University Calendar

Hear from a panel of entrepreneurs who had a successful exit from one or more companies. Our panelists will tell how they launched, built and eventually sold a business, and what lessons they learned along the way. Did they have an exit plan from the beginning, or did their strategy evolve along the way?

Panelists: 
Joe Allegra, general partner, Edison Partners 
Meir Cohen, co-founder and president, TelTech 
Diana Kyser, founding partner, COO on Demand 

Moderator:  
David Sorin, partner, McCarter & English 

Event is presented by Montclair State’s Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship and Residence Life.

Event is free and open to the public. Pizza will be served. Register at:
https://www.meetup.com/Montclair-Entrepreneurs/events/237481429/

Agenda: 
6:00-6:45 p.m. Networking with pizza 
6:45-7:00 p.m. Welcome and 30-second pitches from the audience 
7:00-8:30 p.m. Panel discussion with audience Q&A 

Location: Room 101, Feliciano School of Business, Montclair State University 

Directions and parking info: Park in the Red Hawk Deck on campus, exit the deck on Level 5 and proceed straight up the walkway (soccer field will be on your left) to the Feliciano School of Business building. Campus map with directions. 

Join the conversation on Twitter and Instagram: @FelicianoCenter and #MSUmeetup

Speaker bios: 
Joe Allegra is general partner at Edison Partners and actively leads investments in enterprise cloud and mobile wireless applications—supply chain, HR and cloud infrastructure. As a board member and with experience serving on over two dozen boards, Joe contributes marketing, sales, technology and general management expertise from several perspectives—as a seasoned software industry professional, an entrepreneur and a growth equity investor. Joe was co-founder and CEO of Princeton Softech, a rapidly growing, profitable company that developed and marketed database products to Fortune 1000 companies. Under his guidance, Princeton Softech was twice named to the INC. 500 list of fastest growing companies on the way to a successful exit. Prior to Princeton Softech, Joe was VP of R&D for Computer Associates, following its acquisition of Applied Data Research. As Product Manager, he led product support and headed R&D for 12 years. Read full bio.

Meir Cohen leads TelTech's business and operating strategies, and oversees daily operations. He has over eight years of telecom experience, with a focus on product and business development, strategic marketing, and operations. Meir sets the vision for the company’s growth, with an intense focus on building a culture of innovation throughout the team. He is passionate about privacy, telecom and cloud-based disruptive technologies. Before co-founding TelTech, Meir was a professional locksmith. When a customer made a habit of not picking up his calls, TelTech’s first hit product, SpoofCard, was born. When Meir is not in the office, he can be found flying his drone, or riding his motorcycle through the Garden State. Meir was recently elected as the fire commissioner in his community.Read full bio.

A serial entrepreneur, Diana Kyser’s first business was a software development firm in the early days of the PC. Diana was able to successfully exit from C3i, Inc., a $100M venture funded global technology solutions firm that she co-founded in 1993. C3i was sold to Telerx, a division of Merck. Diana has also held leadership positions in marketing, customer care, operations and human resources at large firms like American Express, JPMorgan Chase and LexisNexis, as well as startups like TheLadders.com. During her career, Diana has led just about every function within a business including operations, technology, customer service, finance, human resources and sales. This experience has given her a unique, execution-focused perspective that she now brings to COO on Demand clients. Diana is COO of SWK Technologies. She also teaches at Fairleigh Dickinson University's Rothman Institute for Entrepreneurship in Madison and at Thomas Edison State College in the MBA, Masters and undergraduate programs.Read full bio.

David Sorin is an office managing partner of McCarter & Englishand Co-Chair of the Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Companies practice. He focuses primarily on privately- and publicly-owned startup, early stage, emerging growth, and middle market technology, tech-enabled and life science enterprises, as well as the investors, executives, and boards of directors who support and lead them. Dave has a long track record of successful representation of growth companies, having been repeatedly recognized by well-known periodicals for a unique combination of legal acumen and sound business judgment. He also brings to bear his broad range of knowledge and experience in counseling enterprises and investors in diverse emerging growth markets, technology industries (including software, information technology, e-commerce, cybersecurity and communications), and life sciences. Many of the companies he represents are well-known names throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Read full bio.