Feature Interview with Melissa Withers, Cofounder of RevUp Capital

In this feature interview, I sit down with Scott Kirsner, technology and innovation columnist for the Boston Globe, organizer of the Nantucket Conference, and founder of Innovation Leader. We discuss the current state of corporate innovation in Boston, nation-wide startup trends, and what makes the innovation so prevalent in the Boston ecosystem.

Startups often find it difficult to understand patent claim language and to sort out complex inventorship and ownership issues on their patents. In this seminar, we will discuss how patent claims work as well as the law regarding inventorship and ownership. 

By the end of this episode you’ll be able to:

• Read a patent claim and understand its scope.
• Identify the factors that determine whether someone qualifies as a co-inventor or co-owner on a patent.
• Prevent or mitigate potential disputes regarding inventorship or ownership of patents

Presented by: Stephen Hou, Patent Prosecutor, American Patent Agency PC

Growing your business online can mean time and money. While there is no blueprint every business can use to obtain growth or scale through digital advertising, there are several steps businesses can take to get the results they are seeking.

In this workshop, Oliver goes over 10 steps you can take for your business to maximize its digital presence. By the end of the presentation, you will be able to:

• Develop a marketing strategy that leverages digital advertising to scale your business’s growth
• A general understanding of how to improve your business’s performance on Google Ads and Facebook Ads
• A methodology that will allow you to effectively leverage digital advertising as an integral part of your marketing mix

Presenter: Oliver Schultz, Managing partner, Markatects

Melissa Withers is Founding Partner of RevUp Capital, a non-equity investment fund for B2B and B2C companies that are moving fast up a revenue-fueled growth curve. An experienced fund manager and biz builder with 100+ investments under management, With a background in customer experience and customer development, go-to-market strategy, and company storytelling, she began her career at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT, working the intersection of biological sciences and public policy, before starting her own entrepreneurial journey as a founder. She’s also worked in state economic development and youth advocacy and is a strong advocate for closing the diversity gap in technology and investment.

David has spent his career in staffing and hiring, currently working as the business development manager at Experis. On February 6, David presented a Community Talk on hiring talent, answers the question, "when is the right time to utilize a hiring agency?" In this interview, David discusses the challenges of hiring in today's tight labor environment.

Eran is the founder of the XRHealth and the CEO of XRHealth USA Inc. After serving in the Israel airforce, Eran started XRHealth to provide more effective physical therapy and cognitive therapy treatments to people using Virtual Reality. In under three years, Eran raised funds, has hired 30 people, earned over 20 FDA approved therapies, and is rapidly expanding across the United States.

Jung Starrett is the co-founder of SoulCo LLC, an educational venture whose mission is co-creating learning communities for the wellbeing of all. After a career in law, Jung recognized that a critical piece of happiness and efficiency was missing from most work environments: the connection between the mind and the hands-- the soul.

Sometimes just chatting with others is the springboard for ideas, insight, problem-solving tools, new directions–whether getting advice from experts or learning from startups just like you. Chuck Goldstone, strategist and mentor to hundreds and hundreds of startups, fields questions, provides mentor guidance, facilitates discussion, and urges you to share ideas and encouragement. This roundtable of kindred spirits is an engaging hour of ideas, creative vision, serendipity, group therapy, cheerleading, and a forum to learn and share.

In this Feature Interview, I interview Ragan McNeely, a Licensed Mental Health Clinician who is turning his attention to startup founders and CEOs. In the interview, Ragan details his professional career and explains how he started offering mental health services in the CIC coworking space in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Hi everyone, this is Frank Pobutkiewicz from Venture Café Cambridge wishing you and your family a merry, joyous, and relaxing holiday season! Like you, Venture Café is taking off for the holidays so we won’t have anything to post on the Live from the Café podcast for the next two weeks. Make sure to tune back into the podcast in January for more innovation and business content. If you haven’t marked it on your calendar already, we have three big nights coming up! 

Join us on January 23, 2020 for our Health and Wellness night. On January 30th, join us as we team up with JETRO and the Japanese Consulate in Boston to explore the 2020 Olympic games. And on February 27, we welcome you to our Corporate Innovation Connect conference night presented by getaround.

For information on all these sessions and to get information on our new series of Community talks aimed at building skills for entrepreneurs, visit us online at venturecafecambridge.org. Have a happy and healthy 2020!