A few months ago, most experts predicted that COVID-19 would decimate the economy and, in turn, drive down the public equities markets. At first, this seemed to be the case, but a few months later stock market indices are approaching or have surpassed all-time highs and the IPO and M&A markets, though modestly subdued, are far from dead.
Experts also suggested that the current pandemic and resulting economic uncertainty seemed likely to induce a die-off and then moderation or even deflation of valuations in the early stage venture capital space. Has this happened? How have private VC funding rounds, M&A deals, valuations, and hiring patterns been altered in this new universe of economic uncertainty? This webinar will provide insight into the surprising trends concerning the funding and operations of early stage private start-up companies during a time of truly unprecedented uncertainty. Panelists will debate their views as to the smart choices that entrepreneurs and their advisors and boards of directors can make to survive and succeed during such unprecedented times.
SPEAKERS:
MATT ROBINSON
Matt Robinson is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Heroic Ventures, a leading early stage venture capital firm founded in 2016 and based in Palo Alto, CA. He has been an early investor in over 50 companies - current holdings include Airbnb, CourseHero, Ethos Life, Truework, Brave and Waveshift - and previous holdings include Slack (IPO; NYSE: WORK), Canvas (acq. by Amazon), B4.ai (acq. by Apple), Whistle (acq. by Mars), Talech (acq. by US Bank), Scytale (acq.by HPE) NumberFire (acq. by FanDuel), Joyable (acq. by AbleTo), and SportsAction (acq. by The Action Network). He is currently a Member of the Board of Directors at Left Hand Robotics and Executive Chairman of the Board at Totum Labs.
As an operator, Matt was the CEO and President of Attributor, where he led the company through acquisition by Digimarc (Nasdaq: DMRC) and subsequently served as President of the Digimarc Guardian division. Matt was also the interim CEO of Ask.fm (Nasdaq: IACI) and, as Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO), pioneered some of the earliest internet law. He began his career as Director of Business Affairs at Reel.com (Nasdaq: HLYW).
Matt is a volunteer director to the UCLA Venture Fund and the Palo Alto Junior Science Museum, and an active member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO). Matt holds degrees from UCLA (BA) and the University of San Francisco School of Law (JD). He resides in Palo Alto, CA with his wife and two sons.
EMILY TAYLOR
Emily Taylor is a partner in the Boston office of Latham & Watkins and a member of the firm’s Emerging Companies Practice. She represents life sciences, technology, retail, and other high-growth companies as they structure and form new businesses and provides strategic advice throughout their life cycle. In addition to providing practical advice on day-to-day corporate matters, Ms. Taylor regularly handles complex business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, debt and equity financings, and commercial collaborations.
KATHLEEN WELLS
Kathleen Wells is a corporate partner in the Silicon Valley Latham & Watkins office. Ms. Wells has represented private and public companies across several industries, venture capital firms, and investment banks. Her practice focuses on corporate and securities law, and her transactional experience includes numerous venture capital financings, public securities offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. Her general company representation includes assistance with company formation and startup matters, debt and equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, advising boards of directors regarding corporate governance matters, employment matters, equity incentives, public company disclosure issues, and federal and state securities law compliance.
F. DANIEL SICILIANO
F. Daniel Siciliano is a successful technology CEO-founder and entrepreneur, as well as Chairman of the board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, and a recognized expert in corporate strategy and governance, capital financial markets, executive compensation, and technological disruption (including fintech, AI and cybersecurity). He is currently Chairman of SVDX and a fellow at Stanford University.