Thursday, April 30th, 2015

Special Workshop

10:00 AM - 12:45 PM

ThinkTank I: Salon III

Strategies in Start-up Business Development:  Developing Concepts, Lean Start-up Techniques and Positioning Your Company to Succeed!

Moderated by Brian Mac Mahon, CEO, Expert DOJO

Daniel Miller, Marketing & Partnership Director, Benchmark Email

Arturo Perez. CEO & Founder, Kluge Design

Dustin Luther, ‎Director of Engagement, Dun & Bradstreet Credibility

Erik Huberman, CEO and Founder, Hawke Media

Evan Ferrante, Partner at Reckless Productions

and Finally the Dream Team in the Fund World

Ryan Foland and David Ochi from Blackstone Launchpad

a short film entitled Across the Hall, directed by Alex Merkin and starring Adrian Grenier. The film was executive produced by First Look Studios and Samsung Mobile and went on to win "best short film" and "audience awards" at a number of major film festivals. Two years later, Evan Executive Produced the feature length version, also entitled "Across the Hall", starring the late Brittany Murphy. The film found distribution with Lightning Entertainment and Image Entertainment theatrically and on DVD. Evan is currently producing Matthew Cooke’s follow-up doc to How to Make Money Selling Drugs, called Survivor’s Guide to Prison, which centers around the prison industrial complex; a dark comedy about a lovable family of serial killers called Family Slaycation; a documentary called 52: The Search for the Loneliest Whale in the World, which centers around a very special whale, who has a unique frequency no other whale can hear; and a tv series about Georgetown grads who enter the political and intelligence landscapes of DC. Evan has a number of other projects in various stages of development.

Daniel Miller: Born in Las Vegas and raised in Malaga, Spain, where Daniel started a successful computer consulting company. Daniel was able to build up an extensive portfolio with top-notch clients who relied on his expertise on a regular basis. Miller then sold his business and moved to California, where he started working as a sales representative for Benchmark Email. After completely immersing myself in the online marketing world, he took the position of Customer Service and Partner Director for the company. With now over 10 years of experience with online marketing tools, strategies and sales, Miller uses his expertise to present Seminars, Webinars, Workshops and personal consulting sessions with a passion. Miller loves to educate marketers on best practices and efficiency.

Erik Huberman is founder and CEO of Hawke Media, a leading outsourced digital CMO agency for companies including Evite, Bally Total Fitness, Verizon Wireless, Eddie Bauer, Red Bull and many other large and small brands. Erik and team provide a full sales, marketing and ecommerce team, without the overhead. As a serial entrepreneur and brand and marketing consultant for 8 years, Erik previously founded, grew and sold Swag of the Month, and grew Ellie.com's sales to one million in 4 months.

Dustin Luther, ‎Director of Engagement, Dun & Bradstreet Credibility: As Director of Engagement with Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp, Dustin Luther heads up the Content, Events and Social Media teams for this Malibu-based startup that raised $200M in 2010 to buy out a division of D&B. His role allows him to work with thousands of business owners every year to help educated them on how to better leverage their business credit to landcontracts, earn access to capital and generally grow and hire. Within his role at D&B Credibility, his team has won numerous national awards including Best Viral Video, Best Engagement Campaign and Small Business Champion. In addition, Dustin was named a Top 25 Digital Marketer by BtoB Magazine in 2013. Previous to his current role, Dustin ran a consulting firm that worked with leaders from organizations as diverse as Whole Foods, Funk Ventures, National Association of Realtors, Realtor.com, and the Venture County Star in helping them understand how they can effectively extend their reach by telling great stories through new media tools. During this time, Dustin earned accolades ranging from “Mr Social” from the San Fernando Business Journal, “Builder of the real estate blogosphere's infrastructure” from the LA Times, “10 people to watch in 2008” from Inman News. But more interesting, he continues to iterate on what it takes to tell a great business story that will drive ROI for companies looking to engage online.

Arturo Perez is the founder and CEO of Kluge, a digital design agency based out of Marina del Rey. Kluge's clients include Deloitte, Telesign, Opera Mediaworks and the Department of Cultural Affairs. He is also the host of Evenings at the Loft, a monthly design speaking series, and the Design Director for Silicon Beach Fest. Prior to Kluge, Arturo worked for Growthink, a business consulting boutique.

Ryan Foland, Assistant Director of the Blackstone LaunchPad at UC Irvine, is an Orange County native who has a passion for working with people, and a love for startups. A decorated Toastmaster and organizer of Irvine's 1 Million Cups, Mr. Foland speaks to and works with all types of entrepreneurs to help them achieve their goals.

David Ochi, Blackstone Launchpad: Experienced entrepreneur with over 20 years of start-up experience. Direct experience with several hundred companies. Particularly interested in projects that involve overseas components and strategic management needs.

Specialties:Business plan writing, funding, acquisitions, business process planning, strategic planning, financial planning, negotiations