ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 8, 2009 – New Enterprise Forum’s April meeting, “How to Kill a Deal? Let Us Count the Ways,” is a look at what factors, beyond the investor pitch, can be issues for entrepreneurs seeking funding. The event takes place at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 16 at the Holiday Inn North Campus, 3600 Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The speaker for this event will be Tom Porter. Tom is Founder and first President of the New Enterprise Forum. He is presently General Partner for Trillium Ventures in Ann Arbor and Executive in Residence and Adjunct Lecturer at the Zell-Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.
Porter has a broad range of experience in founding, managing and advising successful technology growth companies. He co-founded EDF Ventures, an Ann Arbor-based venture capital firm investing in early stage market driven companies in health care and IT. He led the health care practice at EDF, where he co-founded five health care companies and often served as interim CEO during the formative stages of the companies in which he invested.
He actively assists universities and leading research institutions in the commercialization of technology, serves as Co-Chairman of the Michigan University Commercialization Initiative, and is a member of U-M’s National Technology Transfer Advisory Board. Previously, he helped to found the Van Andel Institute’s Technology Advisory Board and served as its first chairman through 2005.
Showcase Presentation: Each month, NEF highlights emerging companies and provides them a Showcase Presentation. Presenting this month will be Doug Dormer of SPINN, which is developing interoperable personal health record tools to close the gap between online database tools and those used by healthcare providers and insurers, and Jeremy Sanger of Ventech, which is commercializing proprietary technology that quickly and efficiently heats vehicles while saving fuel and money.
Open Forum: The evening will include Open Forum, during which attendees have the opportunity to make a 15-second pitch for themselves, their company, product/service, or need.
Registration and networking begin at 5:00 p.m. with the program starting at 5:45 p.m. Free to NEF members, the cost is $20 for non-members, $5 for students. NEF stakeholder sponsor, the Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the U-M Ross School of Business, is our featured sponsor of the month; for information, visit www.zli.bus.umich.edu.
ABOUT NEF
Through its hands-on work with entrepreneurs, NEF has been planting the seeds for Michigan’s economic prosperity for over two decades. NEF serves Michigan entrepreneurs by linking them with management expertise, venture partners, business services, capital, and other critical resources. NEF also provides free coaching teams who assist entrepreneurs with investor presentations and business planning in preparation for fundraising meetings. For information, visit www.NewEnterpriseForum.org.
