September Venture Breakfast

September 11, 2009

Seeing the Future— Building a Business to Seize a Future Market

When: Friday, September 11, 2009 7 - 9 am
Early-Bird Networking begins at 6:30 am

Where: Bellevue Harbor Club, Bellevue, Washington

Parking: Please park at the Bellevue Corporate Plaza Garage for parking validation. This is the free standing garage located at NE 6th St on 110th Ave. From NE 8th St turn south on 110th Ave NE. Garage entrance will be on your right hand side. Please note that parking is NOT validated in the Harbor Club building garage.

Speaker: Ivan Braiker, CEO of HipCricket

Close your eyes and imagine that the startup you are currently contemplating. Now ask yourself: Can you see around corners and into the future so you know what’s coming? Do you see the trends, patterns and connections that others haven’t yet? Have you dissected the problem so that you understand how things are, how they might be, and how to get there? Do you have a clear vision of the limitations? Can you vividly describe this ‘new future’ so that others get it and can support it?

Entrepreneurial fortunes are won (or lost) based on an entrepreneur’s visionary acumen. Ivan Braiker, CEO of HipCricket, a mobile marketing company he co-founded in 2004, knows this. In addition to co-founding HipCricket, he has’ launched two other companies. Success in each depended on being able to see into the future of each industry—and create a new market value proposition.

What you will learn: Drawing on his experiences, Ivan will present a roadmap that every entrepreneur will learn from. He will provide his secrets for how to find a struggling business model and capitalize on it...He will share lessons he learned firsthand, in selling a vision before a market has materialized...And, he will provide tips for selling a business model to investors when there is no track record...

For example, in 2004 when launching HipCricket, Ivan understood the value of permission-based marketing and saw the opportunity to use mobile devices to deliver a fully-opted in, spam-free way for broadcasters and brands to interact with customers and prospects. Customers such as Clear Channel Radio, NBC, CBS, Nestle, Coca Cola, Macy’s, Staples, and Hershey’s are using the solution today. However, the road to success wasn’t easy. Among the challenges, people in broadcast were slow to see an outdatedbusiness model and the need to change to create non-traditional revenue (via mobile and online) that would revive radio and television. Equally demanding was selling a vision before mobile adoption and behaviors changed, not to mention funding challenges.

About Ivan Braiker: Before co-founding HipCricket, Ivan co-founded and was president of Satellite Music Network, the first radio network to distribute live, 24-hour programming via satellite – an innovation that earned him Billboard Magazine’s “Trendsetter of the Year” award. He also built a series of radio networks, starting with Olympia Broadcasting, which became one of the first publicly-held radio groups. When Ivan got there, it was a single station; when he left, it held a 15-station portfolio with presences in eight key markets. He subsequently co-founded and served as president of New Northwest Broadcasters, which grew under Ivan’s leadership to hold more than 40 stations.

*As of the December 2008 breakfast, due to rising venue costs for late registrations, the price to attend the breakfast will be increasing by $5 starting on the Tuesday before the breakfasts

Cost:
Regular Registration: $25 for members, $40 for non-members.
After September 7: $30 for members, $45 for non-members
Walk-in/At Door: $35 for members, $50 for non-members
Members, bring a bring a first time attendee guest at the member rate!

Join us on September 11th for what is sure to be an engaging breakfast. Register today to ensure a seat.