Tuesday, April 28th, 2015

Track III: Plaza Room

12:30 PM - 1:45 PM

Investment, Funding Strategies and Deal Flow: Digital Media Venture, Investment and Funding: New Business Models in Entertainment, Media and Technology - From Funds to Crowdfunding

David O. Higley, Managing Partner, Bond Lane Merchant Bank

Sun Jen Yung, Managing Director, Headwaters MB

Jonathan Skogmo, Founder and CEO of Jukin Media, and Executive Producer of World’s Funniest Fails on FOX

Greg Akselrud, Partner, Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP

Gene Massey, CEO of MediaShares and CinemaShares

Joey Tamer, President, S.O.S. Inc., Moderator

 

Sun Jen Yung, Managing Director, Headwaters MB: Sun Jen Yung, Managing Director, joined Headwaters from Nightwood Capital LLC, a middle-market boutique advisory firm that she founded in 2009. Sun focuses on Digital Media & Internet and Media Growth companies. Her experience of 20 years in investment banking includes corporate finance coverage of Media (cable and entertainment), Digital Media, Internet and Software companies at Oppenheimer, Deutsche Bank , Lehman Brothers and J.P. Morgan. Sun also has experience in Equity Research at Lehman Brothers. She has completed over $38 billion in public (IPOs and follow-ons) and private equity, equity-linked and debt financings and M&A transactions. Sun serves on the Board of Directors for the YWCA of Greenwich (CT). She received B.A. degrees in Economics and International Studies at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN and an M.B.A. of Finance from Columbia Business School in New York.

 

David O. Higley, Managing Partner, Bond Lane Partners LLC: Resigned as Managing Director and Global Head of Digital Media at UBS Investment Bank to form Bond Lane Partners, a registered merchant bank serving the Digital Media sector. In addition to providing the services found at traditional investment banks (i.e., M&A, capital raising, strategic advisory), Bond Lane is an active investor within Digital Media. Currently we have seven investments in our portfolio - and growing! Bond Lane Partners is a merchant bank serving the digital media sector. Its founder, David Higley, formed and built the digital media group at UBS Investment bank where he was a managing director and Global Head of Digital Media until he formed Bond Lane Partners. In addition to providing the services found at traditional investment banks (i.e., M&A, capital raising, strategic advisory), Bond Lane acts as a principal investor with six investments in its portfolio (and growing).

 

Jonathan Skogmo is Founder and CEO of Jukin Media, and Executive Producer of World’s Funniest Fails on FOX. Prior to Jukin, Jonathan produced shows on CMT, Discovery, and truTV. As Founder and CEO of Jukin, Jonathan oversees all day-to-day operations of the company. Jukin Media has more than 80 employees, with operations in Los Angeles, New York, London, and San Sebastian, Spain. Jonathan is a member of the Producers Guild of America and The Hollywood Radio and Television Society and he holds a degree in Film and Television from Chicago’s Columbia College.

 

Greg Akselrud, Partner, Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP: He chair's the Firm's Internet, New Media and Entertainment practice group. Greg advises a wide range of public and private clients across a number of industries, including companies in the entertainment, Internet, technology, and apparel industries. Greg's practice involves providing advice in connection with general corporate matters (including company formation, stock incentive plans, executive employment agreements, and various commercial and business contracts), venture capital and angel financings, mergers and acquisitions (including public reverse mergers), private equity and debt securities offerings, public offerings, federal and state securities law reporting requirements, intellectual property strategic counseling, Internet and e-commerce matters, and entertainment, content and digital media transactional matters. Greg is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, teaching Business Planning I: Financing the Start-Up Business and Venture Capital Financing. Greg is the author of Hit Man: The Fourth Circuit's Mistake in Rice v. Paladin Enters., Inc., 19 Loy. L.A. Ent. L.J. 375 (1999).

 

Gene Massey is the CEO of MediaShares and its subsidiary, CinemaShares, and is a regular speaker at Wall Street conferences focused on the new methods of marketing and “CrowdFinancing” stock offerings on the Internet. MediaShares offers innovative solutions for marketing and transacting online offerings, and licenses a U.S. Patented methodology, system, and software to companies needing funding. The new rules put forth in the JOBS Act, combined with MediaShares’ innovative marketing and transaction tools, enable companies to successfully market their shares to their online fans, customers, and affinity groups. Companies can now get the funding they need, create massive online communities of interactive and supportive shareholders, and do so in full compliance with SEC/FINRA regulations.

 

Joey Tamer, President, S.O.S. Inc.: is a widely-acclaimed strategic consultant to technology and media CEOs, U.S. and worldwide. Her work helps create wealth for founders and investors of entrepreneurial ventures.  Her capital strategies drive up her clients’ valuations and profitability. She has a special expertise in working with emerging and disruptive technologies. She consults to Fortune 500 companies, capitalized start-ups, and investment funds, often serving as a “shadow CEO” to extend her clients’ bandwidth. She advises product and service companies and consultants. Her work optimizes her clients’ growth, deal flow and profitability. Successes include the 1st Internet B2B IPO with $30M to each of the three founders in year 5; the sale of a husband/wife software company for $50M in year 4; the raising of $2.2M in seed capital with no equity out, for a software venture she built in China; the sale of a start-up Internet company within 8 months of writing their first investment pitch piece. These have included J.P. Morgan Capital, Sony, IBM, Apple, Hearst, Blockbuster, Technicolor, Harper Collins, Discovery Channel, Time-Warner, Agfa and Scitex. Her many early stage ventures include Earthweb (IPO 1998) and iSuppli (sold to IHS 2010). Her clients say she is “a brilliant strategist and a practical, down-to-earth, get-it-done person,” “invaluable in understanding the competitive landscape and alternative strategies” and that she “cuts right through the noise, giving a clear vision of the future,” “protecting us from liability and cutting our costs.” Her clients have been in the business, enterprise and consumer sectors, with companies in technology, SaaS, hardware and software, mobile, media and entertainment, publishing and advertising, distribution, and investment and venture funding. She has worked in the U.S., Europe, China and Qatar. A strategist, policymaker, dealmaker, and negotiator, her work includes strategies on entry, exit, capitalization, return on investment, growth, positioning, pricing, distribution, social media outreach, risk-assessment, new market and international expansion, due diligence, and intellectual property. She speaks and publishes widely on entrepreneurship. Her published credits include 5 books, 60 published articles, and a weblog with hundreds of blog posts of advice to entrepreneurs. She can be reached through her website at www.joeytamer.com.

Jonathan Skogmo is Founder and CEO of Jukin Media, and Executive Producer of World’s Funniest Fails on FOX. Prior to Jukin, Jonathan produced shows on CMT, Discovery, and truTV. As Founder and CEO of Jukin, Jonathan oversees all day-to-day operations of the company. Jukin Media has more than 80 employees, with operations in Los Angeles, New York, London, and San Sebastian, Spain. Jonathan is a member of the Producers Guild of America and The Hollywood Radio and Television Society and he holds a degree in Film and Television from Chicago’s Columbia College.