Start Up Your Startup: An Investment Panel {Sponsored by Looksery}

Start ups and Silicon Beach go together like peanut butter & jelly. Join Tech in Motion LA to find out answers pertaining to your legal, financial and investing questions from our expert panelists who represent each specific niche. Our speakers will be discussing in depth strategies, solutions and success/failures they have personally and professionally encountered. This is the perfect opportunity to learn what to (and what not to) do! What are you waiting for?

About our Panelists:

Eron Zehavi: Chief Rewards Officer at Swagbucks (http://www.swagbucks.com/)

Eron Zehavi is the Chief Rewards Officer for Prodege and Co-Founder of Swagbucks.com, Prodege's central web property and the premier online rewards program. Since 2008, Swagbucks has distributed over $85 Million of Gift Cards and Rewards, including over $30 Million in 2014. In both 2011 & 2012 Prodege was placed highly on the Inc 500 fastest growing company list; Ranked two years in a row as a top 10 fastest growing private company in Los Angeles by the LA Business Journal; and named a finalist for the Colloquy award for excellence in loyalty marketing.

Along with his current role at Prodege, Eron is a Consultant and Mentor for socially conscious businesses and entrepreneurs

Christopher Webb: CEO of ChowNow (http://www.chownow.com)

Christopher Webb is a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur and investor. He is currently co-founder and CEO of ChowNow (http://www.chownow.com), a technology lab devoted to building fun, innovative products for the restaurant industry. Prior to founding ChowNow, Chris spent ten years on Wall Street where he held various trading positions at Bear Stearns, RBC, and Lehman Brothers.

Webb is a founding investor in Tender Greens, a LA-based restaurant chain, and a few early stage technology startups including Soma Water, Addy (Trak), ZestFinance and SHIFT.

Chris also writes occasionally for the Huffington Post, covering the cross section of restaurants and technology.

Peter Lee: Managing Partner at Baroda Ventures (http://www.barodaventures.com/)

Peter Lee manages all of Baroda Ventures new investments and current portfolio.
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Previously, he was an investor at Clearstone Ventures and Prism Ventures. Prior to entering venture capital, he was the Vice President of Operations and Product Management at Goldpocket (acquired by Ericsson), a startup developing a platform for creating, distributing and managing interactive TV digital media systems

Peter earned his B.S. and M.S. in engineering product development from MIT where he was elected into the Tau Beta Pi Honor Society and was awarded a full-tuition graduate fellowship. He also holds an M.B.A. with honors from Harvard Business School.

Roger Steinbeck: Partner at Heath & Steinbeck (http://heathsteinbeck.com/)

Roger maintains a broad-based transactional practice, which includes advising on the acquisition and sale of businesses, corporate governance, contract drafting and negotiation, and business formations. Having practiced at a leading international firm and as general counsel for a successful technology start-up, he is uniquely qualified to advise clients on the myriad of legal matters they can face on a daily basis. Prior to forming Heath & Steinbeck, LLP, Roger practiced at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter,& Hampton, LLP in downtown Los Angeles, where he advised Fortune 500 companies, private clients, and emerging businesses in transactional, structuring, and corporate matters. He is an LA native, receiving his undergraduate degree from Loyola Marymount University and his J.D. from Loyola Law School.

Our Moderator:

Omar Shamout: LA Business Journal (http://www.labusinessjournal.com/staff/omar-shamout/)

A former film and television executive at actor Tyrese Gibson's HQ Pictures, Omar Shamout received his Master's in Journalism from USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in 2013 and was the recipient of the school's Jack Langguth First Amendment Award. After graduation, Omar worked at the Los Angeles Daily Journal, where he covered state civil courts until February 2014. As part of his reporting, Omar wrote extensively about the landmark Toyota sudden acceleration litigation. He has been the Los Angeles Business Journal's technology reporter since last March, and he frequently covers the intersection of content and technology among the city's businesses. Omar received his bachelor's in film and new media production from Occidental College in 2003. He hails from Redondo Beach, Calif.

Beer Provided By:

King Harbor Brewing Company (http://kingharborbrewing.com/)

Way back in November 2012 Will and Tom and the great epiphany, like most brewery founders, that the corporate world was just not for them and greener pastures were out there for the seeking. Both being big fans of beer and having traveled all over the world searching out small breweries and unique styles they knew exactly what to do–open a brewery, obviously–but they knew that neither of them should be a professional brewer. So they sought out someone with a brewer education, years of professional experience, and a propensity for making damn delicious beer: Phil McDaniel (Siebel, Stone, The Bruery). KHBC is a production brewery in North Redondo Beach with a totally sweet tasting room. Come by and grab a couple pints.

Pizza Provided By:

Grasshopper (http://www.grasshopper.com)

Founded by two entrepreneurs in 2003, Grasshopper is dedicated to making it easier to start and grow small businesses. Grasshopper set out to empower entrepreneurs with a product that enables businesses to sound more professional and stay connected. Grasshopper also offers resources and guides to help small business owners succeed. To date, Grasshopper has served over 150,000 entrepreneurs—and the company continues to grow.

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Big thanks to our gracious sponsors who have made it possible for us to host this event: Swagbucks (http://www.swagbucks.com), Grasshopper (http://www.grasshopper.com), Workbridge Associates (http://www.workbridgeassociates.com/) & Jobspring Partners (http://www.jobspringpartners.com/)!

Learn more about our sponsors:

Looksery, Inc (http://www.looksery.com). founded in 2013, is a San Francisco Bay Area company that specializes in facial tracking and modification technologies for real-time video communication.

Our technology tracks your facial shape and expressions, ultimately giving you the ability to incrementally modify and fully transform your look using a smartphone front and rear- facing and cameras. All in real-time. A wide range of face filters have been developed that can modify your eye color, nose size, facial shape, and skin. Plus fun real-time effects that transform you into a 3D avatar of a cute animal or even a scary monster if desired. With our technology, the possibilities are extraordinary.

Swagbucks is the web’s leading rewards discovery community and top provider of free gift card awards for everyday digital life, helping consumers stretch their household budgets. Headquartered in El Segundo, California under Prodege, LLC, Swagbucks is the original digital rewards currency for a wide variety of online activities including shopping, entertainment, surveys, discounts, games, search and more.

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