Founders’ Series: The Funding Pitfalls and Windfalls for 2017

Office Hours with Tim Chang, Partner, Mayfield Fund
Moderated by Tomio Geron, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Wednesday, February 1, 2017
6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Networking reception with light food, wine, beer, & beverages
7:00 pm: Moderated discussion with Q&A

Location: San Francisco SOMA (Details will be sent via email to ticket holders)

NOTE: Tickets will NOT be available at the door.

The funding landscape is changing, so are trending technologies. Are we over the Series A “crunch”? Should you attract strategic investors earlier? How to appeal to the new global investors? Famed investor Tim Chang, managing director of the Mayfield fund, will share his insights to guide us through the pitfalls and windfalls of raising funds in 2017. Which technologies are trending now? Is AI still hot? Is AR/VR falling out of fashion?

About Tim Chang

Tim Chang is a proven venture investor and experienced global executive. He has been named to the Forbes Midas list and received the Gamification Summit award for Special Achievement in the Industry. Tim leads Mayfield’s consumer investing practice which focuses on areas such as the Internet of Things, consumerized health & wellness, crowdsourcing, collaborative consumption, mobile-first service and product marketplaces, vertical communities, and enabling platforms and services.

Tim has over a decade of investment experience with firms such as Norwest Venture Partners & Gabriel Venture Partners. His operational experience includes working in Japan for Gateway Inc and as a trilingual Engineer for General Motors, where he led project teams in China, Korea, and Japan. He is currently championing the following entrepreneurs & companies: Chris Anderson/3D Robotics, an Open Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) Platform; Ron Gutman/HealthTap, mobile-first doctor-patient community and on- demand health services; Alejandro Foung/Lantern, an online programs and coaching company that strengthen your emotional well-being; Steve El Hage/Massdrop, an online community for enthusiasts; Jonah Goodhart/Moat, a brand analytics and intelligence SaaS platform.

Tim’s pre-Mayfield entrepreneurs/companies include: Kunal Sarkar/Lumosity, leader in brain training and mental fitness; Liam Casey/PCH International, Virtualized design, manufacturing, and logistics services for next-generation connected devices.

About Tomio Geron
Tomio is a reporter at The Wall Street Journal in San Francisco covering startups, venture capital and technology. Previously he was a staff reporter at Forbes magazine where he covered technology and venture capital, including the on-demand economy. He also edited the Midas List of top technology investors.

Tomio was also a reporter at Dow Jones/WSJ.com where he received a Clabby Award for his coverage of funds created for pre-IPO shares of Facebook and Twitter. He also wrote about the fallout of Lehman Brothers in the tech industry, auctions for tech companies, and the rise of seed investors and incubators.
He has written for newspapers on topics including crime, health, immigration and cities. Tomio also worked at startup Exitround.

About the VLAB Founders Series
Founders Series events provide a unique opportunity for startups and technologists to take part in an interactive session. Come prepared with your burning questions!

If you would like to have the rare opportunity to take the “Hot Seat” on stage to receive feedback from the speakers, please be sure to enter your question in the field below. Startup founders selected for the “Hot Seat” will be notified in advance.

For all other questions, please contact founders.series@vlab.org.

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