Charles Fred, A Data Driven Program to Cure the Walking Dead

In 2014, Charles Fred and his daughter Jamee co-founded TrueSpace, a firm that helps entrepreneurs move from the startup phase to the midsize stage. In February of this year, TrueSpace and Gallup Organization announced the release of a multi-year research effort detailing the operating conditions that must be present for a small business to consistently reach the middle market.

The study focused on 147 private companies that were more than three years old but currently stuck below the early middle market threshold of $10 million in annual revenue. By comparing the operations of these companies over five years, TrueSpace and Gallup were able to identify and validate five distinct operating conditions that must be present for businesses to scale up to the middle market segment. The researchers were able to validate that the creation of these operating conditions produced more consistent and higher levels of sales and employment. In fact, in a rigorous quantitative survey of 2,494 business owners, Gallup was able to confirm that these five operating conditions were “far more predictive of a second-stage business’s size and growth performance than its age or industry, or the demographic characteristics of its owner.”

As a result, Gallup created a high-performance benchmark for entrepreneurs to discover where their firm stands against the benchmark, known as the 5CA, or Five Conditions Assessment. If you’ve ever been frustrated or discouraged with post-startup or second-stage companies, this groundbreaking research can help you assess the potential of these businesses to reach the mid-market, regardless of industry – and Charles Fred will be leading a discussion of this game-changing research as part of a keynote address at ACA 2020 – The Summit of Angel Investing.

More About Charles Fred

Charles Fred is a bestselling author and serial entrepreneur. His bestselling book, Breakaway, is credited with introducing a new framework for organizational learning. The 24-Hour Rule, his breakthrough book on leadership, is a highly regarded resource for business executives across industries. In 2000, Charles founded the Breakaway Group, one of the nation’s fastest growing companies, to improve how health-care providers learn and adopt new technologies. Xerox acquired the Breakaway Group in 2011, and in the process, he became president of their health-care group, providing technology and services worldwide. Today, he leads TrueSpace, a firm he co-founded with his daughter Jamee to focus on the leadership role of second-stage entrepreneurs and their ability to create sustainable enterprises. TrueSpace has committed to a goal of helping 10,000 entrepreneurs add 500,000 new jobs to our economy, and Jamee’s personal mission is to ensure that 5,000 of those entrepreneurs are women.

Harry Glazer

Harry M. Glazer is a seasoned entrepreneur, investor and lawyer. His activities run the gamut from business to legal advisor, board of director to chairman, principal to managing director, to investor in numerous fast growth companies. He has been instrumental in building the Greater Washington, D.C. startup tech community. In 1997, he founded and has been the Co-Chair of MindShare, the region’s leading, invitation only, Startup CEO Forum for over 1,000 CEO's of the top emerging technology companies. MindShare was awarded the inaugural NVTC Navigator Award for best organization mentoring entrepreneurs.

Early in his career, Mr. Glazer was a banking, restructuring and turnaround specialist. These early years provided invaluable insight into how companies get into trouble; how to turn them around and most importantly, how to avoid these problems from the get go. He is actively involved in day-to-day operations: sourcing, negotiating and structuring new ventures; driving capital formation and expansion; launching, growing and monetizing enterprises; spurring corporate development, partnering and joint ventures; building sales and distribution channels; resolving management and board issues: restructuring and turnarounds; and maximizing liquidity exits.

SPEAKING AND PUBLICATIONS
Global Private Equity Analysis Annual Conference (NY); Massachusetts Institute of Technology Annual Private Equity Forum (MA), Angel Capital Association Annual Meeting, National Association of Broadcasters Annual Show/Conference, Bloomberg Hi-Tech Forum, and others. 

Prof. William E. Halal

William E. Halal PhD is professor emeritus of management, technology, and innovation at George Washington University, with degrees from Purdue and UC Berkeley.  He has published 7 books and hundreds of articles, consults to corporations and governments, and is a frequent speaker, once substituting for Peter Drucker. Halal is founder of TechCast Global and also co-founded the Institute for Knowledge & Innovation. Previously, he served as a major in the Air Force, worked as an aerospace engineer on the Apollo Program and as a manager in Silicon Valley. He received the 1977 Mitchell Prize for his article “Beyond the Profit-Motive,” and was cited by the Encyclopedia of the Future as one of the top 100 futurists in the world.  His article, “Through the MegaCrisis,” was awarded Outstanding Paper of 2013 by Emerald Publishing  

Martha Miller

Martha Legg Miller was named the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s first director of the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation in December 2018, leading the new office created by the SEC Small Business Advocate Act of 2016.

As the Advocate for Small Business, Miller oversees the office dedicated to advancing the interests of small businesses and their investors at the SEC and in the capital markets. The office is responsible for advocating for small businesses and their investors by conducting outreach to solicit views on relevant capital formation issues, providing assistance to resolve significant problems, analyzing the potential small business impact of proposed regulations and rules, and recommending changes to mitigate capital formation issues and promote the interests of small businesses and their investors.

Prior to joining the SEC, Miller was a partner at the law firm Balch & Bingham LLP in Birmingham, Alabama, where she represented companies and investors across a spectrum of corporate transactions.

Miller holds bachelor’s degrees in Cognitive Neuroscience and Communications Studies from Vanderbilt University and a juris doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

Laura Burney Nissen

Laura Burney Nissen is a foresight practitioner and a Research Fellow with the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto. She is also the inaugural Presidential Futures Fellow at Portland State University, where she is leading a year-long cross-departmental collaboration on the future of higher education and future of work. She is the former Dean of the PSU School of Social Work, and has spoken widely and done research on innovative systems change, equity and social justice, social work and the arts, all through a futures lens. She was recently awarded a grant by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to launch the nation's first social work futures lab at PSU. For more on her work, please visit Laura's blog.

Jonathan Ortmans, International Economic Development and Syndication

As the world grows more complex and interconnected, the global business landscape is also becoming increasingly competitive. This has presented a series of challenges and opportunities that require entrepreneurs, both in the U.S. and around the world, to look beyond their borders for new markets, talent, financing and investors and supply chain sourcing.

Jonathan Ortmans is the founder and president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), a platform of programs and initiatives to help new firms start and scale within one global entrepreneurial ecosystem. GEN is headquartered in Washington, DC, but operates in 170 countries where it works to foster healthier local ecosystems to help entrepreneurs turn ideas into promising new ventures.

During his keynote address at ACA 2020 – The Summit of Angel Investing, Jonathan will share his expertise around the grassroots global network of entrepreneurs, a community that is collaborating and thriving. He’ll give you some ideas and considerations to keep in mind as you evaluate cross-border deals and international syndication of investment opportunities. Most of all, he’ll share his experiences from all over the world as a leader in economic development despite the most challenging of environments and circumstances.

More About Jonathan Ortmans

Jonathan Ortmans is the founder and president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN). GEN operates in 170 countries where it works to foster healthier local ecosystems to help entrepreneurs unleash their ideas and turn them into promising new ventures. Ortmans launched GEN's cornerstone initiative, Global Entrepreneurship Week, in 2008 with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. He has assembled a broad multi-disciplinary coalition that is the backbone of GEN operations, including entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, researchers and affiliated support organizations. Ortmans also chairs the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) that gathers thousands of leaders each April to collaborate on effective approaches to advancing entrepreneurial growth. After launching it in 2009 at the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, he has now chaired the GEC in Dubai, Shanghai, Liverpool, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Milan, Medellin, Johannesburg, Istanbul and Bahrain. He has served as a longtime advisor to the Kauffman Foundation and currently serves on the Board of the Center for American Entrepreneurship in Washington, DC.

Lindy Snider, Issues in Cannabis Investing

Lindy Snider is one of the nation’s most respected experts on cannabis business development, and she’ll share her insights on the challenges and opportunities investors face in this emerging industry during a keynote session at ACA2020 – The Summit of Angel Investing.

Snider is a trusted, forward-thinking adviser to investors, and a successful entrepreneur with a long history in mainstream business as a top-level executive. She is a dedicated philanthropist, and the founder and CEO of Lindi Skin, a groundbreaking line of skincare products for cancer patients that’s used in major cancer centers across the country.

During this one-of-a-kind keynote address, she’ll share lessons learned and smart practices for navigating challenges cannabis entrepreneurs and startups face. Her advice and insight comes from over 15 years of experience with cannabis-related investment firms including The Arcview Group, Greenhouse Ventures, and Manna Capital; property-focused Stem Holdings; Kind Financial, which provides banking services to cannabis businesses; and cutting-edge companies such as Lenitiv Scientific, founded by Montel Williams.

If you’ve ever considered investing in this interesting, high-growth market, you won’t want to miss your chance to learn from one of the best in the business.

More About Lindy Snider

Lindy Snider, named one of the “Women to Watch in 2019” by MJ Business Daily, is a renowned cannabis business development expert. She is one of three co-founders of Treehouse Global Ventures, a firm highly regarded as the capital partner of choice for companies led by women and minorities. Using evidence-based data and robust due diligence practices to make informed decisions, Treehouse Global Ventures is mission-driven – not only to foster and mentor their portfolio of companies – but to continue as leaders around the country and the globe. In addition to her work with Treehouse, Snider is the founder and CEO of Lindi Skin, a skin care product line geared toward cancer patients. Before starting her own company, Snider held senior positions in marketing, sales, operational and strategic areas for a series of sports and entertainment companies, including the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, Comcast-Spectacor and the Wells Fargo Center at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. Snider is also involved with several other investment firms, activist groups and NGOs, including Athletes for Care, and the Entrepreneurship and Social Impact Initiative (ESII). Snider is a passionate entrepreneur, dedicated philanthropist, and champion of both start-ups and women-owned businesses, currently sitting on over 21 boards and advisory groups.