Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur Michael Baum is coming to Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) to deliver a lecture and a pitching event. Baum is a CEO of 100 million worth investment company and startup academy FOUNDER.org which invests in student entrepreneurs from the world’s top universities and helps them build great companies. His lecture ‘The 8 Secrets to Building a Billion Dollar Company’ will take place on Tuesday 17 February.
Baum’s own entrepreneurial journey has spanned 25 years in Silicon Valley, six start-ups, five acquisitions and the IPO of big data pioneer Splunk (SPLK). Michael will divulge his eight essential dimensions to building a hyper growth company and take the audience through his own epic triumphs and failures.
Baum said, “Startup communities in Lithuania are among the most active in the Baltic region and the startup ecosystem is developing rapidly here. We are excited to have KTU as a partner at Founder.org and am thrilled to be able meet the young entrepreneurs of this University and to hear their exceptional ideas”.
Baum’s lecture at KTU Santaka Valley will feature a personal story on his own business successes and failures. The young entrepreneurs will find out how to register to 8D© Company Building Program for the school year of 2016.
During the event in Kaunas the startup teams will have an opportunity to pitch their business ideas for a venture capital investor, and to get feedback from Michael Baum himself.
Business Is a Team Sport
Baum visited KTU for the first time in August 2014 encouraged by his son who told him about the Baltic countries. The charismatic entrepreneur who have ‘fathered’ more than one profitable startup company has then talked about the importance of having a Startup Space at a university.
“The spaces like KTU’s Startup Space are extremely important as business development in its initial phases is very much a team sport. You cannot grow a business alone – you have to find partners and investors. Therefore it is crucial for universities to provide space for students to work together as a team, where they could meet challenges together, and to expand their network”, said Baum during his first visit.
KTU Is the Only Lithuanian Partner
Baum’s investment company Founder.org invests in student entrepreneurs from the world’s top universities and helps them build great companies. It helps these courageous innovators build impactful companies to positively transform the world. The annual 8D© company building programme fast tracks startup team through the challenges of building a high impact company, while they’re doing it and provides the capital they need to get started.
Behind Founder.org is a team of serial Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who have built billion dollar companies. Now they’re working with the next generation of creative, audacious student founders from Harvard Business School, New York, Stanford, Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon and other top American universities.
Baum was invited to KTU by National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre (NIEC).
“I am extremely glad that we have attracted the attention of an investor of such scope and that Founder.org has chosen KTU as their only partner in Lithuania”, said Edmundas Šalna, head of NIEC.
The 8 Secrets to Building a Billion Dollar Company
•Learn the Eight Secrets to Building a Billion Dollar Company
•Learn how to apply to FOUNDER.org for the Class of 2016
•Introduction to 8D© Company Building Program
•60 Second Pitches from Kaunas University of Technology startup teams
•Feedback sessions with Michael for the top pitches
‘The 8 Secrets to Building a Billion Dollar Company’ will take place on Tuesday 17 February at 3 pm at KTU Santaka Valley (Conference Hall No. 1), K. Baršausko St 59, Kaunas.
Free tickets and registration are available on www.founder.org/tickets
