The first half of the program will be a presentation by Judith B. Geller, president of J. B. Geller Consulting, Inc. of Dudley. Geller specializes in assisting entrepreneurial organizations with their human resources functions. She will cover hiring steps, documentation fundamentals, and what to do when things go wrong. Geller's six years of consulting experience and 14 years of human resource experience have helped her service a wide variety of clients in the software, hardware, health care, heavy manufacturing, consumer goods, manufacturing, banking, insurance, state government, social service, and communications industries. She has an M.B.A. from Clark University and a bachelor's in social work from Syracuse University. She has been an adjunct professor at Nichols College and Anna Maria College, and she is a frequent speaker at association and Chamber of Commerce events.
The second half of the program will be a case presentation by Kevin Ladd, president and founder, and Don McInnis, chief executive officer, of SpeedSim, Inc. of Westford. The company, formed in 1993, develops and distributes a software product targeted at high-speed, logic simulation for Electrical Design Automation (EDA). The engineering team has over 30 years combined experience in developing and using high-speed simulation products, including cycle-based products deployed on microprocessor designs. Their product is a third generation cycle simulator. Ladd and McInnis hope to take advantage of the insatiable need for faster compute times needed to simulate increasingly complex designs.
A panel will discuss the case and audience participation will address three areas: what are the best methods to attract seed and first round financing? what valuation should be on the company at this point? and should the company rely on U.S. distribution?
The mission of the WPI Venture Forum, sponsored by the WPI Alumni Association, is to promote and serve technology-based entrepreneurial activity through education, networking, and recognition. It meets monthly during the year on the WPI campus. For additional information about Venture Forum or to be placed on its mailing list, call (508) 831-5821.
The date of the Venture Forum Annual Entrepreneur's Workshop will be Saturday, March 25, on the WPI campus. The theme of the day-long workshop is "Entrepreneurship 2000." Keynote speakers will be Mitch Kertzman, president of Powersoft Corp., and Dean Kamen, president of Deka Research & Development Corp., and New Hampshire Entrepreneur of the Year.