= Great Founder's Talk Series =

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From Startup to a $500MM Exit:
Bill Strauss Shares the Journey
and Lessons Learned

Co-Founder & Former CEO of

ProFlowers.com

As a part of our Eco-System offering, we are bringing

an industry leader, Bill Strauss on

Feb 22nd, at 6pm.

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Event is open for anyone! Male or Non-member of WSLab, go to

www.womenstartuplab.eventbrite.com

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Event: From Startup to $500MM Exit: Bill Strauss's Talk

Date: Feb. 22, Friday

Time: 6:00 pm, Presentation starts

Reservation:

$10 Pre-Order

$15 at the door

Who is he?

Bill Strauss, Co-Founder & Former CEO of ProFlowers.com

Bill Strauss was co-founder, CEO and President of Proflowers.com (founded in April, 1998). ProFlowers was founded to solve a specific problem: Americans wanted to buy flowers more often but did not because of their high price and short vase life. To address those issues, ProFlowers made a strategic decision to use then-emerging Internet technology not only to sell direct but to ship direct to consumers. The company’s proprietary e-commerce platform eliminated middlemen and provided customers with direct access to the world’s best growers. While other dot-coms have come and gone, ProFlowers has experienced consistent growth over the past ten years from zero to almost $500 million in annual revenue.

The company’s innovative business model allowed customers to receive a higher quality, fresher product at a lower price point, while growers received significant benefits through improved profitability. ProFlowers was named Internet Start-Up of the Year by the San Diego Software Industry Council (SDSIC) in 1999. CEO Bill Strauss won the 2000 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. As the customer base grew, so did the company, expanding from a small start up staff to more than 400.

In 2003, the company changed its name to Provide Commerce, Inc. and went public on NASDAQ. In 2006, Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: LINTA, LCAPA) ("Liberty") purchased Provide Commerce for $477 million.

Bill has had considerable experience as an innovative leader of high-growth initiatives at other companies prior to ProFlowers, dating back to the early 1990s. During a three-year stint as VP of operations for Hanover Direct, he restructured this massive catalog company to support 300 percent increase in revenues, from $250 million to $1 billion annually. Bill served on the senior management team that rebuilt ChipSoft's infrastructure to support a growth in annual revenues from $50 million to $750 million over a five-year period. Bill has a bachelor's degree in accounting from Syracuse University.

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"Startup to $500MM Exit" Bill Strauss's Talk! ProFlower.com Founder & Former CEO

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