|
| Thursday, November 20 |
| 7:30am – 8:30am | Registration and breakfast |
| 8:30am – 9:00am | Welcoming remarks Anna S. Dvornikova [0], AmBAR, President Conference Moderator: Andrey Kunov [0] , PhD., Founder and CEO, Amecra, Inc. |
| 9:00am – 9:30am | KEYNOTE ADDRESS: PETER CIUREA [1], CTO VISA INC “EVERYWHERE YOU WANT TO BE”: AN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A GLOBAL BUSINESS As a Chief Technical Officer for VISA, world's largest retail electronic payments network and one of the most recognized global financial services brands, Peter Ciurea, knows a few things about building a platform that spans multiple time zones, moves billions, detects fraud, administers rewards and does a lot of other things that go under the rubric of “infrastructure” – 24/7, 365 days a year, in 170 countries. A native of |
| 9:30am – 11:00am | TECHNOLOGY MARKETS: COME CATCH THE WAVE! Moderator: Peter Burris [1], Principal Analyst, Research Director, Forrester Research [2]
Every winter, the Bay Area becomes the world’s premier destination for big wave surfers. Just north of the This year, The SVOD is holding its own big wave high-tech high-power surfing gala – with the best and the brightest minds of the Similar to the Mavericks, we expect this session to be an unforgettable experience -- with strong opinions, surprising winners and some casualties. From social media, to everything green, to boomer technologies, to “mash-ups” and smart mobile devices -- our experts will surf through the major trends shaping the high- tech markets and reflect on their implications:
|
| 11:00am – 12:00pm | WHAT’S IN A BRAND? Moderator: Richard Guha [2], Chairman, Marketing Executives Networking Group, Managing Partner, Max Brand Equity
Most startup companies are so focused on building and selling a product, they do not have the time to think about anything else, particularly something as abstract as branding. Unlike Consumer Packaged Goods companies, where business strategy equals brand management, the high-tech brands are often the result of happenstance rather than a concerted well-executed effort. During the .com era, high tech branding became associated with irresponsible spending, as cash-rich startups wasted millions of dollars on aggressive advertising without having a viable product. As a result, “branding” became a dirty word in the venture capital community and was subsequently all but eradicated from the early business plans. What is a brand anyway? Can and should a high tech startup company care about it? This panel, moderated by a noted former CEO and CMO, Richard Guha (Chairman, Marketing Executives Networking Group, Managing Partner Max Brand Equity) will explore the following questions:
|
| 12:00pm – 1:00pm | Lunch and Networking |
| 1:00pm – 1:30pm | KEYNOTE ADDRESS: ESTHER DYSON [2], PRINCIPAL, EDventure Holdings [3] “FROM THE DESK OF ESTHER DYSON…” A long-time catalyst of the world-wide high tech start-up industry (including Russia), a venture capitalist, adventurer, philanthropist, an Internet’s court jester, whose voice is heard when and where it matters, Esther Dyson has recently taken on newer challenges in private aviation and space, as well as in health care. Her new projects and investments include 23andMe [4], Flickr [5], del.icio.us [6], Medstory [7], Meetup Inc. [8], Eventful.com [9], Boxbe [10], Voxiva [11], Space Adventures [12], Zero-G Corporation [13], XCOR Aerospace [14], Constellation Services International [15], Coastal Technologies Group [16], Dopplr.com [17], Airship Ventures [18] and Icon Aircraft [19]. Never in one place for more than a few hours, Esther joins SVOD 2008 to share her thoughts on a variety of issues that occupy her tireless mind, including the state of things in Russia, new adventures and ventures, intergalactic travel, interesting people, (the weather in Katmandu?) Prepare to be dazzled! |
| 1:30pm – 2:00pm | KEYNOTE ADDRESS: DAN ROSENSWEIG [20], OPERATING PRINCIPAL, QUADRANGLE GROUP LLC, FORMERLY CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, YAHOO! DIGITAL MEDIA- AS IT RISES IN MANY DISGUISES… The digital media family of Blogs, RSS feeds, Wikipedia, instant messages, WEB 2.0, YouTube, Communities, Second Life, Plaxo, MySpace, “InYourFace, ”etc – continues to grow at a breathtaking speed. Even though on the surface these technologies have different centers of gravity, underneath them all is user-generated content and an incredible amount of information, as well as news (not necessarily “all that fit the print”) – published as a by-product of communal interaction. For F500 companies, the many faces of digital media are still a mystery waiting to be understood and harnessed to further their brands. For a digirati elite, it is a To make sense of it all, Dan Rosensweig, a former COO of Yahoo, President of CNET Networks, CEO of ZDNet, Publisher of PC Magazine, will deliver a key note address -- reflecting on the past, assessing the present, and providing insights into the future of digital media. |
| 2:00pm – 3:00pm | All IN ONE: A CRASH COURSE IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP Moderator: Anna Dvornikova [20], President, AmBAR; CEO, Entana Corp.
For the fourth consecutive year the SVOD conference is being organized by a team of dedicated Silicon Valley professionals, with collective decades-long experience in all aspects of a startup process and stages of venture funding. In addition to their day jobs where they hone in their professional skills, they have also volunteered their time to more than a hundred startup projects submitted to and presented at SVOD. Today, these professionals will discuss their experience in dealing with such crucial issues as venture capital and angel funding, marketing, legal, product development, and recruitment. Drawing on their SVOD experience with the US and Russian entrepreneurs, they will provide a compact entrepreneurship crash-course, outlining major issues, common mistakes and the critical inflection points in the early startup process: |
| 3:00pm – 7:00pm | Company presentations [20] |
| 7:00pm – 9:00pm | Dinner and Networking |
| | |
|
| Friday, November 21 |
| 8:00am – 8:40 | Registration and breakfast |
| 8:40am – 9:00 | "THE DO'S AND DON'TS OF CROSS-BORDER M&A TRANSACTIONS" Dmitry Dubograev [20], Founder & Managing Partner, femida.us In this session, a noted VA-based international lawyer, Mr. Dmitri Dubograev, will talk about the challenges of positioning a high tech company for corporate growth, financing and M&A, as well as the common pitfalls of the M&A process. |
| 9:00am-10:00am | STAR QUALITY: RUSSIAN ENTREPRENEURS TALK SHOP Moderator: Pitch Johnson [20], Founding Partner, Asset Management Company
What do all successful startups have in common? What does it take to convert a good idea into a product and a company? Is the Russian origin an asset or a liability? In this session, moderated by the legendary venture capitalist Pitch Johnson, the Russian-speaking entrepreneurs talk about their experiences, hard work, life (or lack thereof) as a startup founders, and the thrill of a successful liquidity event:
|
| 10:00am – 10:15am | Networking break |
| 10:15am – 11:15am | KEYNOTE ADDRESS: GUY KAWASAKI [20] REALITY CHECK: HOW TO OUTSMART, OUTMANAGE AND OUTMARKET YOUR COMPETITORS An Apple Fellow, a celebrated author, whose name has become synonymous with the entrepreneurship, an early stage venture capitalist whose “golden touch” helped to launch dozens of startup companies, Guy Kawasaki joins SVOD to discuss (and sign during the break) his new book and, as well as “the art of the start” at large. |
| 11:15am – 11:45am | Networking Break – Guy Kawasaki signs his new book: Reality Check |
| 11:45am – 12:30pm | “I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER” IP STRATEGIES FOR START-UPS Pavel Pogodin [20], Partner, Sughrue Mion PLLC What does a 1964 Beatles’ song have to do with protecting high-tech intellectual property? Sadly, a great deal. In one of the most outrageous cases of IP mismanagement, The Beatles’ lost the rights to their early songs’ portfolio estimated worth $400+ million. If this can happen to the best, most famous and powerful, what can a startup company do to protect its most valuable asset? From The initial funding to the liquidity event, IP has always been the main subject of due diligence. This seminar will discuss various types of IP and ways of protecting them:
|
| 12:30pm – 1:15 pm | Lunch |
| 1:15pm – 2:00pm | FROM RUSSIA WITH VENTURE CAPITAL Moderator: Evgeny Zaytsev [20], Partner, Asset Management Company
Although the Russian venture industry is not nearly as developed as its European and US counterpart, the sheer amount of capital and the number of opportunities available in Russia command immediate attention from the entrepreneurs, as well as the Silicon Valley VCs, looking to increase their deal flow. In the absence of history and sometimes credible information, how does one tell the difference between the good and bad money, reputable funds and funds to stay away from? In this session the leading Russian VC funds will discuss the following issues:
|
| 2:00pm – 3:00pm | Fireside Chat
|
| 3:00pm – 3:10pm | RUSNANO: THE LARGEST NANOTECH INVESTOR EVER Dmitriy Lisenkov [21], Managing Director, Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies The Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies (RUSNANO) was established by the Russian Government in September 2007 to advance Russia into the pool of the world’s leaders in the field of nanotechnologies. RUSNANO is one of the major investors in Russia with about $5 billion under management, provided solely by the Russian Government. The Corporation also actively supports infrastructure and educational projects which are aimed at supporting the investment projects being realized by the Corporation. Dmitriy Lisenkov, a professional venture capitalist and investment director of RUSNANO presents the mission of the corporation: gaining a substantial market share of nanotechnology-based products; creating a discussion platform for the global nanotechnology community; providing a major contribution to the world stash of knowledge in nanotechnologies. |
| 3:20pm – 7:00pm | Company presentations [21] |
| 7:00pm – 9:00pm | Closing Ceremony |
Seminars and speakers are subject to change at any time without notice