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Building Billion Dollar Startups: The First Annual Unicorn Quest

November 15, 2018 @ 4:00 pm 6:30 pm

CBRE Global Headquarters

400 South Hope Street, 25th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90071 United States

What does it take to grow a startup into a company worth $1B? Who are the next SoCal unicorns?

Meet and learn from investors and founders of SoCal unicorns such as:

  • Adam Miller (Cornerstone OnDemand)
  • Chang Xu (Upfront Ventures)
  • Hemi Zucker (j2 Global)
  • Eva Ho (Fika Ventures)
  • Jamie Montgomery (March Capital Partners)

Panel moderated by TechCrunch editor Jonathan Shieber.

Then participate in the panel-led Q&A with each high-flying startup on a trajectory to the illustrious unicorn club. Do they have what it takes? You be the judge.

The Unicorn Quest celebrates the ambition and massive successes of SoCal’s innovation ecosystem as told by the founders and investors themselves. Plus you will meet high-flying startups on a trajectory to unicorn status and the potential for meaningful impact on the SoCal ecosystem.

The Alliance utilizes its unparalleled network to bring together the top professionals in SoCal to network and forge high value relationships, so don’t miss out on this exclusive opportunity. Seats are limited.

Why You Should Attend

Gain invaluable insights from some of the best in the game–see how they did it and how you can too.

Meet startup founders and CEOs with ambitious vision and battle tested experience.

Cocktail reception in a very cool architectural space with amazing views of DTLA (had you at cocktails, right?)

AGENDA

4:00 PM: Attendee Check-in + Refreshments

4:30 PM: Welcome

Andy Wilson, Executive Director, Alliance for SoCal Innovation

4:40 PM: Panel Discussion: “Thinking Big: What it Takes to Become a Unicorn”

  • Adam Miller – Founder + CEO, Cornerstone OnDemand
  • Hemi Zucker – Manager Principal, OCV Partners and Co-founder & CEO (former), j2 Global
  • Chang Xu – Principal, Upfront Ventures
  • Jamie Montgomery – Managing Director, March Capital Partners
  • Eva Ho – General Partner, Fika Ventures
  • Jonathon Shieber – Editor, TechCrunch (moderator)

5:30 PM: Emerging Unicorn Staircase + Q&A

Who will be SoCal’s next unicorn? Presenting…

  • GumGum – Ophir Tanz, Founder + CEO
  • Openpath – Alex Kazerani, Founder + CEO
  • Siesmic – Douglas Winter, Founder + CEO

6:30 PM: Hosted Cocktail Reception

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

FEATURED SPEAKERS

Adam Miller
Founder & CEO
Cornerstone OnDemand
View Bio
Adam Miller
Founder & CEO
Cornerstone OnDemand

Adam Miller is the founder and CEO of Cornerstone OnDemand (NASDAQ: CSOD). He started the company in 1999 from his one bedroom apartment to help people around the world to realize their potential. Today Cornerstone is one of the world’s largest cloud computing companies, with over 37 million users across 192 countries. Mr. Miller is also an active social entrepreneur. He is the chairman of Team Rubicon and the Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation, serves on FARE’s executive board and is a current director of IKAR in Los Angeles. He is a frequent speaker and writer on entrepreneurship, philanthropy, technology and talent management. Mr. Miller holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, a BS from its Wharton School of Business, a JD from the UCLA School of Law, an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Business, and has both CPA and Series 7 certifications.

Hemi Zucker
Managing Principal, Co-Founder & Former CEO
OCV Partners and j2 Global
View Bio
Hemi Zucker
Managing Principal, Co-Founder & Former CEO
OCV Partners and j2 Global

Hemi Zucker is a Managing Principal of OCV Partners. OCV is a $260 Million Los Angeles-based venture fund that invests in, owns, and operates companies in the information technology, e-commerce, media & telecommunications & the life sciences sectors with the objective of creating sustainable long-term value.

Hemi joined OCV Partners in 2018 to replicate his success as the CEO of j2 Global that he co-founded in 1996 in New York City and moved it to LA in 1997. Under Hemi’s management j2 Global reached $4.5 Billion Market Cap, $1.25 Billion Annual Sales in over 50 countries. Hemi and j2 were super acquisitive and it’s M&A activity yield a record of 161 acquisitions during his 21 years.

Hemi is now bringing his M&A, operations and deal making experience to OCV Partners one of LA’s largest Venture Funds.

Chang Xu
Principal
Upfront Ventures
View Bio
Chang Xu
Principal
Upfront Ventures

Chang Xu is a Principal at Upfront Ventures, the oldest and largest early-stage venture capital firm based in Los Angeles. Upfront is currently investing out of its sixth fund of $400M and primarily leads Seed and Series A rounds.

Chang invests in technology that augments human potential. She is passionate about enabling humans to be what they aspire to be, breaking down artificial barriers, automating undesirable work, and creating original on-ramps. She tends to spend time in the future of work (HR tech, non-traditional education, early childhood), AI/ML (computer vision, robotics), and commerce tech (logistics, manufacturing, supply chain).

Previously, she was the first Product Manager at the Minerva Project, co-founded an ed-tech startup in China, and was a Consultant at The Boston Consulting Group. She received her MBA from the Harvard Business School and her AB in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University, with a minor in Computer Science.

Jamie Montgomery
Founder & Managing Director
March Capital Partners
View Bio
Jamie Montgomery
Founder & Managing Director
March Capital Partners

Jamie Montgomery is a Founder and Managing Director of March Capital Partners. Prior he was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Montgomery & Co, a well-known Los Angeles-based investment bank where he advised and financed hundreds of leading technology companies over a 25 year period. He is the founder of The Montgomery Summit, an annual conference that attracts over 1,000 global entrepreneurs, investors, and corporate executives to Santa Monica. Jamie currently serves on the Board of Directors of Descartes Labs and Foghorn and is a Board Observer at Crowdstrike, Forter and Earnin. Jamie has also had two successful exits at March Capital – the IPO of RUBI and the sale of Telesign to BICS. Jamie focuses on identifying disruptive technology companies and providing capital at a critical inflection point.

In addition to serving on the Advisory Board of the Rady School of Business at the University of California, San Diego, he actively supports programs for innovation and entrepreneurship at the University of California, San Diego, Claremont McKenna College, USC and Chapman University. Jamie received his M.A. in Economics from the University of Cambridge, and a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego.

Eva Ho
General Partner
Fika Ventures
View Bio
Eva Ho
General Partner
Fika Ventures

Eva is a General Partner at Fika Ventures, an early stage technology fund investing in companies that leverage the power of data as a core component of their business model. Prior to Fika, Eva was a founding GP at Susa Ventures. She is a serial entrepreneur and founder, with a company experience portfolio including Applied Semantics (AdSense), Factual, Google, Youtube and Navigating Cancer. She also serves on the board of California Community Foundation. She was recently the Entrepreneur-in-Residence for the city of Los Angeles working with Mayor Eric Garcetti and his team. Eva holds an MBA from Cornell and a BA from Harvard.

Jonathan Shieber
Editor & Moderator
TechCrunch
View Bio
Jonathan Shieber
Editor & Moderator
TechCrunch

Jonathan is an editor at TechCrunch. Previously he worked as a senior reporter for Dow Jones & Co., covering venture capital and private equity investment from New York and Shanghai.

EMERGING UNICORN SHOWCASE

Ophir Tanz
Founder & CEO
GumGum
View Bio
Ophir Tanz
Founder & CEO
GumGum

Ophir Tanz is a serial entrepreneur, an enthusiastic woodworker and a recognized thought leader on the subjects of articial intelligence and computer vision. Tanz’s AI expertise was the driving force behind GumGum’s In-Image advertising platform, the rst and largest product of its kind. Under his leadership, GumGum has continued to revolutionize the digital media industry while expanding into the social media and sports marketing. Along the way, Tanz has served as a guest columnist for TechCrunch and earned the distinction of being named one of Goldman Sachs’ 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2017.

Prior to founding GumGum in 2008, Tanz co-founded and sold two successful digital media companies: the mobile-media sharing platform Shozu.com and the award-winning interactive and branding agency Fluidesign. Tanz holds a B.S. and an M.S. from Carnegie Mellon University and currently lives in Los Angeles. In his free time, he enjoys surphing, playing guitar and hitting the courts for a game of tennis or basketball.

Alex Kazerani
Founder & CEO
Openpath
View Bio
Alex Kazerani
Founder & CEO
Openpath

With more than 20 years of experience creating and leading technology businesses, Alex is Openpath’s CEO. Prior to creating Openpath, Alex co-founded EdgeCast Networks, a global content delivery network that sold to Verizon for $400M. After the sale of EdgeCast, Alex spent two years shaping the strategy of Verizon Digital Media Services. Alex also co-founded KnowledgeBase and HostPro, which were both acquired. Alex has received several awards during his career, including E&Y’s Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2014. Alex is an active investor in several venture capital funds and has served on boards of universities and private and public companies. He graduated from Tufts University and lives in Santa Monica with his wife and children.

Doug Winter
Founder & CEO
Seismic
View Bio
Doug Winter
Founder & CEO
Seismic

J. Douglas Winter, also known as Doug, co-founded Seismic Software, Inc. and has been its Chief Executive Officer since June 2010. Douglas Winter served as Chief Financial Officer of Objectiva Software Solutions, Inc. He served as the Chief Operating Officer at EMC Document Sciences Corp. Douglas Winter served as the General Manager of Technical Operations at EMC Document Sciences Corp.

Prior to joining EMC Document Sciences Corp., Douglas Winter co-founded Objectiva Software Solutions, Inc. and served as its Chief Executive Officer. Previously, he served as General Manager of ONEWORLD Software Solutions California client service centers, establishing their west coast operations and also served as part of their global operations committee, responsible for formulating and executing strategic operations.

Douglas Winter also served as Program Manager for Qualcomms 3500 series of CDMA base stations and later was responsible for the product certification and testing of the QUALCOMM Thin Phone (QCP 860/1960). He served as Chairman of the Board of Objectiva Software Solutions, Inc. He serves as a Director of EMC Document Sciences Corp. and Objectiva Software Solutions, Inc. Following his undergraduate work, he worked for three years for Westinghouse where he was an instructor for the US Navy’s nuclear training program. Douglas Winter holds an MSEE and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BSEE from Virginia Technological University.

Brad Schwartz
Founder & Managing Partner
Strategic Law Partners, LLP and of SLP Ventures
View Bio
Brad Schwartz
Founder & Managing Partner
Strategic Law Partners, LLP and of SLP Ventures