Going Global SIG
Partnering with Foreign Investors
April 5, 2012 | 6:00-8:30 PM | 1801 Page Mill Road | Palo Alto
Event Sponsor: Frank, Rimerman + Co. LLP

As the world gets smaller, investors are coming to the US from all parts of the world to look for sound investments in emerging companies.  This session of the Going Global Special Interest Group (SIG) series will focus on the interests of foreign investors when partnering with emerging US companies, and the considerations of growth-focused companies who partner with globally-focused venture capitalists.

During this SIG’s panel session, we will explore such issues as:

• What do foreign VCs look for when considering US investments?
• How do the expectations of US-based and foreign investors differ?
• What trends should US companies be aware of in foreign investment?
• Which areas are the most active in foreign direct investment?

Panelists will include international VCs with experience in investing in global companies, both in the US and abroad. Attendees can expect to hear real life stories from experienced investors and obtain practical guidance based on their experience. The panelists will discuss the trends and significances of foreign capitalization, and the important differences between foreign expansion and foreign investment.

Moderator: 
Roger Royse, Attorney/Owner, Royse Law Firm

Panelists:
Anna Dvornikova, Managing Partner, TEC Ventures
Anna is a Managing Partner at TEC Ventures, a Silicon Valley seed fund. Previously, she was an angel investor and entrepreneur. Anna serves on Advisory/Board of Directors of several technology startups, including eMazeU (acquired by Zoran), WikiMart, Manumatix, and OktoGo. She is the author of many articles on entrepreneurship, angel and venture financing. In 2010, Anna organized a delegation of 20 prominent investors representing top Silicon Valley VC firms with more than $60 bln under management to Moscow to meet with Russian business, investment and government elite, including President Medvedev, to further ties between Silicon Valley and Russian high-tech community. She also was an organizer and a host of the Russian President in the Silicon Valley in June 2010.

Vlasta Pokladnikova, Venture Consultant
Vlasta Pokladnikova is a Silicon Valley based venture consultant and a business development professional.  She started her work in the technology business after receiving her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford University where she focused on technology commercialization and venture capital research at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Dirk Kangiesser, Managing Partner, PolyTechnos Venture Partners
Dirk is the principal founder and managing partner of PolyTechnos Venture Partners, headquartered in Munich, Germany. Dirk is also the co-founder and managing director of the German Silicon Valley Accelerator, a German-government supported accelerator supporting German start-ups to enter the US market via the Silicon Valley ecosystem.  Dirk is a partner of Munich-based, Cartagena Capital, an international technology-focused corporate finance advisory firm, specializing in cover cross-border mergers and acquisitions, fundraising and strategic advisory services for small technology companies. He is also a founder of PT Capital, a German & Silicon Valley based investment firm investing predominantly in German tech start-ups which can benefit from a Silicon Valley presence.

Andrew Romans, General Partner, The Founders Club 
Andrew Romans is the founder and general partner of The Founders Club, Silicon Valley based venture capital equity exchange fund. Romans brings 19 years of venture capital, entrepreneurial and high tech experience, previously a managing partner at Georgetown Venture Partners (GVP), managing director of Sentito Networks and founder & president of The Global TeleExchange (The GTX). BA University of Vermont, Duke University, Freie Universität Berlin & Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, MBA Georgetown University.

• Angel investor, former non-exec on 15+ tech boards
• Founder & President of The Global TeleExchange (The GTX), a $100M telecom VoIP venture
• Technical, co-founded UNIX systems administration outsourcing business in Silicon Valley and NYC
• Managing Director EMEA VC backed VoIP software and equipment vendor – Sentito Networks (acquired by Verso Technologies)
• Negotiated complex agreements for fiber optic network build for Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina during I-FOR stage of conflict during 1990's
• Fluent in English, French and German, conversant in Czech and Slovak

Agenda:
Registration, Networking: 6:00 - 6:30
Panel Discussion: 6:30- 8:00
Q&A: 8:00 - 8:30
Hors d'oeuvres, wine and soft drinks will be served

Registration:
$55 VC Taskforce members
$75 Affiliates Organization Members
$95 General
(If space is available, door registration is an additional $10)

Seating is limited; register early!

Going Global SIG Board
Co-chairs: Roger Royse, Attorney/Owner, Royse Law Firm and Sam Wholley, Frank, Rimerman & Co.
Program Manager: Rose Mortilla, Vice President, Yes Partner, email rose@yespartners.com