The CFO Role (5) Panelists

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Learn the secrets to startup fundraising from the people who touch the money, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). A well kept secret in the startup world is that Chief Financial Officers (CFO) are usually at the helm when companies raise Angel/Seed & Series A funding rounds. Founders generally hire a CFO on a part-time/consulting basis to help them raise money because of their expert financial know-how for financial projections, accounting, investor relations, budgeting, strategic planning, credibility and more. Following a Series A funding round, a CFO is generally hired full-time as the #2 or #3 c-level executive in the company.

Come to this event to learn how to raise money among other critical tasks for your emerging companies. We'll dissect the CFO role from the perspectives of current & outsourced CFOs and a CEO/CFO pair from the same company. Please read their bios below.

Topics:

Raising money CAP table management M&A Support (diligence, decks, etc...), Strategic planning Accounting/financial reporting Payroll/HR Administration & more
Agenda:

7:30 - 7:59pm: Refreshments/Mixing

8:00 - 9:00pm: Discussion, Moderated by Aaron Abram

9:00 - 9:15pm: Audience Q&A, Moderated by Jad Meouchy

9:15+: Mixing with panelists/audience

(5) Panelists:

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Jason Hodell

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

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Shopzilla is a leading source for connecting buyers and sellers online. Reaching a global audience of over 40 million shoppers each month through both its destination websites and affiliate network, Shopzilla connects shoppers with over 100 million products from tens of thousands of retailers. Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, the company operates sites and business services in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Shopzilla, Inc. is owned by Symphony Technology Group (STG).

Shopzilla.com (http://www.shopzilla.com/)

Jason loves working with public and private companies during times of change, reorganization and recapitalization. Former CEO & CFO of AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour Graduated from Ranger School & was Captain, Infantry for the US Army B.S. in Economics (Mathematical) from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

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Shuki Lehavi & John Hoang

Founder/CEO & Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

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Gumiyo enables publishers and businesses to connect with consumers on any device. The company’s cloud-hosted platform includes authoring tools that power more than 45,000 mobile sites, apps, and messaging programs for leading publishers, media companies, and software vendors worldwide. Integrating over 6,000 separate data sources including inventory systems, content management systems, CRM and ERP systems, Gumiyo’s platform enables its customers to build and distribute private label mobile solutions to over 150,000 small- and medium-sized businesses in a scalable and cost-effective way.

Gumiyo operates across a number of industries, including traditional and digital publishers, broadcast media, automotive, real estate, local business and brand marketing.

The company was founded in 2006, is headquartered in Woodland Hills, CA and maintains field offices in Chicago and San Francisco. The technology platform is deployed with clients across the United States, Australia, Africa, Asia and Europe.

Gumiyo.com (http://corporate.gumiyo.com/index.html)

Shuki is the Founder/CEO of Gumiyo, a very profitable technology company Shuki is a Mentor for StartEngine (http://www.startengine.com/), a technology accelerator program in Westwood Village, CA Shuki has a B.A. in Business Administration & Economics from The Hebrew University John is the CFO of Gumiyo John provides Financial & Advisory services to Angel/Venture Capital backed companies, including: HitFix.com, Wedge Buster, Mobile Cause, Altas Powered & Caldera Medical John was the VP of Finance/Administration at LeisureLink & Senior Director of Finance at Yahoo!John is a former CPA and has a B.S. in Business Administration & Accounting from California State University-Northridge

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Jordan Posell

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

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Rootstock Partners was founded by finance veterans of the startup world. Rootstock Partners believes that early-stage companies are more likely to achieve greatness by outsourcing their finance, administration, and related services. Benefits of this approach include:

Offering experienced startup finance professionals to do the work right the first time and avoid painful learning curves Allowing company founders and executives to focus on products, customers and markets Cost effectiveness = hiring based on your needs rather than the salary plus benefits of full-time staff Quickly ramping-up and “right-sizing” of all finance and administrative related activities Elimination of hiring hassle and risk in these areas as it can be particularly hard to find finance personnel who “get” startups The two principals of the company have a combined 35+ years working in the areas of finance and accounting, including investment banking, public accounting, and decades of startup experience in the eCommerce and media sectors.

RootstockPartners.com (http://www.rootstockpartners.com/)

Jordan shares a passion for helping young companies grow to be strong, healthy mature companies. Jordan is the former CFO for BeachMint He was also the former CFO of NevenVision, VP of Finance for GameFly & VP of Financial Operations for eToys. Jordan received his MBA from University of Virginia, Darden School of Business & his B.A. in International Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley

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Scott Brooks

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

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S.R. Brooks Company, Inc. (SRBC) is a professional services firm which provides CFO, accounting, advisory, and management consulting services, among others. Although clients include both public and private companies, SRBC has a particular expertise in emerging growth and venture-back enterprises in the technology sector.

The professional staff at SRBC have mulch-dimensional backgrounds that include experience with the Big 4 and other international public accounting firms, as well as functional industry experience working in corporate accounting groups for both public and private companies.

SRBrooks.com (http://www.srbrooks.com/)

SRBC has worked with more than 150 companies over the last decade including: CampusExplorer, Central Desktop, Connexus, DataPop, Gravity, ICON Aircraft, LegalZoom, Ripple Networks, ScanDigital, Six Degrees Games, TrueCar, Wpromote, ZestCash, & others.
SRBC represents these industries: technology (software & hardware, eCommerce, online media & advertising, other internet businesses) aerospace, services + Scott has been a CPA for over 15 years and has been a CFO and VP of Finance for many software companies.Scott received his B.S.B.A. in Accounting & Finance from University of Arizona

Sponsored by:

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Ambrose.com (http://ambrose.com/)

Founded in 1997, Ambrose is a professional employer organization (PEO) providing an outsourced human resources, payroll and benefits platform tailored to the needs of small professional service and white-collar companies. With offices in New York City, Los Angeles, New Jersey, South Florida, Stamford, CT and Washington DC, Ambrose specializes in financial services, business and professional services, media and technology, and growth oriented start-up companies.

Ambrose represents these industries: Technology & Media, Startups, Financial Services, Business/Professional Services, Consumer Brands +

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Mobile Research Platform

Osurv.com (http://www.osurv.com/)

Osurv is a customer insight platform used by national hotel and restaurant chains, live events, and the entertainment industry.

Osurv's mobile surveys and real-time analytics enable brands to instantly
collect and analyze customer feedback in a fun, fast and easy manner.

Osurv was invested in and accelerated by StartEngine (http://www.startengine.com/) & Howard Marks, the legendary co-founder of Activision.

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DataPop.com (http://datapop.com/)

DataPop was founded by a team of search industry veterans from Overture Services to simplify the lives of marketers and give them the tools they need to build ads that people want to see.

DataPop raised $8.7M from: Rincon Venture Partners, IA Ventures, Momentum Ventures Management, Accelerator Ventures, & MK Capital

Sweets:

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BrazilianSweets.com (http://www.braziliansweets.com/)

Venue:

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DataPop (http://datapop.com/) 5762 West Jefferson Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90016