The Bay Area is home to many innovators in the food industry. Each year, new food start-ups crop up at the ready to take their products to market. It is a notoriously competitive industry, made more difficult in a down economy. Come hear from Noah Alper, the Founder and former CEO of Noah's Bagels, and in-the-trenches executives of food companies as they discuss lessons learned in the challenges of a down market and how their companies have responded to them.
This session sold-out Andersen Auditorium last year and is not to be missed for anyone interested in the business of food!
Distinguished speakers include:
Noah Alper, founder of Noah's Bagels and Bread & Circus, has almost four decades of business experience. He is a serial entrepreneur, whose experience includes concept creation, marketing, retailing, food service and sales management. He is also a dynamic motivational speaker.
Bob Burke is President of Ovation Hospitality Consulting and a visionary entrepreneur with a unique set of skills and accomplishments. He has over 30 years of successful experience in the restaurant industry, and has also achieved remarkable results in a wide range of other industries, including investment banking, hospitality, radio, publishing, aviation, and real estate. Restaurant companies Bob has been involved with include: President, Pat Kuleto Restaurant Co., President, Piatti Restaurants, President, Real American Restaurants, President, Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. He has also developed new brands with celebrity chef Michael Chiarello of Fog City Diner, Bisteccca, Postino, and Tomatina. Bob also has extensive experience in investment banking and real estate, as the Executive in Residence at Robertson Stephens & Co. and president of Bedford Properties Division which included hotels, restaurants, art gallery, aviation, radio stations, book publishing, etc.
Joel Gott is a fifth-generation vintner and founder of Joel Gott Wines, Bandit Wines, Three Thieves and Gott’s Roadside (formerly Taylor’s Refresher) restaurants. Joel Gott has deep roots in the wine business and an appreciation of good food that well prepared him to become the food and wine entrepreneur his is now.
In 1993, Joel and his brother Duncan purchased Palisades Market in Calistoga, transforming the small market into an upscale retailer of gourmet prepared foods and fine wines. Seeing the need for $20 bottles of wine, Joel purchased several tons of Zinfandel grapes to produce his first rave reviews from the Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate. This recognition put the Joel Gott label on the map, allowing him to produce Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and additional varietals in the years that followed.
While growing Joel Gott Wines, in 1999, Joel and Duncan took over the old Taylor’s Refresher in St. Helena and transformed the location in to a successful, gourmet burger stand. They subsequently opened two new locations, one in San Francisco, and one in Napa.
Greg Beattie (moderator) is Partner at MBV Law, specializing in corporate and technology law, emphasizing start-up and private company representation, venture fund representation, mergers, acquisitions and strategic joint ventures, technology licensing, protection and transfers, and securities and commercial law. He represents a broad spectrum of companies, venture capital firms and a variety of distribution, retail, service and manufacturing concerns.
Greg and MBV's food and beverage clients include Dreyer's Ice Cream, Mary's Gone Crackers, Rock Wall Wines, Picán Restaurant, Pat Kuleto, Yan Can Cook, Palio D'Asti Restaurant, and Just Desserts. Greg has helped companies raise millions in capital through private stock offerings, negotiate complex agreements for production and distribution, comply with applicable laws and regulations, protect intellectual property, and sell select assets, operating divisions or entire enterprises.
Greg lectures on early stage and privately held companies, venture financing, director and officer liability, and angel investing. He served on the Board of the East Bay IT Group and the East Bay Venture Forum, the advisory board of Technology Ventures Corporation, and is the founder and a lecturer for the Keiretsu Forum Academy. Greg is a graduate of Harvard Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1980) and Stanford University (B.A., with distinction and departmental honors, 1976).
Event and Registration Information
The program begins with a networking hour at 6:30 PM with complimentary drinks and hors d'oeuvres in the Bank of America Forum at the Haas School of Business. Because of the special networking hour, we will not hold the usual "Pitch Your Company" at this session.
Registration is required. Links for online pre-registration are be available at the top of this page. Online pre-registration ends at 5 pm Tuesday, September 20 and all registrations after this time must be completed on site at the event. If you are unfamiliar with the UC Berkeley campus, check out the campus map to locate the Haas School on the east (uphill) side of campus.
