Gaining Early Traction - Go To Market and First Revenue

2019 GAMIC WINNER PRESENTATIONS

This month we are presenting two winners from the 2019 Global Automotive Mobility Innovation Competition held at Cobo Center during SAE WCX’19 in April 2019. Several NEF coaches volunteered their time to coach GAMIC semifinalists and finalists during the competition year from Nov 2018 to April 2019.

These founders are eager to present their venture to the entrepreneurial community at this event. They would greatly appreciate your feedback, insights and encouragement. You will also learn a few tips and techniques in sharpening your own pitch for your venture. This event gives the start-up the opportunity to practice presenting to investors and others interested in the Detroit Area entrepreneurial community.

Join us at this meeting to ask questions, keep pace with local entrepreneurs, and connect with people who support the local start-up community.

S3D Precision Dispensing

Michael Vitek, CEO & Co-Founder. S3D creates specialty print heads and compound ink formulas that enable the manufacturing of flexible, embedded sensors, actuators, and electronics onto contoured and textured surfaces. S3D provides the enabling technology for next-generation electronics.

Orbitless Drives

Robert Eisses, CEO. Orbitless is a patented, novel low-loss gearbox platform enabling ultra-low noise, super high-efficiency gear-heads ideally suited for electric motor applications.

PANEL DISCUSSION: GAINING EARLY TRACTION - GO TO MARKET AND FIRST REVENUE

In addition, we have a panel of experts who will guide you through the challenge every entrepreneur faces when ready to raise money. You need to show some traction - a pilot, a customer or some early adoption. For that you need to devise an effective Go-To-Market strategy and demonstrate to investors how you intend to execute through well-thought-out marketing, sales and financial plans.

Our panelists will discuss what works and what doesn’t, and share those insights with our audience. We hope that this will be of great interest and value to founders and it will be a dynamic discussion between investors, founders and the audience.

Panelists:

Jonathan Murray, Venture Partner, Draper Triangle Ventures

After double-majoring in English Literature and Biology, Jonathan experimented with careers in journalism in Washington, D.C. (his hometown) and in advertising with major agencies in New York. At the University of Michigan, he founded his first business and discovered a love of entrepreneurship. After receiving his MBA, he spent ten years in Silicon Valley, which included a successful 7-year stint at Spectra Laboratories, where he headed marketing and software development. Fresenius Medical Care purchased the Company in 2007 for $140 million. Jonathan was then recruited to be President of Volk Optical, in Cleveland, which returned him to the Midwest, where he has lived ever since. In 2001 he co-founded Early Stage Partners, an early stage venture capital fund that invested $100 million from two funds. In 2014 Jonathan joined Draper Triangle, opened the firm’s Michigan office, and relocated to Michigan.

Jeff Ponders II, Entrepreneur-In-Residence, TechTown Detroit

Modern-Day Batman. Entrepreneurial, strategic leader producing high-value products & services for consumers and brands. A renaissance man driven by a passion for leading teams, learning, problem-solving, creative expression, and win-win relationships. Believes in the marriage of effective strategy and compelling creative solutions to add value to clients and partners. Keynote Speaker, Innovation Leader, professional Jazz Saxophonist, Managing Partner, The Better Company. Jeff graduated from the Wharton School with a Bachelor in Entrepreneurship & Strategic Management.

S. Sriram, University of Michigan Ross School of Business, Ross Marketing Department, Associate Professor of Marketing

Professor Sriram’s research interests are in the areas of brand and product portfolio management, monetizing content, and healthcare. His research has spanned industries including consumer packaged goods, technology products and services, retailing, news media, user-generated content, MOOCs, and the interface of healthcare and marketing. His research has been published in journals such as Marketing Science, Management Science, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Quantitative Marketing and Economics and the International Journal for Research in Marketing. He serves as Associate Editor at the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Marketing Research, and on the editorial review boards of Marketing Science and Quantitative Marketing and Economics. Sriram obtained his Bachelor of Technology degree from the Indian Institute of technology and a Ph.D. in Marketing from Purdue University.

Sean Carroll, Co-Founder, EnBiologics

Sean is an entrepreneur and engineer from the Detroit area. After graduating with a BS in chemical engineering and while working on a MS in biomedical engineering from Wayne State, he enrolled in TechTown’s summer start-up accelerator, DTX Launch Detroit, and started EnBiologics with Ramy Habib. They started the company after doing a project to develop better care for pediatric burn care. While in the program they pivoted from a niche section of pediatric burn care to more general care, and then to veterinary care. The company has achieved early traction in the small pet space with HoneyCure, the first all-natural clinically-proven veterinary wound care product.

Ramy Habib, Co-Founder, EnBiologics

Experienced Product Development Lead with a demonstrated history of working in the biotechnology industry. Skilled in Method Development, Medical Devices, Spectroscopy, and Clinical Data Management. Ramy is a committed entrepreneur with a Master of Science focused in Biomedical Engineering from Wayne State University.

Moderator:

Stefan Sysko, Agitator, Disruptor, Contrarian, Sysko Thinking LLC

An entrepreneur with a diverse background and over 25 years of experience, Stefan is a consultant, advisor and mentor to start-ups and rapidly-growing businesses, helping turn ideas into focused, viable business plans. He serves as faculty and Business Advisor for Goldman-Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program in Detroit, is past-president, Program Committee Chair and coach at the New Enterprise Forum, and Lead Facilitator for TechTown’s DTX Launch Detroit Summer Accelerator. He serves on the boards of several startups, and serves as a coach, mentor and judge for a variety of organizations, programs and pitch competitions.

Agenda:

Mark your calendar. The meeting opens at 5:00 pm with networking and appetizers. Around 5:45 pm, the program portion of the meeting begins with an introduction from our President including upcoming entrepreneurial events and past NEF Showcase Presenter news. The program continues with our featured Showcase Presenter(s) who are graduates of the NEF coaching process. Depending on the month or otherwise noted, the program includes the engaging NEF Pitch Pit or intriguing topic and panel. The program typically finishes at 7:15 pm with more networking afterwards. Please feel welcome to join us.

REGISTER

The event is FREE. Registration is not required but recommended for planning purposes.