MediaTech Ventures

connecTed with David Spero, Founder and President at DSM Inc.
2021-09-08 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Chicago)
Ted Cohen with David Spero

David Spero is a living rock and roll, and music industry legend. His incredible career begins at the early age of 13 working as a cue card holder for his father Herman’s Upbeat TV show, and evolved over the next 57 years, with his accomplishments forever etched into our daily lives and culture.

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David Spero’s career plays out like a movie, where the character progresses through the story always biting off more than they can chew ultimately overcoming all odds; except David seemed to do it with grace, humility, and enthusiasm.
During his time at Upbeat TV, which was broadcasted in over 100 cities from 1964-1971, David entered the world of radio broadcasting in 1968 (at the age of 17) at WXEN-FM in Cleveland, OH. FM radio was only emerging at the time, and David quickly established himself as a top disc jockey with stints at WNCR, WMMS, M105 and WNCX. Even after breaking away from radio, he would later be inducted into the Radio and TV Hall of Fame in 2004. It was because of radio, David ended up rubbing elbows with some of rock’n roll’s most prominent artists. During his time at WMMS David’s good friend Joe Walsh (The Eagles) came and played David, Michael Stanley’s new record, insisting he manage him.
David Spero sitting in front of his wall of accomplishments.
David recalls during an interview with WNCX, “Joe Walsh says listen you gotta manage this guy, you’re not going to be a disc jockey when you’re 30?! I was 19 at the time, and I’m like ya you’re probably right, but I don’t know how to do that. Joe said to come out to LA and hang with my manager and he’ll teach you the ropes, and then you’ll manage Michael, and that way you can manage me! Then both of those things happened.”
David goes on to recall highlights throughout his 50 year relationship with Michael Stanley, from opening up for the Eagles, to selling out 10,000 seat stadiums in St. Louis, to sharing the stage with legends like Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick, Ted Nugent, ACDC, and many more. The most notable soundbite from the interview was when David spoke about his most cherished Michael Stanley memorabilia, the 50-60 letters Michael wrote him over the years, and he saved all of them.
When speaking about the letters, David tells WNCX, “As much as he could write a song from the heart, he certainly could write a letter from the heart.“
His career evolved into artist management. David Spero Management was formed in 1973 steering the career of Michael Stanley and producer Bill Szymczyk (Eagles, Who, Bob Seger etc) as well as Father Guido Sarducci from Saturday Night Live.
After long tours, being newly married, and missing radio, David returned to Cleveland’s M105-FM (now WMJI), but something felt off. Radio no longer had the same appeal it did when David first got into it. Radio had become more corporate, pushing David to look for another career change.
He would go on to work at Columbia Pictures accepting a job as Managing Director/Midwest for Columbia/Tri Star Pictures. He coordinated the regional releases of such pictures as ‘Ghostbusters’, ‘The Natural’, ‘Tootsie’, and ‘Gandhi’ during his tenure.
As a musician myself, no matter how many times I leave the industry, I somehow always find myself back in it! This is exactly what happened to David in 1990, when Joe Walsh asked him to to manage his career. He would round out his roster with other artists such as Harry Nilsson, Vanilla Ice, Eric Carmen and Ian Hunter.
During an interview on Vintage Sound 93.1 FM’s Tony Tone Show, David was interviewed about his history and relationship with Glenn Frey (The Eagles). One of incredibly serendipitous events for David, and perhaps the wildest takeaway from the interview was David talking about how The Eagle’s “When Hell Freezes Over” tour, came to fruition.
David Spero in the middle, with Glenn Frey (left) and Joe Walsh (right) from The Eagles.
David recalls during the interview, “I was managing Joe Walsh, and I hadn’t talked to Glenn since The Eagles had broken up, and out of nowhere one day he gives me a call. I’m in Cleveland, there’s a restaurant here I would always take The Eagles to, and he was about to come through with his band, and Glenn says “I want to take the band to that restaurant we’d always go to.”
He shows up and he was unaware that I was working with Walsh, he didn’t have very nice things to say about him, and I told him we didn’t have kind things to say about him either. It turned out we were both getting some disinformation. The Walsh Frey Tour started two months after that.“
The tour was 40+ dates, and then one day Irzing Azoff (The Eagles Manager, Don Henley’s at the time) gave David a call.
David tells Tony Tone, “Azoff calls me and said Don wants to come and join a show, we were doing a fundraiser for one of Glenn’s charities out in Aspen, that’s when Don showed up. That night the three of them stayed up all night and talked about what it would take, and the next morning I get a call from Glenn letting me know there’s a car waiting for me downstairs, I asked what’s going on, and he told me to just get in the car. I arrive to Glenn’s place and he’s pacing back and forth with a glass of wine in one hand and a joint in the other, and he points to a pad and he says start writing, and I started writing what I titled The Glenn Commandments. It would end up being the outline for the contract that would bring them all together for the Hell Freezes Over Tour.“
You read that correctly, David was the driving force in getting The Eagles back together in 1994.
The rigors of touring took their toll and in 2000, Spero ‘retired’ and accepted the position of Vice President of Programming and Education at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In this position, Spero produced the successful MTV show “Live At The Rock Hall” which aired for two seasons and featured the first TV appearances of such artists as Linkin Park, John Meyer, Godsmack, Avril Lavigne and Alicia Keyes.
But again, antsy for that Rock and Roll lifestyle, David Spero Management was back in business in 2003 representing the careers of Billy Bob Thornton, Hall of Famers Dickey Betts and Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Buffalo Springfield, Survivor, Nelson, Don Felder, JD Souther and The Funk Brothers. After adding Richie Furay as a client, Spero helped put together the Buffalo Springfield reunion tour. Spero is currently working with Bad Co., John Fogerty, Patty Smyth, Jesse Colin Young, The Empty Pockets and Hearty Har.
David, 70, is a former (and original) member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Board of Directors. He lives in South Euclid Ohio with his wife, Ellen, of 43 years. They have a son Adam who is a graduate of John Carroll University.
Don’t miss what’s going to be an extraordinary interview, grab your calendar reminder.

connecTed with Mark Fisher, President and CEO at OTT.X
2021-08-25 14:00 - 15:00
Ted Cohen with Mark Fisher

With nearly 30 years of retailing experience at store-level, field-level, and corporate-level, and over twenty years of trade association management experience, Mark Fisher serves as OTTX’s President and chief executive officer.

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Fisher joined OTT.X (then VSDA) as VP/Membership in 1999. He was named Executive Vice-President in 2009. Over the years, Fisher had been responsible for transitioning the association as the formats and the business models have changed, and for transforming the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) into the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) and more recently into OTT.X.
Prior to EMA, Fisher served as Senior Vice-President/Retail Operations for West Coast Entertainment, where he was responsible for in-store and field management as well as warehousing and distribution for the 240 store chain.
Fisher started his career in 1975 as a store manager for a large supermarket chain. In 1982, he held responsibility for the field operations of all general merchandise and health and beauty care departments in Stop & Shop Supermarket Company’s Connecticut Division. In 1985, Fisher developed the video rental division of Stop & Shop, which, under his direction, grew to 60 stores at its peak. Fisher held responsibility for store operations, purchasing, marketing, and profitability for over ten years.
Fisher studied Business Administration at the State University of New York/Albany and at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He grew up in Troy, New York and spent most of his adult years in the Boston area prior to moving to Studio City, CA in 1999 where he now resides with his wife Julie Harris Fisher and their Chihuahua-Patterdale, Cookie.

connecTed with Mondo.NYC
2021-08-11 14:00 - 15:00
Ted Cohen with Bobby Haber & Joanne Abbot Green

Robert K. “Bobby” Haber, founding principal and Managing Director of Mondo.NYC and is recognized as a pioneer, visionary, and one of the preeminent executives in the contemporary music world, identifying emerging artists and introducing them to worldwide audiences.
Joanne Abbot Green is a founding principal and Executive Producer of Mondo.NYC. With extraordinary knowledge of the live event musical landscape, Joanne, architects and executes complex events and social experiences. Her network relationships span the globe including venues, media, music, technology, legal, editorial, government, and academic.

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More about Bobby
Robert K. “Bobby” Haber is a founding principal and Managing Director of Mondo.NYC. New York’s annual music, arts & technology conference & showcase festival. He is recognized as a pioneer, visionary, and one of the preeminent executives in the contemporary music world, identifying emerging artists and introducing them to worldwide audiences.
Founded in 2016, Mondo is the next generation new music summit and festival, uniting thousands of artists, music business professionals, tech innovators, and music fans to identify and celebrate what’s next in emerging music and technology.
Mondo 2021, held in New York City and online worldwide October 12-15, features programming partnerships including the RIAA, Guild of Music Supervisors, RAP @ Harvard Law School, SoundExchange, Women in Music, AIMP, NIVA, Music Managers Forum-US.
Prior to Mondo, Bobby conceived and launched CMJ as a student at Brandeis University and remained at the helm of the company as CEO until its sale in 2012.
The trade publication CMJ New Music Report – along with the CMJ Music Marathon festival and other CMJ branded products – was instrumental in powering the rise of emerging music, presaging trends, and discovering hundreds of future music superstars.
At CMJ, Bobby was credited with developing the ?rst-ever and longest-running college radio music network of over 500 North American colleges and universities, totaling over 4 million enrolled students. Bobby also sold, managed, and implemented integrated emerging music-centric brand partnerships for clients including Ford, Coca-Cola, Verizon, Microsoft, Xbox, Wrigley, Hanes, and dozens more.
In addition to his business endeavors, Bobby is actively involved in multiple academic pursuits. He has served as an executive-in-residence and mentor at New York University, and lectured at Princeton University, UCLA, UCSD, Loyola College, Brandeis University, and the State Universities of New York/Stony Brook and Albany. He has appeared as a speaker at dozens of music business seminars including SXSW, Billboard, the New Music Seminar, and the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System conference.
Bobby is regularly sought and interviewed by periodicals, radio, television, and digital outlets for his input on music, media, and cultural and technological subjects including CNN, CBS, ABC, MTV, NPR, The New York Times, Wall St. Journal, Time Magazine, USA Today, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Boston Globe.

More about Joanne
With an extraordinary knowledge of the live event musical landscape, Joanne Abbot Green architects and executes complex events from international, national, and local large-scale, multi-venue music and film festivals to intimate corporate, educational and social experiences. As a highly skilled project creator and developer, Joanne understands the complexities of each phase of the development process from conception to hands-on day-of-event production. Her network of event-related relationships spans the globe including venues, media, music, technology, legal, editorial, government, and academic.
Joanne is a founding principal and Executive Producer of Mondo.NYC, New York’s annual music, arts, and tech business conference and showcase music festival, with programming partners including the Recording Industry Association of America, RAP @ Harvard Law School, American Independent Music Publishers, Women in Music, Music Managers Forum-US, the Guild of Music Supervisors and more.
Prior to Mondo, as its Executive Producer, Joanne was responsible for conception, organization, marketing, pre-production, onsite production, and post-production of CMJ Music Marathon, New York City’s largest independent music conference and festival. Under her direction, CMJ grew in attendance from 200 in its first year to over 120,000 at its peak during her tenure. Additionally, the annual festival featured over 1400 artists at over 90+ stages and more than 100 panels, workshops, seminars, and one-on-one conversations.
Joanne has produced events at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Bruno Walter Auditorium, Stanley Kaplan Space, Walter Reade Theatre); World Trade Center; New York University and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, NYC, featuring speakers and performers including David Bowie, Anderson Cooper, Foo Fighters, Rev. Al Sharpton, Lou Reed, the Hon. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Perry Farrell, Jake Gyllenhaal, Avicii, Yoko Ono, Lana Del Rey, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Queen Latifah, Rev Run (Run-D.M.C.), Brian Wilson, Lizzo, Patti Smith, Lady Gaga, Michael Moore, Ice-T, Iggy Pop, Quentin Tarantino, Thurston Moore, David Byrne, Chuck D., Green Day, Rage Against The Machine, Wilco, Black Eyed Peas, Eminem, Oasis, Muse, Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, R.E.M., Soundgarden, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. Joanne also created, launched, produced, and developed the CMJ Film Festival featuring premieres of independent and major studio releases, as well as the Artist-In-Residence Program for New York University featuring prominent musicians.
Additionally, Joanne has created and produced multiple annual Continuing Legal Education initiatives in association with the NY State Bar Association, New York City Bar Association, NYU School of Law, Michelman & Robinson LLC, and Covington & Burling, LLC.
In 2016, Joanne was the recipient of the first-ever NYU Steinhardt Music Business Alumni Service Award, has been recognized twice among New York Moves’ Power Women, and has lectured on both the undergraduate and graduate university levels.

Healthtech Beyond Borders
2021-08-10 08:00 - 2021-08-13 17:00
MediaTech & ProChile

ProChile and MediaTech Ventures invite you to participate in the online event HealthTech Beyond Borders from August 10th to the 13th, 2021. HealthTech Beyond Borders is an international summit exploring the future and impact of new technologies in the healthcare sector.
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The event consists of a series of specialized, growth-oriented seminars as well as one-on-one meetings. We will discuss the economic relationships between the United States and Chile in the HealthTech sector, focusing on three critical markets in the US: the Midwest, Southwest, and Mid-Atlantic.
Chilean companies from the following sectors will be participating — Healthcare products and services, medical devices, equipment, hospital device manufacturers, solutions for the pharma industry and managed care (excluding drug manufacturing), and software solutions.
Several US and Chilean companies and strategic partners will attend this summit, and you will have a chance to set up meetings and be matched with other attendees. Here are some of the attendees:

Houston:

Houston Methodist Hospital
City of Houston
Central Houston
Houston Exponential
InnovationMap
Greater Houston Partnership
MediaTech Ventures
The Cannon

Chicago:

World Business Chicago
Science Center
Matter

Philadelphia:

City of Philadelphia
American Chilean Chamber of Commerce from Greater Philadelphia

Chile:

Cens (National Center for HealthCare Systems)
ChileTech (Health Providers Association)
Apis (Medical Devices)
CNL (National Labs Board)

This event has no participation fees, and the ability to set up one-to-one meetings at your preferred time allows complete flexibility for you and your company.
Be sure to register here, and we look forward to seeing you at the event!

connecTed with Lisa Farris, Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer for the Recording Academy
2021-07-28 14:00 - 15:00
Ted Cohen with Lisa Farris

Lisa Farris is the Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer for the Recording Academy, overseeing the evolution of the organization’s marketing, insights, research, and innovation that are reflective of the changes and growth in music and the Academy.

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In collaboration with the Recording Academy’s leadership team, Farris is responsible for building upon the history of the organization that supports music creators, while accelerating the organization’s brand recognition. In her role, she is tasked with transforming and innovating audience experiences that support its members and engage music fans with purpose-driven initiatives.
While keeping the Recording Academy attuned to the changing media landscape, under Farris’ leadership the marketing and innovation team forges relationships with media and innovation partners to improve experiences across all brand touchpoints.
Prior to joining the Recording Academy, Farris served as Chief Digital & Brand Officer for MetricVision; co-founder of Get This, a technology that leveraged audio recognition to shop television and video entertainment; Chief Marketing Officer for Move, Inc.; Senior Vice President of strategic marketing at Universal Music Group’s eLabs; and Vice President of strategic marketing & new media at MCA Records. Lisa currently serves as EIR and mentor for entrepreneurship students at Loyola Marymount University.

connecTed with Vincent Favrat, CEO of the ScaleUp Factory
2021-06-16 14:00 - 15:00
Ted Cohen with Vincent Favrat

Join connecTed host Ted Cohen as he welcomes serial entrepreneur and Seed Venture Capital investor Vincent Favrat. Vincent is the CEO of the ScaleUp Factory, which finances future European scale-ups in creative tech (media tech, creative industries, art tech, culture tech). He is the co-founder and growth advisor of Qwest TV by Quincy Jones (premium video streaming for TV 3.0).

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Vincent is the co-founder and former CEO of Belgian music cognitive technologies company Musimap (Emotion AI, psychographic profiling), co-founder of Just Temptation (film music investment in continental Europe), investor and growth advisor at the smart audio processor for performers MOD Devices (digital multi-effect brain), and co-founder of Feierabend Production (German film/games production company: Homo Machina).
In his early career, Vincent worked with Claude Nobs at the Montreux Jazz Festival, led the Swiss Musicians Union, managed and supervised Stade, co-directed the Lausanne Jazz Onze+ Festival, and worked for Lagardère Active in Paris. Vincent has been regularly invited as an investor to markets such as ClosingTheGap, VentureLab, Techstar, 3D Content Financing Market, and Sonar+D, as a speaker to Slush, SXSW, Viva Tech, Midem, World XR Forum, SF Music Tech, and Music Tech Fest and as lecturer to the Popakademie in Germany and the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in England. Vincent initially completed an MBA in Culture Management at the EAC in Paris, graduated in ‘Film Aesthetics and Praxis’ at Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne, after studying Philosophy and Economics in Switzerland.

connecTed with Jem Aswad, Senior Music Editor at Variety
2021-06-02 14:00 - 15:00
Ted Cohen with Jem Aswad

Senior Music Editor, Jem Aswad, who launched Variety’s music section with executive music editor Shirley Halperin in April 2017, has held senior posts at Billboard, MTV News, Spin, Time Out New York, and CMJ as well as Atlantic, Warner Bros., and Caroline Records and ASCAP.

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Jem’s work has appeared in New York, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, the Village Voice, Esquire, and many other publications, and he has won several Los Angeles Press Club awards for his writing. With an encyclopedic knowledge of popular music and the music industry, Aswad makes frequent appearances on major TV and radio news outlets. He also lectures regularly at Syracuse University’s Bandier (music business) Program and New York University.

MediaTech + Money
2021-05-19 18:00 - 19:00
Houston Tech Rodeo

MediaTech + Money – Ted Cohen, Arabian Prince, and Susan Paley Musician, a producer, and entrepreneur, Arabian Prince, and media industry executive and innovator, Susan Paley, join MediaTech Ventures’ Ted Cohen to talk about media innovation and capital.
Join us in this hybrid event combining a livestream panel discussion with rap stars, media moguls, tech innovators, & investors – we’ll talk about the high-energy, risk-taking lifestyle in the entertainment and media biz and the joy they have found now supporting tech entrepreneurs as investors.

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connecTed with Susan Paley CEO of DropLabs
2021-05-19 14:00 - 15:00
Ted Cohen with Susan Paley

Susan Paley is the founder and CEO of DropLabs, a first-of-its-kind tech company on a mission to enable the world to feel sound from the ground up through the creation of an immersive audio platform with applications across entertainment, human performance, & digital health/therapeutics Susan’s experience spans over 20 years in consumer technology.

Most notably, Susan was the initial CEO of Beats By Dre, where she successfully guided all aspects of the company’s unparalleled growth to make it the #1 headphone provider globally.
Susan is now leading a team of world-class engineers, designers, and marketers to build and introduce innovative technology to change the way people experience sound. Under her leadership, DropLabs has created its first release, the EP 01, sneakers unlike anything on the market that deliver a truly immersive audio-sensory experience you can feel throughout your entire body. While the technology makes entertainment (music, movies, gaming) much more real, it also has other applications, like helping the Deaf/ HOH community hear sound for the first time. DropLabs is pioneering possibilities for tech that are sensory, not data-driven.
Prior to DropLabs, in addition to launching Beats by Dre headphones, Susan also spearheaded the development of “Beats Audio,” a proprietary audio enhancement technology now deployed in millions of mobile phones, automobiles, and PCs through licensing partnerships with HTC, Chrysler/Fiat and HP respectively. As the company scaled, she built and led engineering and product management teams to create, manage and execute the Beats product portfolio. Prior to joining Beats, Susan held various leadership roles at Harman International Group, where she was responsible for identifying and developing new markets for global brands across the Harman portfolio.

connecTed with Gary Shapiro, CEO of Consumer Technology Association
2021-05-05 14:00 - 15:00
Ted Cohen with Gary Shapiro

Gary Shapiro is president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, North America’s largest technology trade association. CTA owns and produces CES® – the most influential tech event in the world.

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Shapiro directs a staff of about 200 employees and thousands of industry volunteers, leading his organization’s promotion of innovation as a national policy to spur the economy, create jobs and cut the deficit. CTA advocates for reducing the federal deficit, skilled employees, immigration and free trade, and policies that support innovative new business models. CTA does not seek government funding for the industry.

Shapiro is a New York Times bestselling author, whose books include “Ninja Future: Secrets to Success in the New World of Innovation” (HarperCollins, 2019), “Ninja Innovation: The Ten Killer Strategies of the World’s Most Successful Businesses” (HarperCollins, 2013) and “The Comeback: How Innovation will Restore the American Dream” (Beaufort, 2011). Through these books and television appearances, and as a columnist whose more than 1000 opinion pieces have appeared in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, Shapiro has helped direct policymakers and business leaders on the importance of innovation in the U.S. economy. He is considered an “influencer” on LinkedIn and has more than 300,000 followers.

connecTed with OG Arabian Prince (N.W.A.)
2021-04-21 14:00 - 15:00
Ted Cohen with Arabian Prince

A songwriter, rapper, producer, DJ, technologist Pro Gamer and Futurist, Arabian is best known for being a founding member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted rap group N.W.A., west coast electro music pioneer and producer of the Grammy-nominated #1 hit song Supersonic.

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Founder of Inov8 Next Open Labs, Founder of GGGOAT Streaming PC, Partner at Incub8 Next, Partner at Covitech, Partner at Ice T’s Finalmation Studios, CEO Proper Myth Animation Studios, and president of LAFTC – The Los Angeles First Tech Challenge Robotics Competition.

His passion for technology led to him create a 3D animation and special effects studio in the 90’s working with companies like Saban Entertainment and Fox, including 100+ video game, film, and TV titles for Fox interactive and Vivendi Universal. As a consultant, Arabian has advised many companies on bridging the gap between technology and the youth, while bringing new product innovations to market. He is currently working with his tech partners to bring Open Labs to communities across the country in support of youth, women, diversity, veterans, and anyone else who wants to explore the future of technology.

https://youtu.be/084c_U22tJg
Inov8 Next is a product innovation incubator and technology center designed to empower the brightest inventors by leveraging the power of industry experience, strategic resources and advanced mentorship.

Colombian Cohort Graduation
2021-04-08 10:00 - 12:30
Join MediaTech Ventures and ProColombia as we celebrate the amazing Colombian graduates of the first international cohort!
Along side ProColombia, Ambassador Francisco Santos opens the event.
Startups will take the stage in two groups to pitch their business.
Explore economic development partnerships and opportunities with Larry Tabash, Senior Trade Advisor US Office (IT) US Commercial Service in Austin.

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“With a government committed to digital transformation as the driving force behind Colombia’s transformation by 2022, the country is currently one of the main technology-based services providers in the region, and partnerships with MediaTech Ventures, will boost even more business opportunities between Colombia IT solution providers and US investors and partners.” Flavia Santoro, President, ProColombia.

ProColombia the entity that promotes international tourism, foreign investment and non-traditional exports in Colombia. Through its national and international network of offices, it offers support and integral consultancy to clients through services or instruments aimed at facilitating design and execution of its globalization strategy, which seeks to generate, develop and close business opportunities.

Invest in Colombia your next investment destination

connecTed with Marcus Peterzell
2021-04-07 14:00 - 15:00
Ted Cohen with Marcus Peterzell

Marcus has a unique background that includes stints as a production executive for over 20 TV series and specials including the first cable strip to feature Larry David and Joy Behar on Lifetime.

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Marcus is an industry leader in entertainment marketing who has successfully led award-winning agency teams both independently and within Omnicom, one of the largest advertising holding companies. Most recently Marcus was a partner and EVP of Entertainment at Ketchum PR, winning dozens of accolades including four Cannes Lions and a PRSA Silver Anvil. After 15 years at Omnicom Marcus launched Passion Point Collective, a boutique agency that provides brands with next-generation entertainment marketing solutions. In two years Passion Point has become an industry leader in brand-funded films, winning more awards at the PR Week Brand Film Awards than any other boutique agency.

Marcus has a unique background that includes stints as a production executive for over 20 TV series and specials including the first cable strip to feature Larry David and Joy Behar on Lifetime. Marcus has unparalleled music relationships that began with him guiding Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Cure to their first number one album in the U.S. Marcus went on to create over 90 break-through music brand campaigns for artists including Ariana Grande, Little Big Town, Bon Jovi, and Sara Bareilles.

Marcus has moderated over 50 major industry panels including the big stage 2017 Cannes Lions panel with Oscar Nominee Laura Dern live-streamed across the globe, and a much-lauded Advertising Week panel with the CMO of Wendy’s featuring the Grand Clio winning campaign “Mixtape”. Marcus was president of the board of directors of the T.J Martell Foundation where he served as Chairman of their Family Day events featuring today’s top pop stars including The Jonas Brothers, Ed Sheeran, Pitbull, and Ariana Grande. Marcus also serves on the advisory board of the Brand Storytelling Conference.

catch Marcus in the Clio Entertainment Creative Mentor Series

Ted Cohen On This Week’s Promoter 101 Storytellers
2021-04-06 20:30 - 22:00 | Clubhouse
Promote 101 Storytellers takes place live every Tuesday night at 9:30 EST/6:30 PST on the audio-only social media platform Clubhouse. Tune in tonight.

MediaTech Ventures’ Ted Cohen joins Dan “Steiny” Steinberg, followed by a question-and-answer session.
Through much of his career, Cohen stood at the increasingly busy crossroads between music and technology, and his resume includes senior roles at Phillips Media, where he helped to produce CD-i Music titles, and later serving as the company’s Vice President of Music.
As well, Cohen held senior roles at EMI, first as VP of New Media and was subsequently promoted to SVP of Digital Development & Distribution, overseeing the label’s digital initiatives, including establishing consumer distribution partnerships, as well as asset management and the digital delivery processes.
He has also provided his expertise as a digital music and media consultant to numerous high-profile companies, including Liquid Audio, Napster, Microsoft, Amplified, Universal Studios, Rioport, Amazon, Wherehouse Music, Dreamworks Records and music.com, among others.

Dan Steinberg, co-founder of Emporium Presents and host of Promoter 101, started producing club shows at the Mercury Café in Denver at the age of sixteen. In 1993, Dan founded 2B Announced Presents as a concert promoter, and after college he relocated to Seattle at the tail end of 2002 promoting under the name Dan Steinberg Presents, later rebranded as Square Peg Concerts in October 2004. In June of 2015, Square Peg merged with Jason Zink’s Sherpa Concerts taking on the name Emporium Presents and producing live events all over the United States and Canada. In October of 2018, Live Nation acquired the majority stake in Emporium Presents, with Steinberg and Zink staying on as presidents of the company.
Dan was nominated as Independent Promoter of the Year in 2003, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 by Pollstar, and yes, it’s true that his actual Twitter handle is @TheJew.
Emporium Presents promotes all forms of live entertainment, with past highlights including shows with Luke Bryan, Jason Mraz, Straight No Chaser, Kris Kristofferson, Daniel Tosh, The Scorpions, Keith Urban, Indigo Girls, Trailer Park Boys, Tedeschi Trucks Band, PJ Masks, John Prine, The Avett Brothers, Dream Theater, Eric Church, Dolly Parton, The Black Keys, Godsmack, BB King, Home Free, and Cheech and Chong.

connecTed with deadmau5
2021-03-31 14:00 - 15:00
Ted Cohen with deadmau5

Joel Zimmerman, more commonly known as deadmau5 (pronounced ‘dead mouse’), is one of the world’s most respected electronic music producers of modern times.

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Enjoying international chart success with his platinum-certified single “Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff,” as well as “Professional Griefers,” “Sofi Needs A Ladder” and “I Remember,” deadmau5 has also released seven critically acclaimed albums.

The multiple JUNO Award-winning and GRAMMY®-nominated artist’s ability to push the boundaries of his talent grows at an equal rate to his fan base, which counts 15 million and more over his combined social media channels. His latest music offerings which includes original productions, remixes and collaborations with featured guests like Rob Swire (“Monophobia”), Lights (“Drama Free”), Shotty Horroh, Scene of Action and more can be found on the mau5ville: level 1, 2 & 3series. In 2019 deadmau5 completed his first ever film score for the Jonas Akerlund-directed spy thriller Polar available worldwide now via Netflix with its soundtrack released on mau5trap as well as celebrated the release of here’s the drop!, an album of remixes of material from his 2018 orchestral album where’s the drop? For it, plenty of revered tastemakers such as Morgan Page, Matt Lange, PEEKABOO, Mr. Bill and more have been tapped for their talents to make this remix album a cerebral journey through sound.

Over the course of his extraordinarily successful U.S. cubev3 tour late 2019/early 2020 which ranked in the Top 10 of Pollstar’s top tours globally, deadmau5 released a trilogy of singles. “FALL,” “COASTED” and “SATRN” were new material featured as part of his new live show complimenting the most complex production he has ever presented. His latest releases “Pomegranate” with The Neptunes, “Bridged By A Lightwave” with Kiesza and “Channel 43” with Wolfgang Gartner are out now.

In the live realm, his latest U.S. cubev3 tour featuring production of his own design and implementation ranked in the Top 10 of Pollstar’s top tours globally. His passion for street art has found him collaborating with the likes of Ron English, OG Slick, Mad Dog Jones and more in physical and digital one of a kind pieces.

Image “Deadmau5 d” used with permission, Wikimedia Commons

watch deadmau5 & Kiesza perform “Bridged By A Lightwave” live in Chicago

MeetFounders VC Investment Panels + Pitches
2021-03-29 17:00 - 20:00 | Hopin
Startup investment and raising finance is often an opaque hidden mystery to most seeking it. Come and join us for elite panels of investment industry insiders who will shine a spotlight on the process. This rare inside view will educate, entertain, and give you solid advice from those who know. Limited places available for this action-packed event, grab a ticket now.
MediaTech Ventures’ Paul O’Brien joins Sammi Toorish: VU Venture Partners, Colin Webster: RiSC Capital, and Nuno Gonçalves Pedro: Strive Capital, to discuss The Right Time to Raise Capital
Tickets required, RSVP here
6 Panels of Venture Capitalists giving advice on:
PANEL 1: Advice from Accelerators

Amos Schwartzfarb: Techstars
Roland Osborne: 500 Startups
Brandon Maier: LvlUp Ventures & Quake Capital Partners

PANEL 2: VC Advice – The Right Time to Raise Capital

Sammi Toorish: VU Venture Partners
Colin Webster: RiSC Capital
Nuno Gonçalves Pedro: Stealth Fund (TBA) and Strive Capital
Paul O’Brien: MediaTech Ventures

PANEL 3: Fundraising Checklist for Startups

Cole Mora: Struck Capital
Dana Sadovnic: Radian Capital
Beshoy Sidrak: Lo Ventures
Bin Zhou: Goodyear Ventures

PANEL 4: Guide to Seed Fundraising

James Hueston: NTTVC
Colin Webster: RiSC Capital
Sherif Nessim: Jedar Capital
Neha Khera: 2048 Ventures
Elena Gantvarg: Flint Capital

PANEL 5: VC Involvement with Your Company

Emily Tran: Venture University
Brian Wilcove: Artiman Ventures
Angelo Del Priore: HP Tech Ventures
Dr Ruchi Dana: Loyal VC

PANEL 6: Fundraising in Later Stages

Reuben Levinsohn: Washington Avenue Ventures
Eli Velasquez: Investors of Color Network
Danielle D’Agostaro: WV Ventures
Odile Roujol: Co-Creation Studio Ventures

Attend MeetFounders’ LIVE events, Network 1:1 with video chats, Access past videos
Events is fully virtual, and building real relationships via video chats is one of the core elements! Attend live, and network with other investors, VCs, startups who are currently raising funds, and future founders. Get full viewing access to our past events! Top VCs, Investors, and successfully funded founders share their insights and secrets about the industry.

Mentor Meet-up!
2021-03-19 16:30 - 20:00 | Impact Hub at North Loop, 5540 N Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX, 78751, United States
MediaTech Ventures’ Mentors

Join us for casual drinks and conversation in Austin, TX

connecTed with Jesper Skibsby
2021-03-17 14:00 - 15:00
Ted Cohen with Jesper Skibsby

After years of working in different areas of the music industry, Jesper Skibsby came across a huge gap in the market: the lack of accurate radio monitoring data.

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After years of working in different areas of the music industry, Jesper Skibsby came across a huge gap in the market: the lack of accurate radio monitoring data. When his own band discovered that they were being played on radios in Poland, he realized the urgent need for real radio airplay data in the industry, so he created WARM.

With the aim of bringing transparency to a world dominated by big companies and where streaming data seemed to be the only data that matters he started his entrepreneurial journey. Three years later, here he is, leading an international team with a special mix of passion, knowledge, innovation and, that being said… a bit of craziness

WARM is an acronym for World Airplay Radio Monitor. As this might give away, WARM monitors radio stations worldwide. More specifically, it is a powerful software that tracks radio plays of any song in real-time, using audio Fingerprint Technology and Music Recognition.And so what? you might ask.
This means that you can access the data on where and when a specific song has been played on the radio. In fact, right now they are monitoring more than 28,000 radio stations across the world. And they are constantly expanding our coverage.

Track your Radio Airplay using WARM

connecTed with Zack Zalon
2021-03-03 14:00 - 15:00
Ted Cohen with Zack Zalon

Zack Zalon is co-founder and CEO of Super Hi-Fi, a Los Angeles-based music technology company that is creating transformative listening experiences for the world’s largest music experience providers.

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Zack Zalon is an entrepreneur and business leader with more than two decades of experience in digital music and digital consumer products. He is co-founder and CEO of Super Hi-Fi, a Los Angeles-based music technology company that is creating transformative listening experiences for the world’s largest music experience providers.
Super Hi-Fi is a patented A.I.-driven audio platform to intelligently and seamlessly stitch together music and other audio content in digital delivery channels. Current partners include Sonos, Peloton, iHeart, The Associated Press, Octave Group (Play Networks + TouchTunes), Universal Music Group, Napster, and Target Spot.
Zalon has always strongly believed in the power of digital music helping to build and operate some of the earliest consumer digital music entertainment services, including Radio Free Virgin.

Zalon’s passion for the music experience has been a constant throughout his career. Early on, he was general manager of Doug Weston’s Troubadour, the legendary Los Angeles live-music venue featuring contemporary music’s greatest names in an intimate and standing-room-only venue. Originally from the East Coast, Zalon now calls Los Angeles home.

Zack with Music Tectonics: The Future of Listening Experiences

connecTed with Brian Solis
2021-02-17 14:00 - 15:00
Ted Cohen with Brian Solis

Brian serves as Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce. His work focuses on thought leadership and research that explores digital transformation, innovation and disruption, CX, commerce, and the cognitive enterprise.

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Brian Solis is a world-renowned digital anthropologist and futurist. He is also an award-winning author and global keynote speaker. Brian’s research, advisory and presentations humanize the relationship between disruptive innovation and its impact on institutions, markets and societies. He not only helps audiences understand what’s happening and why, he visualizes future trends and inspires people to take leading roles in defining the future they want to see.
He has advised leading brands, celebrities, and startups and his ideas and work are consistently featured in the press. He’s a regular contributor to leading business and industry publications including Forbes, Harvard Business Review, CMO.com, TheNextWeb, Adweek, among others. Brian is also an official LinkedIn Influencer. His work is followed by over 700,000 people across social media.

Somewhere along the way, we have become distracted. Maybe we don’t realize the extent to which our everyday rituals, favorite devices and apps, or where we focus our attention is affecting us. Reading Lifescale is like holding up a mirror, and revealing a new you, as your obsessive relationship with distractions melts away. From simple first steps to reclaiming your attention, to becoming more satisfied, inspired, and creative, this book will lead you through your own journey of lifescaling: redefining success on your own terms.
Who’s in charge of your destiny? Is it you? If you find yourself unable to go longer than a few minutes without checking your phone, or falling victim to some other digital distraction, you aren’t alone.

Check out Lifescale – How to live a more creative, productive, and happy life
