Date: June 11, 2012 Time: 8:30AM to 6PM
Place: CUNY Graduate Center
365 Fifth Avenue, Concourse Level, Manhattan
Rohit Arora, CEO and co-founder of Biz2Credit, is one of the country’s leading experts in small business finance. He has extensive experience in financial services and the issues facing startups and growing small businesses across the globe. In 2011, he was named New York City’s “Top Entrepreneur” by Crain’s New York Business.
Neeta Bhasin is the President and CEO of ASB Communications, a full-service multicultural Advertising and Marketing company that pioneered marketing efforts within the South Asian populous in North America and has now branched into other ethnic markets as well. These markets include the Asian, the Middle Eastern, African and the Eastern European communities in North America and in the UK.
Ray Brijmohan is managing partner and co-owner of 2 Techs Co., a full service IT consulting firm providing service to small and medium sized businesses in the NY metro area. He has worked at multiple levels within the IT industry from corporate consulting, reseller and consumer markets giving him a rounded view of the way businesses operate and maximize value from technology investments.
Wendi Caplan-Carroll is a marketing expert with over 25 years experience developing and implementing marketing strategies for businesses and organizations spanning a variety of industries. In her role at Constant Contact, Ms. Caplan-Carroll uses her expertise to provide coaching for small businesses and organizations on best practices of email and social media marketing. Additionally, she creates powerful business alliances and initiatives throughout New York and New Jersey to help empower Constant Contact customers and its partners.
Yvonne Chan practices in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group of the firm’s Corporate Department. She has extensive experience in the formation of cross-border joint ventures, and on foreign direct investment and private equity investments in the United States and China. In addition, she has over 10 years experience on private equity fund formation, with a focus on funds targeting markets in Asia, specifically China, India and Japan. She is recognized as a leading Investment Fund Formation and Private Equity lawyer by Legal 500.
Sarah Chung is Partner and Co-Founder of Luxe Brand Advisors, a boutique consultancy focused on U.S. -Asia cross-border ventures. She was previously CEO of Periscope Solutions, where she helped category leaders launch and grow their business. a consulting firm providing strategy, business planning and research services for new ventures and investors in the consumer products industry.
Alejandro Juarez Crawford is a consultant and lecturer with Acceleration Group and an architect of its methodology. He is also a leading provider of strategic insight to innovators, entrepreneurs and growth-oriented managers. A frequent speaker on topics of entrepreneurship, enterprise growth, and digital age branding and marketing, he co-founded integrated marketing boutique Nolej Base and teaches at NYU Poly, the New School and the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch. Mr. Crawford earned his MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and his Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University.
Bill Drewes, Attorney at Law at the Human Resources Association of New York. Attorney with over 40 years experience in business law, intellectual property, employment law and tax-exempt organizations; fund raising and development advisor to non profit community based organizations; diversity counsel and contract procurement specialist for certified minority and women owned business enterprises (MWBE);supplier diversity consultant and workforce diversity & inclusion advisor to corporations and organizations.
David Eng is the Vice President, Public Affairs at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum where he is responsible for all communications, marketing, advertising, brand management, media and public relations. He oversaw the rebranding of the museum as well as the 20th anniversary campaign, the transition in leadership and the opening of the new Visitor Center.
Alozie Etufugh is the Managing Partner of the Law Offices of Alozie N. Etufugh, PLLC. He began his legal career with an Intellectual Property law firm based in New York City. His firm’s current practice areas include all aspects of Patent, Trademark and Copyright law, including prosecution, corporate transactions, licensing, and client counseling.
Ramon Gil is a marketing business coach and the managing and creative director of Fresh Concentrate, a multicultural graphic design company in Manhattan’s Turtle Bay. Since 1991, he has worked for several advertising firms including Goldberg Fossa Seid, Foote, Cone & Belding, Grey Advertising, N.W. Ayer, Young & Rubicam, Griffin Bacal, Burson Marsteller and The Gate Worldwide.
Rio Guerrero is an attorney and founding partner of the immigration law firm Guerrero Yee LLP based in The Woolworth Building in lower Manhattan. His law firm successfully represents corporations, organizations, entrepreneurs, families and individuals across the full panoply of U.S. immigration law services. In particular, his practice focuses upon securing work visas and “green cards” for investors, entrepreneurs and foreign professional workers. Since 2007, he has taught as an Adjunct Professor of immigration law within the CUNY Graduate system. He provides pro bono legal service to the Asian American community as the founding and current chair of the Asian American Bar Association of New York’s Immigration and Nationality Law Committee.
Brian Gurski is a consultant and lecturer for Acceleration Group and an architect of its methodology. Most recently, Brian was Regional Director of a New York State Small Business Development Center in New York City and was instrumental in the design and launch of the national pilot of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative, created to provide education, technical assistance and capital to high-growth businesses. He has completed graduate work at the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College, an advanced certification in emerging markets analysis from Fordham University, studies on value innovation at the Wharton School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree from Lewis & Clark College.
Julie Huang is president of Kaimen Company, a public relations firm that raises brand awareness, gain appreciation, and manage good stakeholder relations for businesses and the individuals who lead them. Her firm offers services in product and corporate communications, public affairs, social-cause marketing, crisis and reputation management, and investor and media relations.
Louis Kay is the founder and Managing Partner of Kay Capital. Previously Mr. Kay was a Vice President at Citigroup. He joined Citigroup as a distressed analyst, where he ran an investment portfolio of $4 Billion of distressed assets. Prior to Citigroup, Louis joined Merrill Lynch as an investment banker in the Leveraged Finance Group. Louis was a Senior Officer and Glaxosmith Wellcome Scholar at the Economic Development Board in Singapore. Louis holds an MBA from New York University Stern School of Business and a BS from the University of Illinois at Urbana.
Ubaid Khan is the Vice President of PNC Bank , Business Development Officer covering Northern New Jersey and New York City. He has an in-depth understanding of the SBA loan program and is experienced in structuring SBA loans that meets the unique needs for each individual business owner he works with. He is Certified Public Accountant and has an MBA. Prior to specializing in SBA financing, he and before SBA financing, he successfully helped in project finance of two big power projects.
Susan Kim is a Vice President at East West Bank. Working as a Private Client Service Manager, developing business and personal relationships in the Tri-State area in Retail and Commercial Areas. Ms. Kim joined East West Bank in 2012. Prior to that, she seved several years for with major bank in Manhattan, Capital One Bank formerly North Fork Bank., Fleet Bank N.A. In addition to a career in the financial sector, Ms. Kim has worked for famous Pop artist Peter Max and as a freelance reporter covering people like the Mayor of New York City to events such as the World Series & Super Bowl.
Kevin Kong is the Managing Director of Renaissance Economic Development Corporation, a non-profit loan fund that provides direct financing and technical assistance to small business owners and entrepreneurs in New York City. From inception, Renaissance has provided over $28 million in direct lending to small businesses in New York City. Previously, Mr. Kong was the General Counsel of two Nasdaq-listed publicly traded Chinese companies in Shanghai and Hong Kong and was a corporate finance lawyer at law firms in New York City.
Jing Li is the CEO and founder of www. JingLiUS.com, the first website dedicated to American Dream stories and a breakthrough lifestyle guide by Jing Li. The goal is to help individuals and companies succeed by sharing success advice, lifestyle stories and products discovered by Jing Li in America, China and around the world.
Rita Lin is currently a partner at Lee & Lin IP. She specializes in intellectual property law, concentrating on management of intellectual property, counseling, litigation strategy, patent prosecution, product development and product clearance. Prior to Lee & Lin IP, Ms. Lin practiced law with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. She is also currently working on a credit card fraud prevention startup with her brother.
Joyce Moy is the Executive Director of the Asian American / Asian Research Institute. She was the first Asian American director of a NYS Small Business Development Center. Her area of expertise is entrepreneurship and economic development. She has taught business law and taxation at Queens College, the CUNY School of Law, and at Cornell University School of Law. She is a former practicing attorney with over 15 years experience in corporate law, franchising, taxation and commercial areas. She recently served on the NYS Governor’s Taskforce on Small Business and co-chaired the NYC Comptroller’s Taskforce on Community Benefit Agreements.
Metta Murdaya, a native Indonesian, has spent her whole life traveling between San Francisco and Indonesia. Coming from a place where plants have been the foundation of medicine and beauty rituals for hundreds of years, Metta grew up proud of her heritage and believing the best way to maintain health is through regular maintenance and prevention using natural ingredients. With her design and business background from UC Berkeley and New York University, Metta helps JUARA develop the vision of crafting an effective, luxurious botanical product reminiscent of the ancient beauty rituals of tropical Indonesia, encapsulating both natural beauty and modern science in one package.
Sakura Moriya, originally from Tokyo, Japan, graduated from FIT with honors in 1999 and worked as an interior designer at several NYC firms on residential, retail, restaurant, hospitality, and corporate projects.
Alastair Onglingswan is a serial entrepreneur, having successfully created, financed and launched two online technology companies, bCorner.com, PinoyDolyar.com, and a real estate company, Ong8, LLC. bCorner.com creates marketplaces for other websites including BusinessWeekOnline.com and GoldsGym.com. PinoyDolyar.com is a Filipino-based technology venture that assists overseas Filipinos sending money back to the Philippines.
Lee Pham is the Manager of Intellectual Property Strategy at American Express, where his objective is extracting value from the company’s IP and technology portfolios. Prior to joining American Express full-time, Lee worked as a summer associate on the IP Strategy team and at Pham & Associates in Hanoi (no relation), one of Vietnam’s largest law firms with a well established reputation for intellectual property.
Timothy Reese, co-founder of the National Minority Angel Network (NMAN™) a start-up services company whose goal is to foster Angel investments in minority lead startups throughout the US. He is also Managing Partner at Forge Intellectual Capital a successful financial advisory and consulting services firm. His past efforts have lead in the successful sale of several companies including one he founded and sold in 2000.
Mr. Reese holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology from Temple University and was a 2000 Fellow at Temple University Fox School of Business and Management.
Adrienne Ricci graduated from University of Delaware in 2003 with a degree in Leadership and Consumer Economics. She started her career with 7-Eleven right after graduating as a business consultant to the franchisees. In this position she helped her franchisees growth their business and help them become more profitable. In 2009, she was promoted to a Merchandiser of non foods and non alcoholic beverages and in 2010 she was promoted again to Franchise Sales Manager for the Manhattan and Westchester markets. She is currently pursing her MBA at Northeastern University.
Fabiola Santos-Gaerlan has worked for 15 years in the television industry as a producer and director, with the highlight of her career traveling all over the country interviewing children for a kid’s TV show. She has three children of her own whom she has been raising in a creative and intentional way. She co-owns Honeydew with her husband Dave Gaerlan who is responsible for the financial administration of Honeydew Drop.
Trevor Sumner is Co-Founder and President of LocalVox, Trevor is no stranger to the hard work and dedication associated with entrepreneurship. A master technologist and marketer, Trevor has spent the last decade developing and evolving LocalVox Media, a social, local and mobile marketing platform for SMBs.
Carson Tang is the President and CEO of Carson Worldwide, an experiential event and strategic marketing company. Mr. Tang is also the founder of Powermastery, the empowerment based division; and New Business Frontiers, the mastermind division for business owners, entrepreneurs and corporate level executives.
Andrew Wong is a serial entrepreneur. He founded the NY Entrepreneurs Business Network (NYEBN) a business community that is committed to hosting first-class events for its members. NYEBN has become a major platform to connect entrepreneurs, investors, startup enthusiasts, and various service providers in the New York area. It facilitates learning in a highly participatory manner. NYEBN now consists of over 15,000 professionals around the world.
His most recent project is NY Business Expo. The expo is a two-day event with the goal of bringing business professionals together and helping them expand their networks in a massive and rapid scale.
His latest startup project is Appommunity, which is an interest-based social network for mobile application users. The startup is currently in its development mode. It is estimated to be launched in the second half of 2012.
Edlyn Yuen joined StarVest as an Associate in July 2011. Prior to joining StarVest, Ms. Yuen worked in the investment banking division of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where she focused on M&A advisory and debt and equity issuances for industrial companies. She has also worked for Kiva.org in San Francisco.
Edlyn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Classical Civilizations from Wellesley College.
Sponsor
Acceleration Group, Inc.
Fresh Concentrate
Supporters
CMP Business Outreach Center
Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce
Manhattan Chamber of Commerce
National Association of Asian American Professionals-NY
Queens Chamber of Commerce
The National Minority Business Council, Inc.
New York City Health Insurance Link
The Results Workshop
Workshop in Business Opportunities
