NOTE - Live Stream of the event will be here:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/seattle-2.0-live-event-coverage

Brad Feld is coming to town and we are having an entrepreneur party.  If you don’t know of Brad, he writes the popular blog Feld Thoughts (www.feld.com) and is a managing director at Foundry Group (www.foundrygroup.com).  He’s been an investor in a number of Seattle-based companies over the years including AdReady, Smith & Tinker, Shelfari, and Judy’s Book, and is currently on the board of Impinj.  Brad’s is also a co-founder of TechStars (www.techstars.org), a great startup program based in Boulder that has helped create a number of interesting companies, including SocialThing (acquired by AOL), Intense Debate (acquired by Automattic/WordPress), and Brightkite.

Brad’s going to spend the evening talking about his views on entrepreneurship, especially around early stage companies in today’s environment.  He’ll give us a detailed view of TechStars and why it’s been working, along with an explanation about how he thinks about early stage VC investing.  The evening with be heavily Q&A oriented – Brad’s open to any questions about anything.

NOTE: $5-10 fee will be donated to Seattle-based Vittana (www.vittana.org), an early-stage non-profit building the next step in microfinance -- education microfinance. Vittana is led by a small group of ex-Amazonians.

SPONSORS: Event cost is being kept to a minimum thanks to the generous support of:

• Beacon Law Advisors (www.beaconlawadvisors.com) - Beacon works with startups -- end of story.  We're a Seattle and Silicon Valley-focused boutique firm of seasoned corporate, transactional, and technology attorneys who also have significant operating, in-house and entrepreneurial experience.   We have all worked in big law firms (both here and in the Valley) and have actually worked in operating roles at startups.  Current Seattle and Valley startup clients include: Fiatlux Imaging, Globys, Ground Truth, MindBloom, ProgrammableWeb, RIPL, SeaMobile, Swype, TeachStreet, Transpera, Zecter, and Zumobi, among others.
• The Microsoft Strategic & Emerging Business Team (SEBT) supports early stage and established software startups developing on the Microsoft platform.  SEBT helps develop and grow local software economies worldwide through programs like Microsoft BizSpark, a global program for startups that provides fast, easy access to current full-featured Microsoft development tools and production licenses with no upfront costs and minimal requirements. To learn more visit www.microsoftstartupzone.com.
• Square 1 is a full-service commercial bank.  We provide custom financial services to venture capital firms and to companies that receive venture capital investment.  Our expertise, focus, and strong capital base provide a firm foundation to support our clients through all stages of growth. At Square 1 Bank, we serve our clients from coast to coast with offices in: Boulder, Los Angeles, San Diego, Silicon Valley, Seattle, Austin, Boston, Durham, McLean, and New York metro. To learn more visit www.square1financial.com