Monthly Programs - December 11, 2007

Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Campus Center - Odeum Room
Doors open: 5:30 p.m.
Meeting: 6:30 - 9 p.m.
Cost: $15 members, $25 non-members
Pre-registration
Parking

Attract VCs through Networking

Laura Ring

Does networking really work? What role in strategic marketing should it play? Do entrepreneurs ever get funded through networking? On Tuesday, December 11, Laura Ring of Castile Ventures will answer these and many other questions about marketing plans that attract venture capitalists. Ring will also share her views on how to market your plan to VCs and network to reach the right VC for your company.

If you’re an entrepreneur looking for funding, an executive looking for a new opportunity, or an expert looking for a client to share your expertise with, this WPI Venture Forum meeting is for you. You will learn how networking can work for you to help achieve your goal. Ring, a seasoned executive with a track record of increasing recognition of organizations, will give an informative and thought-provoking presentation.

Laura Ring is the Vice President of Strategic Relations for Castile Ventures, a company that provides both capital and strategic direction to its entrepreneurial portfolio companies. She primarily focuses on the entrepreneurial business and investment community, managing public relations initiatives and assisting portfolio companies with marketing and outreach. Before joining Castile Ventures, she co-founded the first online broker of services to growing companies. She also launched and served as Director of the High Tech Services Group of Coopers & Lybrand, among other achievements.

Ring holds an MS (MBA) in Management with a concentration in operations and finance from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management and a BS in Business Administration from the University of New Hampshire.

Case Presentation

KO Instruments, Inc.

Paul Keleher

While 15- and 20-amp circuit breakers have been installed in homes and buildings for the past 50 years, more than 40,000 fires each year are caused by a circuit breaker that failed to do its job, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. A product that trips and tests installed circuit breakers is now in beta testing and ready to solve this problem. Trademarked as “Triple Test,” the world’s first plug-in short-circuit response tester was introduced by KO Instruments, Inc. in 2003.

Founder and engineer Paul Keleher holds a patent with broad concept protection on the product, which has sold some 350 units since its introduction. An improved design is patent pending. A demonstrator prototype with the revised technology is available, drawing on customer feedback from the initial version. The sales plan includes targeting several national franchise and membership organizations that represent hundreds of contractors and service organizations through direct online sales. As regulations tend to move this market, work is underway toward establishment of NEC/UL standards to require testing for installed circuit breakers.

A 1969 graduate of Bowdoin College, Keleher obtained his Master Electrician’s license in 1976 and has been an independent electrical contractor in central Massachusetts since 1984. He is seeking initial financing and a business partner with strong sales and marketing skills in the electrical/construction industry to develop and launch the product.

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Last modified: Nov 15, 2007, 11:17 EST