Obtaining Funding for Your Mobile Technology Business

Feb. 2, 2012 - PRLog -- DETROIT, MI – If you're a mobile technology company looking for funding, then Mobile Monday Detroit on February 13th is where you need to be! We'll explore various options for obtaining funding and how they work, including:  venture capital, angel funding, alternative funding strategies, bank financing and more. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m.
   
Featured speaker for the program will be Michael Liedtke, Founder and Managing Director of SME Consulting, LLC and Director at RSVP Capital who will review the types of business funding / financing options available, requirements to qualify, and how to know when the time is right to pursue outside funding.

Additionally, we will present a panel of business funding experts including:

•   Paul Czarnik, Chief Technology Officer, Compuware / Compuware Ventures, LLC
•   Ted Serbinski, Vice-president, Detroit Venture Partners
•   Maria LaLonde, Recruiting and Development Leader, Bizdom U
•   Matt Tubergen, Mobile Technology Consultant, TechSmith and former mobile investment fund manager

Once again Mobile Monday Detroit will take place at Compuware headquarters at 1 Campus Martius in downtown Detroit, and as always, attendance is FREE, though advance registration is required. Free parking is available (with ticket validation at sign-in) in Compuware’s parking deck directly behind the headquarters building, and refreshments will be served. Registration is available at http://Meetup.com/Mobile-Monday-Detroit .

Attendees at the event will also have the opportunity to apply for a FREE limited membership into the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan (MTAM), and all who apply at this event will automatically be entered into a drawing to win Exhibit Area Passes for the 2012 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain taking place February 27 - March 1, 2012. Each ticket is valued at over $850.

Don't forget to sign up on CrowdJuice.com to arrange in advance to network with others who will be in attendance, including other business financing experts who will be in attendance @ http://crowdjuice.com/momom/events/200 .

Mobile Monday Detroit is sponsored by Mobile Monday Michigan, Compuware and the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan.


About our Speakers:

Michael Liedtke

Michael Liedtke, serves as the Founder and Managing Director of SME Consulting, LLC and a Director at RSVP Capital. Michael has extensive knowledge in financial planning and analysis, M&A and strategic planning, along with a strong Information Technology/operations knowledge base. Over the past two years, he has worked with numerous entrepreneurs to develop the proper business model and supporting materials to launch or obtain growth capital for their venture.

Prior to SME and RSVP Capital, Michael was a Senior Associate of Amherst Partners, a middle market investment bank, located in Birmingham, MI. Prior to Amherst, Michael was an Assistant Vice President at Wachovia Securities in their internal Financial Planning & Analysis group. In this position, he was specially hired to oversee potential acquisition targets, together with performing necessary due diligence. His duties included targeting and reviewing potential acquisitions, financial modeling, and presenting opportunities to both internal management and Wachovia Bank management. Michael led certain high-level due diligence merger initiatives in the acquisition of A.G. Edwards by Wachovia Securities in 2007.

Michael’s experience also includes a number of in-depth assignments including work as a Six Sigma consultant for Fortune 500 clients such as Capital One, Entergy, and General Electric. He began his career at NBC as an associate of the Information Management Leadership Program.

Michael earned an M.B.A. with a focus in Finance from the University of Richmond, Virginia and received his B.S.B.A. in Computer Information Systems from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Paul Czarnik

As Compuware Chief Technology Officer, Paul provides leadership for the company’s technical strategy and innovation delivery. A programmer at heart, Paul has spent his career focused on technical performance, coding everything from music-keyboard controllers to medical-laboratory interfaces.  Having started two technology startups of his own, Paul provides technical and business innovation with Compuware Ventures, LLC.  Paul also serves on the boards of the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan, iRule, and the Motown Museum.

Ted Serbinski

Ted Serbinski is a Vice-president at Detroit Venture Partners. Previously he was an entrepreneur and angel investor with over 13 years experience architecting and building websites for many Fortune 500 companies including Sony, Lifetime TV, A&E Television Network, and MTV. Additionally, he has over 7 years in the startup space, having co-founded and sold ParentsClick Network to Lifetime Television in 2008 and founding Stanson Ventures, which has invested in a handful of startups including GraphScience and CrowdMob.

Maria LaLonde

Maria LaLonde is the Recruiting and Development Leader for Bizdom U. She oversees the recruiting and interview processes, and connects with the community to raise awareness about Bizdom U as an available resource. Maria was born and raised in the city of Detroit and the Detroit metropolitan area. Her background includes a successful career with Enterprise Rent-a-Car, where she managed branch offices and oversaw the recruiting process for 35 branch offices. She has also been a top-producing realtor in residential real estate. Maria has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and has owned businesses in the fields of recruiting and the automotive industry. She is passionate about doing her part to create a vibrant and thriving community in Detroit. She believes that encouraging diverse, growth-oriented businesses is essential to the creation of a brighter future for Detroit.

Matt Tubergen

Matt Tubergen’s background consists of over 10 years in the mobile application and content industry. He has served in senior management for American Greetings, THQ and W3i along with supporting multiple successful start-ups. His background includes media acquisitions, product management and business development with partners spanning from the NFL to Disney.  Most recently Matt served as head of Recharge Studios, a mobile gaming investment fund supporting freemium mobile gaming businesses. In addition to Recharge, Matt also conceptualized and deployed a $10 million dollar mobile game acceleration fund capitalized by W3i. Matt recently relocated his family to his home state of Michigan and is currently supporting TechSmith Corporation in its emerging mobile and cloud business units.

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About Mobile Monday Michigan:

Mobile Monday Michigan, a division of the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan, is a branch of Mobile Monday, an international community of mobile industry visionaries, developers, influential individuals, and users fostering cooperation and cross-company business development. Mobile Monday Michigan executes on these objectives, thru its Ann Arbor, Detroit and Grand Rapids chapters (soon to be joined by a new chapter in Lansing), by delivering a balanced approach of business and technical content from within the Michigan business community, as well as beyond our State.

Those interested in learning more can find the group's website at http://MobileMondayMichigan.org; and information about the International organization can be found at http://MobileMonday.net. Mobile Monday Detroit is sponsored by Compuware and the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan.