Entrepreneur-in-Residence Webinar Series: A Panel Discussion on Financing Mechanics – Hosted by UConn TCS

A broad ranging panel discussion on what a new venture and its founders need to be prepared for before seriously engaging with prospective investors. The focus will be on the key specific steps the venture needs to have taken before trying to raise outside capital as well as addressing what the venture needs to know about the prospective investors’ expectations, requirements and “hot buttons”. The panel will review the due diligence process, key term sheet issues and the importance of having a realistic fund-raising strategy over time. Founders’ dilution as it relates to venture valuation will be a topic that the panel delves into in some detail. The seminar will conclude with an assessment of the current fund-raising environment for early-stage ventures followed by a Q & A session.

Moderator:

Tom Gerson – Former CFO of three life sciences venture-backed emerging growth companies, UConn Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Panelists:

Eric Knight – Angel Investor, UConn Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Konstantine Drakanokis – VC Technology Fund Investor, UConn Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Mostafa Analoui – Institutional Investor, Executive Director Venture Development, UConn Technology Commercialization Services