Monthly Programs - November 10, 2009
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Campus Center - Odeum Room
Doors open for networking: 5:30 p.m.
Meeting: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Cost: Free for $125 members, $15 for $50 members, $30 non-members
Pre-registration
Parking
Business Plans Battle Nov. 10
Frederic Morris
Dreams collide with reality during the WPI Venture Forum's 16th annual Business Plan Contest. Inventors and innovators with a new product or process test their business ideas with seasoned professionals, and the judges seek new and fundable ideas. The contest itself has found new ways to improve, this year with an expanded judging process. Entrants undergo two separate rounds before the judges select the finalists who present at the Tuesday, November 10, 2009 meeting.
The competition for the $20,000 prize will be fast and fierce that evening, with networking before the meeting and during the break. Come vote for your favorite presentation on November 10 and celebrate the winning new idea.
A total of 31 first-round presentations will be held at WPI on October 17, and five teams selected will go on to a second round conducted through a web-based application on October 29. A group of 14 volunteer judges with a broad range of industry experience will critique the presentations and offer mentoring support to the semifinalists.
David Verrill
Typically, three finalist teams present to the attendees at the November WPI Venture Forum meeting and a panel of three judges. The final decision considers audience votes as well as the judges' own ranking of the presentations against specific criteria regarding product and market definition, revenue generating strategy, proprietary rights protection, critical elements for success, and investor exit strategy. This year's final-round judges are Frederic H. Morris of Brook Venture Funds, David Verrill of Hub Angel Investment Group, and Todd Hixon of New Atlantic Ventures.
Frederic Morris is a founder and partner of Brook Venture Funds I and II. The firm's strategy focuses on investments of less than $5 million into expansion-stage medical and information technology companies. Prior to forming Brook, Morris founded and led the specialized lending division of State Street Bank in Boston where he was a senior vice president and member of the management committee. Morris holds a BA from Yale and earned his MBA from Harvard after serving as a Lieutenant in the US Navy.
Todd Hixon
David Verrill is founder and managing director of Hub Angel Investment Group in Cambridge, Mass. He began his professional career as a research scientist at the Center for Blood Research in Boston. After receiving his master's degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1987, he joined MIT's Office of Corporate Relations. In 1991 he became Associate Director of Corporate Development and helped develop MIT's approach to strategic corporate partnerships. In 1996 he joined Xerox as Manager of International Sales and Business Development for the Adaptive Products Division. In 1998, he joined third party marketing firm Winchester International Group as Managing Director. In 2000, Winchester helped found the Hub Angels. Verrill sits on several boards, including the Angel Capital Association.
Rounding out the judges' panel is Todd Hixon, founder and managing partner of New Atlantic Ventures. He has more than a quarter-century of experience as a high-tech investor, consultant and board member. Prior to joining NAV, he was a co-founder and Managing Director of the DFJ New England Fund, an early stage venture capital fund that actively seeks technology investment opportunities among the residents and prospective residents of the Cambridge Innovation Center. He was previously a Senior Vice President of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he founded the Technology and Communications Practice and managed it for twelve years. Hixon earned an AB degree in physics from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard.
Maintained by webmaster@wpi.eduLast modified: October 30, 2009 11:59:10