From Start-Up to Success: Inaugural Edition

This is the first edition of our new Start-Up to Success series. We are going to profile Philadelphia tech professionals that have had a hand in building successful start-ups. In a time when so many start-ups fail, we want to highlight the triumphant stories, and allow the founders/CEOs/CTOs to disclose their own secrets to success.

We have an awesome panel locked in for our break-out event, so we hope to see you all there!

Event Schedule

6:00-7:00: Free pizza, drinks, and networking with other tech enthusiasts

7:00-8:30: Panel members will speak individually for 15 minutes, with 5 minutes following each presentation for Q&A

8:30-Onwards: After party at Ladder 15 (http://www.ladder15philly.com/) with Happy Hour drink specials

The Panel

Tom Kulzer, Founder/CEO of AWeber (http://www.aweber.com/)
http://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/8/d/a/6/event_209016262.jpegTom Kulzer is the founder and Chief Executive Officer at AWeber, the leading small business email marketing software, where he is actively involved in the company's strategic direction, growth and evolution. Over the company's 15-year history, Tom has nurtured it from a small start-up to a robust organization serving over 100,000+ customers, all without public or venture funding.

Tom laid the foundation for AWeber while working at a computer hardware firm in the mid-1990s, where he realized sales prospects were falling through the cracks due to lack of proper follow up. By automating the delivery of personalized follow up emails to prospects, company-wide sales skyrocketed, and sales associates had additional time to spend pursuing new prospects.

Frank Panko, Founder of A View from My Seat (http://aviewfrommyseat.com/)
http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/8/8/1/0/event_209014832.jpeg Frank is a Philly techie, programmer, developer, designer, artist and sports fan. He's been designing and building websites for nearly 15 years. He's bootstrapping A View From My Seat, a website and collection of mobile apps and browser extensions that give event goers a way to share & see photos from their seats before purchasing tickets. What started as a small side project has become a self-sustained start-up with consistent growth.

Frank is currently a part of the Philly's Project Liberty incubator. He is a generalist who loves to work in many mediums without specializing in any one. He's motivated by problem solving with mobile and modern technology, providing meaningful services and supporting growing the Philly tech scene.

Chin-Hock (C.H.) Low, CTO of Chaikin Analytics (http://www.chaikinanalytics.com/)
http://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/8/b/e/e/event_209015822.jpegC.H. Low has been at 9+ startup/early stage companies in CEO/CTO/Product Management/Bus. Dev. executive positions since 1983. C.H. has been responsible for or involved in the development of 100+ software products, online services and on-demand application service providers for consumers and corporations. His past experiences and responsibilities includes Product Management, Business/Product/Technology Strategy, Mergers and Acquisition, Sales and Marketing, Product Analysis, Project Management, Software Development and Systems Operations. He has been a founder or founding team of three companies. Also at three of the companies, Reality, VerticalNet and eMoney Advisor were successful exits.

C.H. Low is currently CTO/Head of Products for Chaikin Analytics, which provides a quantamental stock rating that helps investors and traders outperform the market with less risk, by quickly identify strong stocks to buy and weak stocks to sell or avoid.

C.H. graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Management and Technology Program (Wharton and Engineering School) in May 1983. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics (Finance) and a Bachelor of Applied Science (Computer Science).

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/chlow Twitter: http://twitter.com/chlow (https://twitter.com/chlow)

Bart Mroz, Head of Brand Experience at SUMO Heavy Industries (http://www.sumoheavy.com/)

http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/a/3/a/4/event_209441892.jpeg A seasoned information technology professional with over a decade of experience providing solutions and support for a wide variety of clients and organizations. Agile and adaptable with deep roots in the local technology and startup community. Ideal balance of leadership, technical knowledge, business analysis, client management skills, and entrepreneurial spirit. You can find most of his internet life at bartmroz.com (http://bartmroz.com/).