Event Archives

Date: Friday, November 04, 2016
Location: Santa Clara

On Friday, November 4th at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara, South Bay Alliance members were treated to hard-earned insights from a group of six CEOs. Each presenter distilled years of learning into a compact lesson that those attending could take in over coffee and breakfast. This presentation was part of the ongoing Alliance Voices series. What follows are the top-line takeaways.

Did you know that Millennials are ten times more likely to use crowdfunding platforms than baby boomers? So revealed Cal Lai, CEO of Ask.Vet, as he described the current regulatory and business trends at the outset of a new age of equity crowdfunding. Bottom line: crowdfunding is fast becoming a go-to tool for raising equity and will only be more relevant in the coming years. Study up.

Alain Harrus, CEO of Kateeva, initiated his presentation with this simple, yet beguiling question: when do you give up? The list is long of CEOs who have failed due to giving up too early or hanging on too long. Alain recommended leaders embrace both persistence and flexibility on the path to success. Persistence means embracing strong convictions. Flexibility means accepting realities as is. The key is finding the perfect balance.

In describing the coming “digital workforce,” Mihir Shukla, CEO of Automation Anywhere, predicted that 110M to 150M human jobs will be automated by 2025. Mihir outlined a world where human workers will use their intellect to solve huge, complex problems, while bots work alongside them processing high-level tasks. The take away: bots will liberate humans to flourish as never before.

Gene Banman, CEO of DriveScale, gave a revealing talk about the in’s and out’s of raising venture capital. Did you know that VCs hold 300 meetings a year, but only sign 2-3 deals? For Gene, that means 60 meetings to get a term sheet – every time! He gave point-by-point instructions for smart preparation. In short, this game is not for the faint of heart and takes strategic persistence.

In business, you’ve got your head, but you’ve also got your heart. David Matheson, CEO of SmartOrg, gave an elegant presentation that illuminated the benefits of using both faculties in decision making. Keep a cool head for good direction, yet nurture a warm heart for strong action. By searching for the common ground shared by these distinct forces, leaders nurture both rigor and narrative. The result is balanced and effective decision making.

Stan Schneider, CEO of Real-Time Innovations, closed out the presentations with a preview of the “smart machine era,” which is predicted to be the most disruptive force in the history of IT. Stan used examples from the medical, power generation and automotive industries to show how industrial companies are pivoting to software and analytics. In the breakneck world of smart machines, the paradigm is shifting from competing against competitors to competing against market transitions. Buckle up and hang on.