— Mark White of White & Lee LLP.
I will review business and legal issues that should be considered when forming corporate partnerships, including (a) generally why partnerships make sense, (b) how to profile the ideal partner, (c) where to look for and how to approach potential partners, (d) different forms of partnering, and the advantages/disadvantages of each, (e) contribution and valuation issues, (f) implementation and enforceability concerns, and (g) critical issues on technology ownership, market presence and brand/service recognition, market segmentation and growth, business model concerns and flexibility, and the effect of partnering on investor liquidity.
— Cynthia Typaldos of RealCommunities, Inc.
Cynthia will talk about how GolfWeb grew its presence on the Internet through partnering, and in particular, she will address (a) what business/revenue model GolfWeb adopted, and how that model affected the choice of partners, (b) how GolfWeb negotiated favorable relationships with larger and more prominent partners, (c) how GolfWeb preserved its own brand-name recognition despite its affiliation with more prominent partners, (d) what is the intrinsic difference between partnerships that work and those that don't, and (e) what partnering strategy RealCommunities will adopt based on the experiences she learned at GolfWeb.
— Rob Haitani, Product Line Manager of Consumer Solutions at 3Com
Rob will trace the origins of the PalmPilot, the early success of the product in a troubled industry, and the US Robotics acquisition. In addition, Rob will speak a bit more about the early partnering that the Company followed to design and manufacture its products, develop and implement the product launch strategy, and grow its product presence in retail channels. Specifically, (a) what are the key partners that hardware companies must work with, (b) how did Palm establish these partnerships before its products became a success, and (c) what opportunities and problems did the US Robotics acquisition create with respect to Palm's strategic relationships and product positioning at that time. Finally, Rob will talk about the effect the 3Com acquisition will have on Palm, and how Palm has been able to maintain its independence in the transition from USR to 3Com.
— Sabeer Bhatia
Sabeer is now sitting on the mountain top, a little more than 2 years after he started HotMail. Basically, Sabeer will speak about how HotMail's strategic alliance program helped get him there. Topics Sabeer will review include: (a) what was the Company's business model, how did it change over time, and what affect did that have on the partners the Company established, (b) how did the Company identify the partners it wanted to work with, how did it get introductions, and how did it induce larger partners to work with the Company before it gained prominence, (c) how did the Company determine what it would do and pay for itself, and what it would rely on its partners to do, (d) how did partnering affect the Company's need to raise working capital - and its ability to do so, (e) how did the Company avoid becoming too closely allied with and dependant on any one partner -and did the Company in any way try to protect itself in critical functional areas by second sourcing the resources it received from its primary partners, and (f) what drove the MicroSoft acquisition, why did the Company decide on the acquisition as opposed to an IPO, how did the Company protect itself from MicroSoft before the acquisition - and what does Sabeer believe the MicroSoft acquisition will do to the strategic relationships of the Company.
— Natalie Fay of Synergy Interactive
Natalie will use the recent agreement between Synergy Interactive and Substation LP to discuss issues relating to the mix of technology and creative talent in the development of multi-media products. Specific topics will include (a) the culture clash between the worlds of technology and Hollywood, (b) the different expectations of Japanese and US partners, (c) reconciling and coordinating the product development process with creative input, (d) establishing a revenue model, and dividing revenues to meet the requirements of technical and creative partners, and (e) addressing the issues of creative control, rights to content, promotional rights and obligations, inflated egos and managing investor expectations in large budget, multi-national, multi-media projects.
— John Williamson of MediaLive, Inc. (sorry no paper available)
John will talk about MediaLive's strategic partnering with Bandai Digital Entertainment, and in particular address (a) why MediaLive chose to partner with Bandai for distribution, (b) observations on Bandai's oversight on MediaLive's development of its Kid Browser, (c) how Bandai has affected MediaLive's plans to distribute its products through alternative channels, (d) how Bandai's strategic investment in MediaLive is affecting the Company's next round of financing, (e) how Bandai will help/hinder MediaLive's product launch plans, (f) how MediaLive has managed its communications with Bandai, and (g) how, if at all, the Bandai relationship has or is expected to affect MediaLive's relationships with other strategic partners.
— Mike Hayes of Gizmo Gypsies
Mike will tell the continuing story of the Gizmos Gypsies' plans to launch its library of "kidtainment" products and characters into a variety of distinct distribution channels. Specifically, Mike will review the distribution options available to the Company given its limited resources, how to attract partners and coordinate and manage multiple partnering deals simultaneously. Mike will separately review the Company's experiences in working with (a) investment banking firms as an alternative to venture capital, (b) large retail distributors such as Marisel and Ingram, (c) special programs with schools, (d) working with the media - including press, radio and television, and (e) merchandise opportunities to exploit characters. Finally, Mike will speak on how the Company prioritizes these programs - and which are expected to be more profitable for the Company.
