risk management.

Val is a Board Member and member of the compensation committee of Teradici, a later-stage private technology company based in Vancouver and Silicon Valley.

Val was most recently CEO of Damballa, a VC funded cyber security company in Atlanta.  She re-energized the company, established it as the leader in Advanced Threat Protection, grew revenue over 100% per year and raised 2 rounds of funding from Washington DC and Silicon Valley VCs.

At IBM, Val ran the $3B Global Technology Services businesses, IBM’s Sales and Services Strategy unit, IBM’s $3.5B UNIX business, and IBM’s Mobile Solutions business. 

Val serves as a Board member of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, a member of the advisory board of the Technology Association of Georgia Education Collaborative, and a member of the executive advisory board for Atlanta Telecom Professionals.  She acts as a mentor to several start-ups.  She consults on technology trends, IT risk management, strategy and business models.

Val enjoys public speaking and has addressed a diverse set of audiences, including international industry conferences and leading business schools.  She covers Risk Management, Cyber-security, IT Enabling Enterprises, Innovation and Leadership.

Val holds an MA and Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry from Oxford University, England.  

Randall Foster

M & A Leader, Capital Advisor, former CEO and President of Vumii Imaging, Inc.

Randall Foster

Randall Foster is an accomplished entrepreneur and global business leader, who delivers 21st century critical thinking and problem solving skills to the organizations he touches. He has spent the last 20+ years developing an ability to rapidly understand and communicate products, markets, business models, and financial structures while collaborating with and motivating colleagues and partners. 

Randall Foster completed the Jerome B. Fisher Management and Technology dual-degree program at the University of Pennsylvania, receiving a B.S. in Computer Science Engineering and a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of Business, earning Cum Laude distinction in both degrees. Foster also completed the Wharton Executive Program on Marketing Innovative Products & Services in 2002.

Foster has founded, grown, advised, and invested in multiple businesses spanning hardware, software, and services, introducing innovations to multiple global markets.  He has initiated and developed key relationships in North America, Asia, Europe, India and the Middle-East. Foster has personally raised more than $12 million in early-stage capital for his ventures and successfully negotiated and managed the sale of his two founded companies to strategic acquirers. Remaining as a divisional president at one of the acquirers, Foster spent three years on the senior executive team at a Fortune 500 public company, leading a business unit of 120+ people, briefing Wall Street analysts, accomplishing two software company acquisitions, and implementing multiple organizational integrations.

Foster has been a private investor in nine emerging technology companies, a member of Atlanta Technology Angels, and a limited partner in an early-stage VC fund.  Foster enjoys serving on private company and non-profit boards of directors. He currently is an executive board member of the American Israel Chamber of Commerce and has been actively involved in bi-national business and investing between Israel and US since 2005.

Randall Foster is currently a Managing Director at Focus Investment Bank, a middle-market M&A advisory firm with 25+ bankers who advise national and international clients in Merger, Acquisition, Capital Raising, and Corporate Finance. Foster’s executive operating experience, and first-hand knowledge in software, hardware, and services business models bring a real practical understanding to business owners seeking an M&A transaction. Foster has recently been engaged by Viola-Group www.viola-group.com, Israel’s premier high-tech private equity fund family ($2Billion+ and 100+ companies in portfolio), 

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