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Elliott Dahan
Founder - Early Stage Marketplace
Elliott Dahan is a seasoned professional with a strong background in entrepreneurship, marketing, business development, and corporate strategy. He has been involved in various roles such as Managing Partner at The Growth Group, Founder of Early Stage Marketplace, and Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Online Anywhere. Elliott's experience includes serving as Microsoft's Director of Development in Silicon Valley and Vice President of Strategic Alliances at Tribune Company.
Highlights
I think I’ve been hacked. So, if you get a request to contact me - don’t. Thanks, Elliott
https://lnkd.in/df6PTFFD
All early stage companies that take 3rd party investment must either be acquired or IPO to be considered successful. 60+% of all exits are either corporate or competitor-based acquisitions. The problem is not generating more startups or finding more seed/angel capital. The problem is creating a safe, secure and non-partisan global presentation platform for all members of the early stage community to find what they need, to present what they have to “sell” and to be able to do business with each other. The proposed UNC Innovation Center would be much more effective if it became the global locus for the early stage community. Building a “innovation hub that will be a magnet for those seeking the inventive research and entrepreneurial vibrancy of UNC-Chapel Hill ” is myopic and provincial. Success in the Early Stage has very little to do with Academia. Startups make you take life pass – fail. Writing business plans and powerpoints to present at demo days has very little to do with the real world of Exits. Global solutions- Facebook didn’t stop at Harvard and Amazon didn’t stop at books. The Category is the Early Stage Community. The solution to strengthening the early stage is to be proactive and present Talent and Technology on a global scale – not reactive and hunker down in a building on Franklin Street hoping Talent, Technology and Exits (the ultimate customers) show up. It is a positive that the Innovation Hub is following Techstars lead in “The hub will offer the innovation centers of large corporations opportunities to team with Carolina researchers and connect with the University’s significant pool of innovation talent to build cross-functional solutions to business and social challenges.” This is an excellent idea if there was a way to attract corporations on a global basis and staff as many corporate inquiries as possible with local Talent and Technology. If Chapel Hill and The Research Triangle want to truly “innovate” and be relevant they must think beyond the ego and hubris of building monuments to themselves.
