Entrepreneurs Unpluggd
BeyondthePedway.com
April 26th 6p – Entrepreneurs Unpluggd is a new event in Chicago that brings together successful entrepreneurs to share their lessons from actual experiences in an intimate, “unpluggd” format. Tonight “The Funding Question”. Photos courtesy Michael Courier.
Tickets $20-30
April 26th 6p – Entrepreneurs Unpluggd is a new event in Chicago that brings together successful entrepreneurs to share their lessons from actual experiences in an intimate, “unpluggd” format.
Tonight’s session – “The Funding Question”. A question plaguing even the most seasoned entrepreneur is The Funding Question. Where will funding come from and specifically, what kind of investor (if any) will be best for your startup? This Entrepreneurs Unpluggd will feature successul entrepreneurs from three different camps: the bootstrapped entrepreneur, the angel funded entrepreneur, and the venture capitalized entrepreneur. Each will tell the story of his/her experience, the pros and cons of each type of capitalization, and tangible takeaways for the entrepreneur seeking advice on funding.
Tonight’s speakers
“The Boostrapped Entrepreneur” – Seth Kravitz, CEO InsuranceAgents.com. Seth was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio and moved to Columbus in 2001 to attend The Ohio State University. He has been involved in the IT industry since he started his first company in 2002, creating web designs for small businesses. In 2004, he merged his company with InsuranceAgents.com to start building insurance marketing websites. Since then the company has grown into a 55 person operation in two cities and peaked at # 24 on the Inc 500 List.
Seth moved to Chicago in 2007 and became heavily involved with the Chicago entrepreneur community by volunteering as a business mentor at the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center at DePaul University and the Knapp Center at IIT and speaking at midVenturesLaunch in September 2010. In November 2010 he co-founded a digital magazine called Technori to celebrate entrepreneurship in Chicago and recently co-founded a one week entrepreneur event called S.P.A.R.K. Chicago scheduled for July 2011.
“The Angel Funded Entrepreneur” – Jessica Kim, CEO BabbaCo. Jessica Nam Kim is Founder/CEO of BabbaCo, a parenting lifestyle brand centered on integrated solutions that are “simple. functional. super cute.” Launched in 2008, BabbaCo brought 4 products to market and created a strong brand presence in the baby industry. BabbaCo products can now be found in over 250 boutiques, buy buy Baby, Bed Bath & Beyond, Diapers.com, and Amazon.com. BabbaCo received numerous parenting awards, have been featured on the Rachael Ray Show as “2010 Parenting Top Pick”, the TODAY show, Fox Business News, Chicago Sun Times, Pregnancy & Newborn, Parenting, and influential blogs (including People Magazine, Daily Candy, and Urban Baby).
Jessica started her entrepreneurial path as Founder/CEO of Jessica’s Wonders (1998-2003), an upbeat brand of premium baked goods. She started the company out of her dorm room, raised $1 million from 23 angel investors, grew to 3 outsource manufacturers, 13 employees, and national distribution. She was featured in press such as People Magazine, INC., and Boston Globe. Jessica was honored with the YWCA Young Woman of Distinction Award, “World Leaders of Tomorrow Award” by Korea Central Daily News, and Magic 106.7FM’s “Exceptional Women Under 30” honor.
“The Venture Funded Entrepreneur” – Chuck Templeton, Founder OpenTable.com. Chuck Templeton took his first step as an entrepreneur in San Francisco when he founded OpenTable Inc., where he helped build an industry leading company. He enjoys meeting with Chicago businesses and sharing the OpenTable story and is focused on helping make Chicago a sustainable city by 2025. Chuck earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and resides in Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
Director
Tim Jahn and Stella FaymanPerformers
Seth Kravitz, Jessica Kim, Chuck Templeton