Join Techstars, Matchstick Ventures, Tallwave Capital, Upslope Ventures and Bigfoot Capital to talk through what it takes to raise early stage capital in today's market.

Session Purpose:
This session is all about what it takes to run a successful Seed/Series A capital raise. We'll hear from VC's and Founders who have been in the trenches both pursuing and deploying capital.

Session Focus:

• how to approach and run a process (hint: be focused, organized and persistent)
• why deals do and do not get done (real deal talk from VC's actively writing checks)
• early-stage capital market dynamics (what you need to know in terms of what VC's are seeing in the market)

Session Participants:
Natty Zola -- Panelist, Techstars Boulder and Matchstick Ventures (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nattyzola/)
Natty Zola is Managing Director for Techstars Boulder and Partner at Matchstick Ventures. He's invested in 43 companies. Previously Natty was Head of Consumer Products for MapQuest, where he helped MapQuest return to profitability and year-over-year growth for the first time since 2007. Before MapQuest, he was a founder of Everlater.com, a travel blogging platform and CRM system for tour operators, that participated in Techstars in 2009 and was acquired by AOL in 2012. He also graduated from GE's Financial Management Program and worked with Jim Collins on the best selling books "Great by Choice" and "How the Mighty Fall." Natty is passionate about helping startups find product market fit, accelerate their growth, and develop company culture. His hobbies include mountain biking, reading business books, testing new apps, anything design related and gardening.

Nate Mortensen -- Panelist, Tallwave Capital (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanmortensen/)
Nathan joined Tallwave Capital as a Principal in early 2015 to oversee fund operations, deal sourcing and strategy of their first fund. Tallwave Capital has become the most active venture firm in Arizona focused on B2B technology companies at the Seed and Post-Seed stages with over 21 portfolio investments. Nathan also serves on the board of Invest Southwest, a non-profit focused on connecting regional startups with capital through events and programs including Venture Madness.

Previously, Nathan developed a passion for business while growing up in a small family business in Arizona. After earning his undergraduate degree in Finance from Arizona State University, he gained broad exposure to corporate America while working at ON Semiconductor, The Boeing Company, First Solar and Celanese, primarily in finance, strategy and commercial roles. Nathan received an MBA from Brigham Young University (BYU).

Kate Shillo -- Panelist, Upslope Ventures (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kshillo/)
Kate Shillo Beardsley is a Partner at Upslope Ventures (FKA Galvanize Ventures), an early stage fund investing in technologies across the country. Previously she helped establish, build and manage three funds and over 200+ investments at Lerer Hippeau Ventures in New York City as Director of Operations for 4 years. Prior to Kate was Chief of Staff to Kenneth Lerer, Founder of Lerer Hippeau and The Huffington Post, and launched her career at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Managing Special Projects for Martha Stewart. She is a graduate of Middlebury College with honors and a BA in English.

Brian Parks -- Moderator, Bigfoot Capital (https://www.linkedin.com/in/parksbrian/)
Brian Parks is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Bigfoot Capital in Denver, CO. Brian founded Bigfoot in 2017 to support early-stage SaaS with an ongoing source of non-dilutive capital. Bigfoot's investment focus is on initial scale SaaS businesses (bootstrapped and VC-backed) with $1M-$5M in recurring revenue. Brian has been involved in Denver's early-stage startup community since 2010, when he joined his first startup as employee 1. Since then, he has founded two companies (Brandfolder and Bigfoot Capital) and worked with two others (Galvanize and P2Binvestor). Prior to starting up, Brian spent five years as an M&A investment banker. Brian is a data and analytics nerd, soccer fan (premier league watcher/coed indoor player) and lover of international travel.