Business Book Roundtable

February 3, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

You Need To Be A Little Crazy:
The Truth About Starting & Growing Your Business

Chicago entrepreneur Barry Moltz will discuss his new book, 'You Need To Be A Little Crazy: The Truth About Starting and Growing Your Business.' The book debunks the myths of business start-ups by telling the truth and delivers irreverent, straight talk about the complex intersection of start-up business, financial health, physical well-being, spiritual wholeness and family life.

Where:

Gleacher Center
Room 600
450 North Cityfront Plaza Drive
Chicago, Illinois

Who:

Barry Moltz
Author and Entrepreneur

Registration:

Questions:

Erik Hesler
630.926.9296
ehesler@yahoo.com

Event Description:

Barry Moltz, Chicago serial entrepreneur, will share his perspectives on his new book, 'You Need To Be A Little Crazy: The Truth About Starting and Growing Your Business.' The book debunks the myths of business start-ups by telling the truth: You have to be crazy to start a business. Barry's insightful style delivers irreverent, straight talk about the complex intersection of start-up business, financial health, physical well-being, spiritual wholeness and family life. His perspective is augmented with other personal tales from the entrepreneurial front. The book also offers tidbits of insight that will vaporize isolation, encourage self-reflection and refresh the spirit of anyone who has started a business or is thinking of starting one.

Speaker Profile:

Barry Moltz: Mr. Moltz' journey began at IBM, where he distinguished himself by receiving several awards at both the branch and regional level. His next move was to join one of his clients, Whittman-Hart, and become Director of Sales and a member of the executive committee. Moltz spend the 1990's establishing himself as a successful entrepreneur, co-founding three separate start-up companies, the latest of which was SciTech, a direct mail catalog and e-commerce reseller of scientific, engineering and technical software, where he served as the CEO until selling the company in 1999.

Moving from the role of entrepreneur to angel investor, Moltz co-founded Prairie Angels (www.prairieangels.org) in 2000. Prairie Angels is a group of private investors committed to investing in and mentoring early stage companies and their entrepreneurs. The move has proven to be a natural evolution of Barry's career, providing an avenue for him to share his 'lessons learned' as an entrepreneur and effectively guiding clients through familiar challenges and growing pains. Prairie Angels is recognized and supported by Chicago Mayor's Office, Price Waterhouse Coopers and Mayer Brown. The firm has enjoyed increased visibility through their success and sponsorship of entrepreneurial and community events, including Chicago Software Association, CHICwit (Chicago Women in Technology, MIT Enterprise Forum and the Woman's Business Development Center's Springboard Conference. Prairie Angels is credited with the influx of additional seed capital in the Chicago area and has paved the way for the establishment of other formal angel groups during 2002.

Most recently, Barry co-founded, with other angels and members of the venture community, the Prairie Angel Capital Fund (www.pafund.com). This committed capital fund, created to accelerate angel investments in the Midwest, is the first of its kind to be established in Chicago.

Moltz recently was named chairman of the newly formed Midwest Angel Network Association (MANA- www.midwestangelnetworks.org). This organization, established with the help of the Illinois Coalition and the Mayor's Office, is a not-for-profit that supports local angel groups and members of the community who want to become involved in angel investing.

Moltz is has written articles for the Chicago Tribune and I- Street. He writes a weekly column, 'The Business Bunker' on small business in E-Prairie (www.eprairie.com). He also provided content within another book, 'Attracting Capital from Angels' by Dee Power and Brian Hill. The book captures his advice on what angels look for in investing in early stage companies.