Breakfast Buzz: Succeeding Against Stereotypes

May 14, 2010

When: Friday, May 14, registration & networking start at 7:45am

Where: MOHAI, 2700 24th Ave E Seattle, WA 98112

What: "Too old, too young, too female, too old school, too new to industry, too unskilled in financings, too – different?" by definition a startup is different- but this feeling can overwhelm or inhibit the founders. Please join us in hearing how our panel of entrepreneurs overcame that perception to succeed and even thrive in their industries. Their stories will inspire you on your own journey. Annette Jacobs, CEO of Door to Door Storage will moderate a lively panel featuring Kabir Shahani (Appature), Carla Corkern (Talyst), Brent Frei (Smartsheet).

Moderator
Annette Jacobs is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer for Door to Door Storage, Inc. in Kent, Washington. Door to Door pioneered an environmentally-friendly container design to provide a convenient, secure and cost-effective alternative to traditional self-storage and household moving. Today, Door To Door operates in more than 20 U.S. metropolitan markets. Ms. Jacobs’ leadership has guided the company through the market downturn. In 2009, the business completed 3 acquisitions and numerous operational improvements that will position it for growth with the recovery. Previously, Ms. Jacobs served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SafeHarbor Technology Corporation in Seattle, Washington. During her tenure, SafeHarbor transformed from a dot-com company to a technology leader serving Fortune 100 enterprise clients. Its primary solution, SmartSupport™, developed under Ms. Jacobs’ leadership, combined software and business services to dramatically improve Web product support and was recognized with more than 16 industry distinctions. SafeHarbor received a Stevie Award for “Best Overall Company” in June 2007, while Ms. Jacobs was honored with 2 Stevie Award finalist distinctions as CEO and Chairman of the Year. Ms. Jacobs’ career has been achieved by changing perceptions and breaking stereotypes. As a female in business in the south, during the 80’s, she broke barriers on the ability for women to succeed in corporate America. As one of the youngest officers at GTE in the 90’s, she demonstrated that women could aspire and be successful in operational roles. More than 6 years ago, she proved again you can move from a Fortune 125 organization and achieve success in smaller, venture-backed companies. Ms. Jacobs resides in Clyde Hill, Washington, with her husband Steve, 11 year old daughter Ann-Marie and their dog Cleo.

Panel
Brent Frei is the executive chairman and co-founder of Smartsheet.com, an online work management software company. The product employs a spreadsheet-like interface on top of a work automation engine. Brent was the CEO of Onyx Software Corp., a Bellevue-based customer relationship management (CRM) software company he co-founded in 1994. In his 10 years as Onyx CEO, the company was voted best company to work for 4 times, listed by Deloitte&Touche in the top 10 fastest growing companies in the country, went public in 1999, generated $600 million in direct revenue, and was routinely ranked best in customer satisfaction by independent surveys. He is a recipient of the Smithsonian Institute’s "Pioneer in Technology" award, an Ernst and Young 1997 “Entrepreneur of the Year” and Dartmouth College's Thayer School of Engineering Fletcher Award for lifetime achievement. Brent’s past roles include: executive vice president of Intellectual Ventures, programmer analyst with Microsoft Corporation and a mechanical engineer at Motorola Corporation.

Kabir Shahani, Appature, Inc. - Kabir co-founded Appature in January 2007 with a vision of delivering bleeding edge software that provides tremendous business value while still being easy and fun to use. Their flagship product is an enterprise marketing suite that provides companies the tools to focus on their target customers, make more informed business decisions, and drive overall revenue while saving money on marketing campaign execution. Their approach has been so unique, that the company already works with top brands in the healthcare vertical, and achieved profitability its first year. In recognition of the company’s success, Kabir was named one of BusinessWeek’s “Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs of 2009”.
Prior to launching Appature, Kabir was the Director of Business Development at Blue Dot – where he helped raise a significant amount of angel funding, developed strategic partnerships, and managed public relations. Prior to Blue Dot, Kabir served as project manager for Avanade, a global consulting firm and joint venture of Microsoft and Accenture, where he lead teams and executed software projects for Fortune 500 companies. Kabir has also been closely involved in sales efforts at Avanade and Zones, Inc – where he lead the company in number of software licenses sold during his tenure.

Carla Corkern, Talyst - Dedicated to the mission of engineering the safer pharmacy, Carla Corkern brings a strategic mindset with high-tech and business savvy to the role of Talyst’s CEO and Chairman of the Board. Corkern champions the elimination of medication waste and medical errors that are so widespread and costly within the U.S. healthcare system. She believes the primary objectives of health reform can be achieved with a focus on these principles, and she advocates for the adoption of proven technology to deliver vastly improved patient safety and cost savings. Embracing the big picture, Corkern is focused on building Talyst’s long-term success by enabling the success of its customers. She strives to continuously uncover and cultivate new markets that would benefit from Talyst’s expertise and secure a pipeline of new business for the company. Corkern brings almost 20 years of experience in high-tech and supply chain management, and has helped build a number of highly-successful technology companies. Prior to joining Talyst, she served as chief operations officer at Vykor, Inc., a leading company in the management of the aerospace supply chain. She contributed to a plan that raised $28 million in venture capital funding and managed the company’s software development, customer support, training and professional services. Corkern holds a B.S. in technical communication from Louisiana Tech University and conducted graduate work at Southern Methodist University.

Schedule:
7:45am Registration Opens
8:35am Speaker
9:30am Breakfast Ends

Directions:
WA-520 W toward SEATTLE
Take the LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD exit
Turn RIGHT onto LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD E.
LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD E becomes 26TH AVE E.
26TH AVE E becomes LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD
Turn RIGHT onto 24TH AVE E.
2700 24TH AVE E.

WA-520 E toward BELLEVUE/KIRKLAND
Take the MONTLAKE BLVD exit toward UNIV OF WASH.
Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto E LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD.
Turn LEFT onto 24TH AVE E.
2700 24TH AVE E.

Click here for a link for a map

Cost: $15 for members and $30 for non-members

Thank you to all the NWEN sponsors!

Includes a light selection of breakfast pastries & coffee