Steve Case is one of America’s best-known and most accomplished entrepreneurs and philanthropists, and a pioneer in making the Internet part of everyday life. Steve co-founded America Online (AOL) in 1985, when the Internet was in its infancy. Under Steve’s leadership as Chairman and CEO, AOL became the world’s largest and most valuable Internet company. AOL helped drive the worldwide adoption of a medium that has transformed business and society. AOL’s early focus on ease of use and social media set the stage for its rapid growth, and at its peak nearly half of Internet users in the United States used AOL. In 1992, AOL became the first Internet company to go public, and was the best performing stock of the 1990s, with a 11,616% return. At the peak of the Internet boom, Steve negotiated what remains the largest merger in business history, bringing together AOL and Time Warner in a transaction that gave AOL shareholders a majority stake in the combined company. To facilitate the merger, Steve agreed to step down as CEO when the merger closed in 2001. He served as Chairman of the Board of the combined company (then known as AOL Time Warner) until 2003. Steve then went back to his entrepreneurial roots, and in recent years has partnered with more than a dozen entrepreneurs as an investor and mentor. Steve created Revolution in 2005 to oversee his rapidly expanding investments. Revolution now has four divisions: Revolution Growth, which invests in high-growth consumer companies (including Zipcar, LivingSocial, and Exclusive Resorts); Revolution Ventures, which backs early-stage technology companies (including Vinfolio, Snagfilms, and UberMedia); Revolution Health, which invests in health and wellness businesses (including SparkPeople, Extend Health and Brainscope); and Revolution Places, which develops real estate and hospitality businesses (including Grove Farm and Maui Land & Pineapple in Hawaii, Cacique in Costa Rica, and Miraval in Arizona). The success of AOL, coupled with Steve’s post-AOL track record building businesses through Revolution, led CNBC to call Steve “one of the nation’s greatest entrepreneurs.”

Why one should not use a rear-view mirror in viewing venture capital performance going forward. What is driving the future of venture capital that makes it a valid asset class.

• Early stage performance substantiates the early stage venture capital investing model
• Less portfolio companies for the vc firm to manage and build

To learn more about the Family Office Symposium on Venture Capital & Private Equity visit our website

Angel investing can offer the promise of superior return, but also carries levels of risk and complexity that family offices often underestimate. Developing a diligent, repeatable process for making new investments and supporting your portfolio can improve your odds of success.

Perspectives and lessons from seasoned limited partners: How do we manage our pe/vc portfolio in light of Asset Allocation

About the IBF Special Achievement Award
This honor is extended by IBF to investors who, during their lifetime and career have made creative contributions of outstanding significance to the venture capital industry. Others who have been honored by this award include the following distinguished venture capitalists: David Morgenthaler, John Mumford, Reid Dennis, William Draper, Richard Kramlich and Jim Breyer.

• Back to basics: building great companies to attract capital and generate strong returns
• Capital deployment: how VCs plan to distribute more than raised in 2012
• The pendulum keeps swinging: VC will continue to support rapid strides in innovation
• Ripple effect: downsizing of the industry
• Avoiding the rearview mirror: focusing on the future, not the past
• Money on the sidelines: deploying dry powder
• Venture risk management: new rules for investing
• The shifting landscape: significant economic, political, market and competitive dynamics shaping VC investment strategies
• Word on the street: changes being made by the “new guard” of VC

• Rethinking returns: what can LPs expect in the next 12-18 months
• Reducing fees/terms – will it happen?
• Quantifying investment risk
• Sector focus
• Early, mid or later stage investing preferences
• Risk, volatility, and performance expectations

Panelists will discuss traditional and non-traditional methods used to complete an initial public offering in today’s market. They will address issues that apply to companies ranging from those that achieve exciting early market traction, but lack true IPO-quality maturity, to those that demonstrate evidence of financial success.

• Preparing for the IPO: new criteria
• New listing requirements, dual listings
• Getting analyst tracking and exposure
• Post lock-up period retention
• The non-traditional IPO
• Where to go public
• M&A Developments and Forecasts

How early stage venture investing has evolved, with the increased number of seed VC firms and the corresponding seed efforts by the larger VC firms

• Overcoming the toughest milestone: getting companies to the next round
• Capital acquisition strategies for future round and creative financing approaches
• Strategies to ensure success: growing start-ups to become market leaders
• Managing leadership expectations: tackling CEO transition
• Portfolio company brand positioning
• Valuations: standards and consistencies in later stage deals