|
Ridgely Evers — Managing Partner
He is a partner at Tapit Partners, where he has provided consulting and advisory services to companies ranging from raw startups to major corporations, working directly for senior leadership at organizations such as Visa, Hallmark, the Associated Press, and Kyocera Communications (Japan). In 1988 he joined Intuit — then a small startup — and led the creation of QuickBooks, today the market-dominant small business bookkeeping program. While there, he also played a central role in creating the world's first online banking system, and led the company's inaugural strategic planning process. Following his time at Intuit he served as CEO of five technology startups, including Inquisit, an early provider of agent-based news delivery; Exactly Vertical, a pioneer in supply-chain automation for small business; nCircle, one of the leading companies in internet network security; and WorkingPoint, a company bringing the power of SaaS to small business. In 1990 he imported olive trees from Italy, the first brought into the US in the 20th century. He and his wife Colleen McGlynn then founded DaVero Farms & Winery, today one of the country's most highly-regarded producers of extra virgin olive oils, Italian-varietal wines, and other artisan food products. A lifelong supporter of America's small business community, he was recruited to serve on the small business subcommittee of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board. He also serves on the board of SCORE, a nationwide organization with over 13,500 volunteer executives who provide counseling services to small business owners, and is active in a number of local organizations in Sonoma County in Northern Califoria, where he lives.
He earned a BA in International Relations, with distinction, from Stanford University, and an MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business.
Alan Mutter — Managing Partner
The former chief executive officer of three Silicon Valley companies involved in broadband delivery and online media technology, Mutter previously served as the chief operating officer of a national cable television company with more than $200 million in annual sales. As a journalist earlier in his career, he led the newsrooms of the Chicago Sun-Times and San Francisco Chronicle. In his career, he has raised and managed hundreds of millions of dollars in private equity and debt. His major corporate consulting clients in recent years include the New York Times Co., the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, the Sun-Times Media Group, the Fox Network Affiliates Board of Governors, the Evening Post Publishing Co., Universal Uclick, the Texas Pacific Group, BASF and Kyocera. He devotes significant time to investing in and advising privately held new media companies delivering targeted content and advertising solutions. He is a member of the adjunct faculty of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley. In addition to teaching classes in media economics and entrepreneurism, he conceived and produced the UC Berkeley Media Technology Summit in the fall of 2009, which was an invitation-only conference for senior media and technology executives held at the Google campus in Mountain View, CA. Mutter publishes Reflections of a Newsosaur, an online commentary on the technological developments challenging the traditional media. "Newsosaur" is widely cited as an industry authority and frequently interviewed by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Economist, Forbes, BusinessWeek, National Public Radio and other trade, local and international media. He also writes a column for Editor & Publisher Magazine. Mutter began his career as a journalist, rising to top editing positions at the Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. During his tenure at both newspapers, the publications won numerous awards and set all-time circulation records in their highly competitive markets. In 1988, he joined InterMedia Partners, a start-up that grew through acquisition to become the nation's 12th largest cable TV system operator. Rising to the position of Chief Operating Officer, he managed a coast-to-coast collection of local companies through the implementation of tough, new federal regulations on the cable industry. At the same time, he positioned InterMedia as a modern broadband-delivery company and successfully executed several strategic acquisitions and dispositions. Mutter left InterMedia in 1996 to join the first of three Silicon Valley start-ups where he was the Chief Executive Officer:
• Best Internet Communications, an innovative early Internet service provider acquired by NTT. Christian Hobbs — PartnerChris has been a senior executive on all sides of dynamic businesses — operating, investing and lending. This has given him a complete perspective on the challenges of motivating teams, managing risk and maintaining strategic discipline. He is especially strong in the finance arena, having been a CFO/COO for emerging companies including WorkingPoint and XUMA, and performed international corporate development and strategy roles for large public companies such as Imperial Bank and TeleTech. Chris has experience in a wide variety of transactions, from early stage equity to syndicated debt offerings, acquisitions and partnerships.
Chris received his MBA from Oxford University and his BA in Economics from UC Berkeley. AdvisorsBruce Dresser - Affiliate PartnerBruce Dresser is the founder and President of Tenth Dot Solutions Marketing Consulting, a firm specializing in strategy, positioning, business development and board recruitment since 1997. Clients include Lucent, Avaya, Peoplesoft, Aristasoft, and Peak XV Networks. Bruce has over 20 years experience in the high-tech industry, and has held various executive positions with Sybase, Pacific Telesis and several start-ups. Bruce holds a BA from UCLA, an MBA from San Diego State University, and has attended the Executive Marketing Program at the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University. Will Daley - Chief Technology AdvisorMr. Daley brings a wealth of experience in Internet technologies to the table. He has been involved in Web technologies since the mid-1990s, and has built substantial, enterprise-grade systems for companies both large and small. His breadth and depth of knowledge drew him to co-found nCircle Network Security, one of the leading Internet security companies serving companies like Visa and Morgan Stanley. Mr. Daley holds a BA from Trinity College. Joseph E. Giansante - Affiliate PartnerMr. Giansante has more than 20 years of technology and investment company experience in business and product development, marketing, public relations, finance, and project management. He founded and managed two early-stage software companies: an Internet-based financial services company sold to American Century; and a consumer software company sold to Intuit. At Intuit, he conceived and helped design Quicken Financial Planner, and developed business plans for on-line securities brokerage and mortgage origination businesses. Mr. Giansante has worked in and consulted to investment banking, venture capital, and leveraged buy-out firms, where he structured and completed private equity financings, and worked on IPO and convertible debenture public offerings. He has consulted in the areas of investment due diligence, market, and financial analysis for clients including El Dorado Ventures, Liquid Audio and 3i Capital Corporation. Mr. Giansante holds an MBA in Finance and Strategy from UCLA, an MS in Engineering from MIT, and a BS in Engineering from Lehigh University.
|
_sm.jpg)
Ridgely is a veteran entrepreneur and proven technology visionary who has been CEO of companies in the software, real estate, investment, online media, and consumer products industries. He is an acknowledged expert in strategic planning, and the coupling of technology to larger business objectives.
Alan D. Mutter is a newspaper editor, turned high-tech entrepreneur, turned strategic consultant to both traditional and digital media companies. He teaches media economics and entrepreneurship at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley and writes about the changing media landscape at