Emerging Markets Practice Leader
Welcome to the Emerging Business Forum. Whether you are a mature business looking to launch a new venture or an entreprenuer with intellectual capital looking for investors, The Sage Group℠ can help.
My name is Todd Ostrander, the Sage Practice Leader for Emerging Businesses.
I am also a veteran entrepreneur as well. My background includes specific expertise in enterprise software, Software as a Service (SaaS), mobility and early stage capitalization. Prior to joining Sage, I was the founding CEO of Perlego Systems, taking it from its creation, through its life cycle of team recruitment, business strategy, product acquisition and launch, and capitalization. Perlego was the first Software as a Service (SaaS) product in the Mobile Device Management category.
I spent the first 10 years of my career at The Boeing Company and Egghead Software In 1995 I started ELEKOM Corp. where I was Founder and VP of Products and Services. ELEKOM Corp. was the first entrant into the e-Procurement market and was sold to Clarus in 1998 [NASDAQ:CLRS]. After Clarus, I was successful in raising over $30M for my second startup, EssentialMarkets, a supply-side e-Procurement vendor and one of the first enterprise-focused SaaS companies in the world.
And yes, there was a third startup: M3 Interactive, a SaaS-based Enterprise Multi-media Network (EMN) and Proficiency Enhancement platform, which is still in the formative Go-To-Market stage where I remain an active Director.
Earning the right to ask for money is serious business. I have successfully raised over $65 million in Angel and Venture financing while building successful teams poised to ensure investor value. I am passionate about building company cultures required to ensure success.
And yes, I also retain ownership interests in real estate ventures while contributing to my community in various activities including acting as a member of the PLU School of Business Advisory Board.
In this forum I will be addressing how to turn an idea into an investor-ready business proposition. But also how to turn the investor contribution and ecosystem into a winning market model.
I look forward to your ideas and contributions.