Software IPOs are making a comeback, and in style!
In the years following the dot-com bust, the enterprise software sector was marked by underperformance and lack of innovation. Even in this period of sluggish growth, though, VMware and Netsuite emerged as two bright stars that outshone other startups by crossing the hallowed IPO milestone in 2007. These two companies convincingly demonstrated how to commercialize the technical and business innovations of virtualization and software-as-a-service (SaaS) in considerably less than favorable market conditions, and they have successfully established themselves as clear market leaders.
The credit for this phenomenal success goes to Diane Greene and Evan Goldberg of VMware and Netsuite, who proved their leadership credentials and revived the tradition of creating world-class technology companies from the ground up.
Join the WCNC in this unique joint feature of two high-profile silicon valley business leaders, as they discuss the state of the enterprise software market, success factors, and lessons learned on the road to the IPO, and the vision for the future of their companies. There is limited seating for this event--and we do expect it to sell out--so book your place early!
Moderating the discussion will be John Rohal, General Partner at Makena Capital and the former Global Research Director at Robertson Stephens.
Register Online
Date: Thursday, January 24, 2008
Time: Reception 5:30 - 7:00pm. Discussion 7:00 - 8:15pm.
Location: Microsoft Campus, Galileo Auditorium, 1065 La Avenida, Building 1, Mountain View, CA 94043
Registration: WCNC Members, members of affiliate clubs, and their accompanied guests: $30 per person. Non-member alumni and other guests: $50 per person. If available, $10 additional for tickets purchased after 6:00pm, Tuesday, January 22. Cancellations received after 6:00pm, January 22 are at the discretion of the WCNC.
Discussion topics will include:
- Leadership skills and experiences (what aspects of their leadership made the difference in the company's success? was there a specific "leadership moment" that defined the company's direction?)
- Financing and the IPO (if they could do it again, what--if anything--would they do differently? what methods of early and mid-stage financing were used? compare and contrast life before and after becoming a public company.
- Trends and Vision of the future (what's the prognosis for the virtualization and SaaS markets? how do they see them evolving? have we seen these technology models before, and what lessons do the past hold for the future?)
- The skeptic's perspective (has VMware woken the slumbering giants? for all its hype, Software As A Service has not proven to be a successful model--can Netsuite become profitable soon, and is SaaS a model for the long run?)
- Words of advice for entrepeneurs
Our Speakers
About Diane Greene
Diane Greene is President, CEO and co-founder of VMware. Under Diane's leadership, VMware created the market for mainstream virtualization and VMware definitively leads what is now a virtualization software industry. Diane has held technical leadership positions at Silicon Graphics, Sybase and Tandem and was CEO of VXtreme. Diane's degrees include mechanical engineering, naval architecture and computer science from the University of Vermont, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California Berkeley, respectively. Diane serves on the board of VMware and Intuit.
About Evan Goldberg
Evan Goldberg spent eight years at Oracle Corporation, where he served as a vice president. He was involved in a variety of projects, all focused on making powerful database technology more accessible to users. When he left Oracle, he started mBED Software and built groundbreaking Web site technology. He founded NetSuite in 1998. Mr. Goldberg holds a B.A. Summa Cum Laude in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University.
About John RohalJohn Rohal is General Partner at Makena Capital, based in Silicon Valley. He was formerly the Chairman, Managing Director and Chairman, Portfolio Strategy Committee at EGM Capital and joined EGM from Robertson Stephens, where he was the global research director for eight years. While at Robertson Stephens, John built the research department from 13 senior analysts to 45 plus a large support staff, covering all of the major growth industries.
Prior to Robertson Stephens, John spent a decade at Alex Brown & Sons, where he was Managing Director and Co-Head of the Technology Research Group. During that time, he covered the communications and networking industries and was a member of the Alex Brown & Sons Commitment Committee and the selective Investment Opportunities Committee. Prior to Alex Brown & Sons, he had a 14-year career in leadership positions at Honeywell, Pfizer, and Martin Marietta beginning in 1969 with a sales position at IBM. John received a BS from West Virginia University, and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He also attended Law School at Georgetown University.
