The Point

TIE-DC – Review of 2009

We still have about six weeks to go this year, but it is safe to say that under the leadership of D.P. Venkatesh and Amir Hudda we were able to put a number of serious events on the map in 2009. Without exceptions the board has been in full alignment and support throughout this process. Here are some of the event highlights.

Leadership Dinner Series
The TiE Leadership Dinner Series was designed as an exclusive event for our charter members. The events provide an intimate setting (50 people maximum) for Charter Members to meet accomplished executives and one another. Our speakers share candid advice and lessons learned in informal talks.This year’s line up included:

• Sudhakar Kesavan, CEO of $700M ICF International was the inaugural Leadership Dinner Series speaker sharing his story of building ICF into a major presence in the federal IT market. 
• Mike Daniels, SAIC: Our June Leadership Dinner Series featured Mike Daniels, SAIC Board Member who was responsible for the sale of Network Solutions to SAIC and Verisign for $19.6 billion in 2000. The 40+ Charter Members in attendance were treated to Daniels’ insights on how to identify the next waves in business and capitalize on them for financial and business gain. 
• Nitin Pradhan, CTO of DOT, shared his vision of the role of IT in a Web 2.0 world with Charter Members to in October. Highlighting how he is working to align IT with the business of DOT, Pradhan shared management models for building the IT organization into a business-focused group that uses their technology expertise to answer mission critical challenges.
• Magid Abraham,Magid Abraham, CEO comScore, shared his experiences in building comScore from an idea into the global leader in measuring the digital world and the preferred source of digital marketing intelligence with Charter Members in November.

 
CRAWL-WALK-RUN
This three part series was designed to discuss the three stages of raising capital in the life cycle of a business – from angel investing to venture capital and private equity to IPO or sale of the company. In support of our “Expanding Entrepreneurship” pillar the dynamic panels discussed the state of each market and tips for navigating each stage.

CRAWL: The first stage (CRAWL) focused on raising capital from angel investors, seed investors and very early stage venture capital firms. Panelists were John May of Active Angel Investors, Dendy Young of McLean Capital Group, Phil Garfinkle of Trust Strategy Group, and Michael W. Broderick of Uniloc USA. The panel shared stories of successes and lessons learned from their work with early stage companies.
 
WALK: The WALK panel was an all-star group of venture capital investors from across the country. Panelists were Vispi Daver (Sierra Ventures), Chip Hazard (Flybridge Capital), Roger Novak  (Novak Biddle), Alan Taetle (Noro-Moseley Partners) and Frank Tower (Gold Hill Capital). Each panelist shared their candid thoughts on the state of the VC market including difficulties they face in finding investments and supporting existing portfolio companies.
 
RUN: Watch for information on our RUN panel slated for January 2010.
 

Managing in Troubled Times

In partnership with American University’s Kogod School of business, TiE DC brought together a group of accomplished CEOs to discuss their success and lessons learned managing their companies through a down economy. Focusing on the “Expanding Entrepreneurship” pillar, The panelists candidly shared how they made difficult decisions and what challenges lie ahead. The panel included Roy Dunbar (CEO Network Solutions), Shiv Krishnan (Chairman and CEO INDUS); Bob Segert (President and CEO GXS); Dave Shea (Chairman and CEO Bowne)  and was moderated by AU Professor Robert Sicina. 

Special events

Ambassador Meera Shankar: In July, TiE was proud to welcome Ms. Meera Shankar, the new Indian Ambassador to the United States. In support of our “Spotlight on India” pillar, Ms Shankar spoke on the major initiatives of the Indian Government. She also touched on the brain drain, due to progressive thinkers coming to the US to start companies; though, she’d rather call it “brain circulation,” as those who come here bring ideas back to the India when visiting friends and family.

Vivek Kundra, Federal CIO: In September, TiE was pleased to welcome Vivek Kundra. Prior to his White House appointment formerly served in Mayor Fenty’s cabinet as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the District of Columbia, responsible for technology operations and strategy for 86 agencies.  He has been recognized among the top 25 CTO’s in the country and as the 2008 IT Executive of the Year for his pioneering work to drive transparency, engage citizens and lower the cost of government operations. Kundra shared his areas of focus and talked to the audience about how they can help him achieve his goals.

Aneesh Chopra, Federal CTO: In November, Federal CTO Aneesh Chopra enjoyed a type of homecoming at TiE’s reception in his honor. Chopra shared how his affiliation with TiE helped him make connections for his then boss, David Bradley at the Advisory Board, which led to a higher position within the company and set the stage for him being named as Secretary of Technology for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Chopra talked about his focus on bringing transparency to the numerous government programs available to entrepreneurs and researchers as well as his desire to work with the best and brightest minds in technology to come up with solutions for better access to information around health care and energy usage. This access to information, Chopra believes, is the first step in changing the behaviors and status quo for both healthcare and energy consumption.

TIE DC Gala

We will end this TIE-DC season with our Annual Gala in December. Featured speaker will be Senator Mark Wanner. This is a great opportunity to learn more about our organization and perhaps get involved. You can find more information on TIE-DC’s website. My special thanks go out to Piper Conrad from Speakerbox for all her help putting this article together.

The VC Pitch: The inside scoop

Let’s say you started a business and are looking for money to either jump start and/or grow your operation. While working on the widget, finding customers/partners and lining up your team, you also need to find time to put a pitch together to convince the investor community that you are the ONE. The regular entrepreneur doesn’t have the opportunity to be in front of investors (angels, venture capitalists etc.) every day to stepwise improve their pitch. This means they need to bring their A-game to those few occasions. How do entrepreneurs prepare for that?

 TIE DC offers great help to entrepreneurs in this type of situation. On a regular basis, executives from start-ups and small businesses are being invited to an event called “The VC Pitch”. At the event they are allowed to test out their presentation in front of a panel of expert judges. In this year’s February event we had an interesting combination of venture capitalists, business executives and entrepreneurs as judges. The presenting companies came from a variety of technology areas: Web 2.0, bio-tech, medical devices and environmental friendly – green - technologies. The presenters each had a 5-7 minute window to make their case (quite the Toastmasters format). Immediately after the presentation, the judges gave feedback for 2-3 minutes.

Here are some general recommendations for putting a VC Pitch together:

1. Outline the value proposition: Why are customers interested in the new product or service? How do they benefit? Why will they be inclined to pay what you are asking for?

 2. Describe what makes your company unique: Why is your offering special? What differentiates your company from your competition? Why are you able to compete?

 3. Outline how you defend your Intellectual Property: Is there IP in the first place? How well is it protected?

 4. Name the key players: Who is making this company successful? What is the background of these key people? What are the key hires you are considering?

5. Explain the funding request: How much money are you looking for? What are you going to do with it? What is the predicted impact on your business?

In general, there is no replacement for confidence. Open strong and accelerate from there. Investors appreciate clarity. Be sure that your planning assumptions are explicit and will survive the back-of-the-envelope test. The judges, who are coming to this event without any personal business interest, are highly efficient in discovering anything that doesn’t make sense at face value. The feedback is direct, so be prepared. However, after talking to all presenters at the end, it became clear to me that everybody appreciated the professional input.  

TIE DC

Last year, in December 2008, I joined the board of the TIE DC. After I updated my LinkedIn profile, a number of friends called me to learn more. So, here is the upshot. TIE was founded in 1992, in Silicon Valley, by a group of successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and senior professionals with roots in the Indus region. The organization has gone global since then. There are currently more than 12,000 members and over 1,800 charter members in 53 chapters across 12 countries. TIE’s mission is to foster entrepreneurship globally through mentoring, networking, and education. Dedicated to the virtuous cycle of wealth creation and giving back to the community, TIE’s focus is on generating and nurturing our next generation of entrepreneurs. Besides its flagship event, TIECon – the largest professional conference for entrepreneurs, TIE now has a wide range of programs including Special Interest Groups (SIGs), TIE Institute, Deal Flow Meetings, TIE Young Entrepreneurs, and, most recently, TIE Women’s Forum and CEO Forum. The DC chapter of TIE hosts a number of interesting events throughout the year:

1. Charter Member Events: These are exclusive events limited to highly accomplished TIE members – so called Charter Members. Typically, these are CEOs, executives and other accomplished professionals in the DC area. Some of these events are formatted as Black-Tie receptions, dinners or retreats. Spouses are welcome to join giving the networking events a more personal touch.

2. Emerging Entrepreneur Events: These thematic events are geared specifically towards emerging entrepreneurs. The events take place either as a reception, breakfast, luncheon or workshop.

3. Open Networking Events: At open networking events TIE is featuring a high profile guest speaker or a panel of experts. For instance our Crystal Ball Series is always very well attended. In past events the future of the Telecommunication and Health Care industry were discussed by recognized business leaders from this area. 

In addition to these events, TIE DC is also supporting a variety of programs to help young entrepreneurs get started.

1. VC Elevator Pitch Dinner: Leading VCs provide candid feedback to entrepreneurs on how to improve their pitch. It helps our members put together effective business plans and presentations.

2. Big Brother/Big Sister Mentoring Series: Established business leaders serve as the big brother or sister to an upcoming entrepreneur. They give them advice on things like how to become more effective in sales or how to sort through operational issues.

3. TIE-Smith Fellowships: This is a joint venture between TIE DC and the University of Maryland’s Smith School of business. This program selects fifteen (15) or more fellows each fall to complete a vigorous course led by the Smith faculty and the region’s leading entrepreneurs.

I was introduced to TIE DC through a personal friend. There are a number of real benefits that our members can enjoy other than participating in above events and programs:

1. Access to a global business network: There are cross-chapter events, like TIECON that allow for professional networking. Every Charter Member is welcome to go to any event in the other TIE chapters. Also, there is TGS (TIE Global System) which enables charter members worldwide to access the collective knowledge base and information wealth of our membership.

2. Families are welcome: TIE is one of the few organizations I belong to that make it a point to include families in activities and events. We all are busy and have hectic lives. So, it’s a refreshing approach to bring our spouses and kids to informal gatherings.

3. Access: TIE DC provides access to the fast growing economy of India through its well-established alliances with other networks and through the personal connections of our members. Moreover, this year the DC chapter will push even further to enhance the access to the U.S. government. This chapter is uniquely positioned to play this role given its local proximity to major government organizations. A number of our charter members are actively conducting business with the US government in one form or the other.

After going to a few meetings I joined as a Charter Member. I would suggest that this is probably the best way to get to know this organization. If you would like to become involved, simply look us up at TIE DC or TIE Global.  Of course, don’t hesitate to contact me for more information.