Akira Hirai - Managing Director

Anaheim Hills, CA | Phoenix, AZ

With over 20 years of experience in entrepreneurship, management, business planning, financial analysis, software engineering, operations, and decision analysis, Akira has the breadth and depth of experience needed to quickly understand entrepreneurs' businesses and craft the most suitable solutions.

Before founding Cayenne Consulting in early 2001, Akira started two Internet companies in Silicon Valley. Previously, Akira held various management positions in New York at Salomon Brothers, most recently as Vice President in Fixed Income Derivatives Trading, focusing on new business development and risk management. He has also worked as a senior financial risk management consultant to the financial services industry; software engineer; advertising sales manager for the popular Let's Go travel guide series; general manager of an advertising and graphic design agency; and engineering intern at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.

Akira is a regular guest speaker on the topics of business planning, financial forecasting, and capital formation at the Phoenix chapter of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation's FastTrac entrepreneur training program and at various programs affiliated with Arizona State University (ASU). He also mentors companies preparing to present before the Arizona Angels and the Arizona Venture Capital Conference (AVCC). Akira has also served on the Board of Directors for ITASA (Information Technology Association of Southern Arizona). He was named Entrepreneur of the Week in October 2000 by vCapital.com.

Akira earned his BA in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University.

Devin Berger, MBA - Principal Consultant

Boston, MA

Devin has over 18 years of experience in marketing and senior management of emerging growth companies, startups, and global consumer products companies, and has advised companies in numerous industries including high tech, biotech, internet/social networking, telecommunications, footwear/apparel, media & entertainment, and consumer products and services.

Earlier, she was the President of Apollo Eye Gear (performance sunglasses endorsed by Ken Griffey Jr.), CEO of Le Coq Sportif in Paris, France (athletic footwear and apparel), and President of a startup apparel company. She was also the VP of Marketing and Sales for a telecommunications company that provided wireless phone services for low income families in Tanzania, Africa. Previously, she was the Director of International Marketing for Converse, where she managed the $200 million basketball category and doubled the sales and profits of the worldwide business. Earlier, Devin was the Director of Marketing and Communications for a billion-dollar commercial real estate development project and a Senior Tax Policy Consultant for Price Waterhouse.

Devin earned her MBA from Harvard University and her BA in Economics from George Washington University.

Fred Cutler, PhD, MBA - Principal Consultant

San Diego, CA | Chicago, IL | Hilton Head, SC

Fred is an experienced hardware and software business strategy, marketing and operations executive with over 20 years of top management experience. He has leveraged strategic management experience in large technology companies into business and financial success in venture capital backed high technology startup companies.

His high technology background was begun as a key management consultant for Booz Allen and Hamilton and then executive positions at Compaq Computer/HP and Oracle Corporation. As a serial start-up entrepreneur, Fred was Vice President of Marketing for Scopus Technology which went public and then was eventually acquired by Oracle Corporation. He was founder and co-CEO of Digital Style Corporation, which was acquired by Netscape/AOL/Time Warner. After serving as Executive Director of the UCSD CONNECT program, Fred went on as CEO of Island Data Corporation and facilitated a significant capital investment by two major East Coast venture capital firms. He has done extensive consulting work in the area of mobile computing/apps within the social networking space.

Fred has served on numerous Board of Directors of venture backed companies where he facilitated additional rounds of financing.

Fred obtained a PhD degree in Marketing Research and Business Strategy from the University of Southern California.

Bill Davenport, MBA - Principal Consultant

Newport Beach, CA | Austin, TX

Bill is an entrepreneurial executive with over 10 years of experience building businesses. He possesses a strong financial background geared specifically towards meeting the capital requirements of growing companies.

Bill is an expert in financial modeling, corporate finance, and has created countless business plans and funding proposals that have raised millions in capital. He has served as CFO/COO of Sabertec, LLC. a leading manufacturer of non-catalytic diesel filtration equipment, and as the CFO of RVCA Corporation, a fast growing action sports apparel company. During the ".com" era, Bill was a securities broker at Roth Capital Partners where he co-managed $130MM in equity and cash. Bill has extensive international business experience and has managed manufacturing relationships, fundings, and IP portfolios throughout the world. He has also served on the boards of both private and public companies.

Bill holds an MBA with a specialization in finance from Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management, and a Bachelors of Arts in Economics and Latin American Studies from The American University in Washington, D.C.

Alex Durig, Ph.D. - Principal Consultant

San Francisco, CA

Alex began writing business plans full-time in 2006 after working in sales and management for seven years. He has worked with companies such as Wal*Mart, Ramada Plaza Resorts, and Fairfield Resorts, as well as several small businesses.

Before that he was a college professor for eleven years. Drawing on a background in social psychology and real-world management experience, Alex specializes not only in plan writing but also in start-up and expansion consulting. Alex received his Ph.D. in social psychology from Indiana University. He was a pre-doctoral and post-doctoral fellow in National Institute of Mental Health research training programs. Alex has published two books about autism, "Autism and the Crisis of Meaning" and "How to Understand Autism - The Easy Way," as well as numerous articles in academic journals including a coauthorship in The Encyclopedia of Sociology.

Alex lives in San Francisco and his hobbies include playing guitar and chess.

Tom Dykstra, MBA, CFPIM - Principal Consultant

Phoenix, AZ

Tom has over thirty years of business experience in strategy development, software design, engineering management, sales, marketing, channel creation, consulting, business modeling, decision analysis, capital acquisition, and new venture start-ups.

He is the co-founder of two ERP software companies: Effective Management Systems (ERP for discrete manufacturers) and EMS Solutions (ERP for automatic merchandising companies). Effective Management Systems appeared on the Inc 500 twice (28 and 37), acquired venture funding, and was taken public.

Before founding Effective Management Systems, he was with the Data Systems Division of AO Smith Corporation, a Fortune 500 diversified manufacturer. He was responsible for all financial and HR systems used by the corporation and the service bureau customers. He also founded the firm's small business computer line of business and the IT consulting practice.

He currently serves on the board of directors of Synergex International, a software firm.

As an adjunct faculty member at Grand Canyon University and Arizona State University, he has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in strategy, supply chain / operations management, project management, information systems, statistics, business modeling, and decision analysis.

Tom has an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BA in Mathematics from Hope College. He is also a Certified Fellow of the American Production and Inventory Control Society.

Julie Fletcher, MBA - Principal Consultant

Phoenix, AZ | Los Angeles, CA

Julie offers over 20 years of experience in business management and training. Her specialties include new business formation, business planning, business development, small business management, organizational development, operations planning, human resources, and insurance.

Prior to joining Cayenne, Julie founded Lanick Corporation, a small business consulting and coaching company. Previously, she co-founded and operated a successful small business development firm for eight years. This company expanded into the Arizona market quickly and within the first five years in business opened six offices statewide. During these years, Julie was recognized as a market leader in the construction licensing and surety bond industry, taught business law seminars, trained and led her team to reach their objectives year after year, consulted and coached hundreds of small business owners one-on-one, and assisted in setting up over 4,000 new Arizona businesses.

As an entrepreneur, Julie understands your reason for doing what you do. Her philosophy to success is simple: "you must be willing to learn and commit to follow-through! So many people dream, so few act." Through training and assistance, she guides you through a transformational process that opens doors to new opportunities and allows you to not only see your success, but actually experience it.

Julie earned her MBA with a concentration in Human Resources from the Keller Graduate School of Management, and holds a BS in business operations from DeVry University.

Sandy Graham, MBA, MS Ec - Principal Consultant

Tampa, FL

Sandy has over 20 years of experience in achieving business growth objectives for new ventures, university startups, Stage One and Two growth companies, and established corporations in the fields of alternative energy, software, telecommunications, manufacturing, biotech, financial services, insurance, and food service. Sandy’s core competencies include business plan development, strategic planning, market opportunity analysis, profitability assessment, revenue generation, business process improvement, client relations and B2B partner development.

Before joining Cayenne, Sandy was the Managing Partner for his own small business consulting practice where he provided winning business development strategies, plans and solutions to new ventures and small business clients in multiple market segments. Earlier, Sandy took a sabbatical to earn an MBA and worked with university-based startups where he developed business and commercialization plans and STTR/SBIR grants. He was awarded the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Internship in Entrepreneurship.

Prior to this, Sandy was a Senior Consultant for IBM Global Services, holding several critical assignments that included managing national business development teams; developing business proposals in response to RFPs, RFQs and RFIs; and developing and managing client relationships that increased sales $14 million. Before joining IBM, Sandy was a Senior Consultant with ESI International, charged improving and streamlining business processes for ESI’s corporate clients.

Sandy earned an MBA with distinction from the University of South Florida with core concentrations in Entrepreneurship and Management Leadership. He also earned an MS in Economics from the University of Tennessee and a BA in Economics from the University of South Florida. He is the author of See the Green$: Achieving Your Entrepreneurial Dream about achieving successful business growth.

Jenifer Grant, MBA - Principal Consultant

New York, NY

Jenifer has been involved with finance, strategy, and marketing in a wide variety of roles and industries for over 15 years. In addition to third-party clients, she developed plans and implemented strategies for internal new businesses within IT and investment banking during the corporate phase of her career. Jenifer's clients range from start-up through high middle market companies in fields including IT, software, green tech / renewable energy, telecom services, wireless, financial services, Internet/e-commerce, media/entertainment, healthcare products and wellness, consumer and industrial products, retail, mining and commodities, energy and tourism.

Prior to working as an independent consultant, Jenifer structured and managed transactions in global merchant banking and derivatives, and held strategic planning and management positions within investment banking and IT functions at Bankers Trust Company. Earlier, she worked in credit corporate finance at Manufacturers Hanover and portfolio strategy, equity and fixed income research at Kidder Peabody.

Jenifer has an MBA in Finance from Wharton and a BA in Economics from Columbia.

Richard Hasenpflug, MBA - Principal Consultant

Phoenix, AZ

Richard has been bringing Fortune 100 expertise to startups and small to mid-sized businesses since 1985. He is both a consultant and serial entrepreneur and has participated in several startup teams either as CEO or CFO. After an extensive career in Silicon Valley, he relocated to Arizona in 2008.

Richard has worked with clients spanning a variety of industries, both domestically and overseas, including healthcare, high-tech market research, international trade, multinational operations & marketing, offshoring, publishing, semiconductor equipment, supply-chain management, and telecommunications.

Richard's focus internationally has been on building strong multi-national teams and bringing the lessons learned in Silicon Valley to other industries and countries. He was active in Russia during the 1990s, working with privatized state-owned companies and supporting local startups and multinational joint ventures. He also led the creation of a worldwide trading network focused primarily in Europe.

Prior to 1985, Richard held a variety of management, development, finance and marketing positions in international and high-tech companies. Based in Singapore, he was Director of Finance and Corporate Credit for Monsanto Corporation's Asian operations for several years, establishing corporate risk levels throughout the region and actively working with and supporting customers. Richard has served as an officer and/or director of several industry associations and non-profit organizations. He was named Los Altan of the Year in 2002 for his many years of work in support of local education, worldwide AIDS education, and international understanding.

Richard earned an MBA in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, a BA in History from The Ohio State University, and graduated from the Marketing Management Executive Program at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business.

David Kaplan, JD - Principal Consultant

Boston, MA

David has written investment grade business plans, consulted in strategic planning and facilitated management strategy meetings for operating companies since 1994. He has advised scores of scientists, researchers, inventors and business innovators in turning nascent ideas into concrete, executable business plans. Client engagements have included biotechnology and early stage drug development, consumer products and services, software, healthcare, medical devices, Internet, high tech, fish farming, automotive products and services, elder care, publishing and others.

Earlier, David founded several successful startups. His first was DSK Cars in Marblehead Mass, where he manufactured sports/racing cars of his own design by hand from raw materials. He also founded PoleStar LLC, a consultancy to entrepreneurs; Your Auto Expert, an alternative Internet based car retailer and; Purgatory Cove Press, the publisher of four fishing guide books he wrote about Middlesex County Massachusetts. David served as an affiliate at the Boston University Healthcare Entrepreneurship Program and taught Entrepreneurial Management at B.U.

David consulted to the world-wide auto industry at Temple, Barker and Sloan; served as General Counsel and Director of Marketing at Callaway Engineering; and litigated on behalf of Native Americans in state and federal courts.

David earned a Phi Beta Kappa and BA Magna cum Laude at Amherst College and a JD with honors from Harvard Law School.

Charlie Kickham, MBA - Principal Consultant

New York, NY

Charlie brings 17 years of experience in finance, strategic partnership development, organizational restructuring, real estate development, and business development to Cayenne Consulting. Charlie's experience extends from Wall Street to start-ups, delivering large-company fiscal and operational discipline to emerging companies whose structures are most fragile in their early years. Operating both in the trenches as an entrepreneur and on the outside as an investor/advisor, Charlie understands the needs and demands of both. Such experience lends well to start-ups, not only in their quest for capital but also in their need for sound judgment in getting their business off the ground. This includes organizational management, operational strategies, process and technology roadmaps, revenue and cash flow projections, financial models and forecasts, legal and capital structures, advisory board and ramp-up strategies, technology development, and team building.

Charlie's core financial strength blends operational efficiency with a mandate to always improve existing structures and best practices. Such strengths were evident at TD Waterhouse where Charlie helped develop the firm’s global treasury operations and then rose to provide leadership for one of its most profitable and critical business units, directing strategic/operational planning, financial forecasting, budgeting, securities lending, firm funding, cash management, and risk management initiatives, with ultimate responsibility over the firm's cash maximization. Charlie employs such tactics in the start-up environment where the early years of launching are some of the most critical.

Charlie has been, and continues to be, a founding member of multiple internet start-ups in all fields, and operates as managing partner at Avos Holdings focusing on opportunistic investments in real estate and corporate finance.

Charlie holds MBA degrees from both New York University's Stern School of Business and the London School of Economics, and is a mentor both at NYU's Berkley School of Entrepreneurial Studies, and with entrepreneurial programs involving inner-city New York City high school students.

Van Lanier - Principal Consultant

Washington DC

Van is an accomplished business practitioner who helps entrepreneurs start, grow, and harvest their ventures. Van has prepared over 300 business plans, financial forecasts, and funding memorandums in industries ranging from data mining to water disinfection. He also has deep knowledge of government contracting, environmental technology, and financial analysis.

Van is a Certified Management Consultant whose professional career includes 35 years of corporate turnaround consulting, plus creating seven entrepreneurial ventures of his own. He enjoyed success with most, but took it in the gut from one. This combination of technical knowledge and hands-on start up experience has given Van a unique set of skills and know-how.

Van earned his MBA with highest honors before personal computers made the math easy. He is a long-time member of the Institute of Management Consultants and the Superior Business Firm Roundtable.

Van is a director and adviser to businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. He writes and speaks on business issues for the International Finance Corporation, Small Business Development Centers, and other organizations.

Jimmy Lewin - Principal Consultant

Phoenix, AZ | Deer Valley, UT

Jimmy's background includes over 40 years in international, commercial and investment banking, and nearly a decade as the principal shareholder and CEO of a rapidly growing manufacturing and distribution business in California. Today, Jimmy spends his time advising and consulting with entrepreneurs on matters related to business planning, as well as capital markets and funding strategies. In addition, he serves in an advisory role to the National Science Foundation where he provides recommendations on the funding of SBIR/STTR grant proposals.

Jimmy serves on a number of Advisory Boards for emerging companies that have recently raised capital or are about to raise capital. In all of his work, he expresses a strong belief in the importance of customer acquisition, customer retention, and understanding the financial consequences of each and every business activity.

During his 20 years at Security Pacific Bank, Jimmy served in a number of senior management positions in the U.S. and internationally. Applicable assignments included responsibility for the funding of all of the institution's subsidiaries and affiliates domiciled outside of the U.S., general management of two overseas affiliates and general management of the bank's California staff departments.

For two years, he served as President, Director and CEO of Guardian Bancorporation, Los Angeles, California. Jimmy has extensive senior management and Board of Director experience. He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati where he earned a B.A. in Political Science.

Malcolm McLelland, Ph.D. - Principal Consultant

Sao Paulo, Brazil | Bloomington, IN

Malcolm has over 24 years' experience in financial modeling and econometric analysis gained in public accounting, commercial lending, and academic institutions. He has been engaged in such matters by firms in the manufacturing, processing, technology, real estate, and financial services industries, as well as by financial institutions and their regulatory agencies. His financial models have been used in financial planning and performance measurement, development of corporate governance and management control systems, merger and acquisition analysis and structuring, negotiating private debt and equity placements, capital (re)structuring and reorganization, business valuation, and commercial damages litigation consulting.

Malcolm's academic research focuses on how accounting information is used in equity markets, how managers make optimal financial reporting decisions, and how professional labor markets in accounting, finance, and information systems work. His research has been published in Review of Accounting & Finance and Managerial Finance, and he has written a number of monographs and articles included in professional publications and periodicals. Malcolm has taught a wide range of courses including financial accounting and analysis, managerial accounting and decision-making, corporate governance, asset pricing theory and business valuation at Michigan State University, University of Illinois at Chicago, Purdue University, and most recently at Indiana University.

Malcolm was graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. in 1981, and from Michigan State University with a Ph.D. in 1999.

Tom Miller - Principal Consultant

Phoenix, AZ

Over the past 30+ years, working independently as a serial entrepreneur as well as a serial intrapreneur within multi-national corporations, Tom has focused on recognizing outstanding new technology opportunities and successfully forming and leading new enterprises. His career has included leadership roles at both Fortune 1000 companies such as Texas Instruments, NCR, Fairchild Semiconductor, Fujitsu and DuPont, and entrepreneurial ventures such as Integrated CMOS Systems, VIA Technologies, Quantum3D, and Anadigm. Tom's extensive experience and expertise spans business development, sales and marketing, brand management, operations (general management), and manufacturing.

Tom's earliest successes were at Texas Instruments where he led business development efforts to develop electronic sound generators and controllers for integration into leading consumer electronic products for the toy and game industry. Parker Brothers, Coleco, Milton Bradley and many others introduced products incorporating the TI technology, resulting in revenue growth from zero to over $50 million annually within 3 years. Tom later led efforts to commercialize the first RISC microprocessors, initially at NCR and then at Fairchild, followed by his first entrepreneurial efforts with Integrated CMOS Systems (sold to Toshiba) and VIA Technologies (now a major international IC company in Taiwan). At Fujitsu Microelectronics from 1992 to 1996 Tom initiated efforts to restructure US semiconductor operations, reducing operating costs by more than $20 million while increasing sales from less than $190 million to over $600 million within 3 years.

Since 1998, Tom has advised or participated in the formation of more than 30 other high technology start-ups, most recently as President and general manager of DuPont Displays passive matrix polymer OLED displays business headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, and as interim COO for Anadigm, a field programmable analog array company headquartered in Tempe, AZ. From 2007 to 2010, Tom served as Executive Director for the Society for Information Displays, a professional society dedicated to advancing the state of the art in electronic displays for every product class from televisions to cell phones. Additionally, Tom currently serves on the Board of Directors for Project InVision International and is a trusted advisor to numerous other public and private companies in the displays, semiconductor and software industries.

Tom began his career as a hardware and firmware designer for microprocessor systems and holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, NY.

Tim O'Connor, MBA - Principal Consultant

Chicago, IL

Tim O'Connor is a tremendous asset to our Consumer Products practice area and brings the innovation and passion of a proven entrepreneur plus the enormous volume of results from his classic brand marketing experiences on some of the world’s best known brands including Betty Crocker®, Tropicana® Juice, Coors®, Star Wars® and many more.

With more than twenty years of experience in traditional consumer marketing, Tim is a hands-on leader in product development, strategic planning, sales management and operations issues. As an executive leader, Tim has built a reputation as a marketing & sales driven executive in corporate turnarounds and brings a level of analysis and urgency to strategic decisions facing large and small organizations. Tim has developed countless strategic plans and presentations in such areas as marketing strategy, business model innovation, consumer research, channel management, new product development, brand renewal and product launches to name a few.

Tim is also the Founder of Brightspot Brands, the company he created to focus on the emerging functional candy segment. His company created the world's first healthy candy brand known as gimme®. The brand featured great tasting, premium chocolate candy packed with nutrition like real dairy calcium, Omega3 from flaxseed and probiotics. The business was sold to a strategic investor in 2010.

Tim earned his undergraduate degree in Economics at the University of Minnesota and earned his MBA from the JL Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University with emphasis in Finance and Marketing.

Rick O'Hara, MBA - Principal Consultant

Austin, TX

With over twenty years of experience in management, management consulting, strategic and business planning, financial modeling and analysis, and launching new ventures, Rick has the broad-based experience to quickly comprehend the nuances of your business and create winning solutions that get results.

Rick served as CFO for several startups in multiple industries, including Paramount Digital Entertainment (a division of Paramount Television), Carter Aviation Technologies, and Trinity Thermal Systems. While Director of Business Planning at The Becker Group of Companies, he oversaw development of business plans and financial models for four technology startups, and participated in the merger and IPO of a software firm and hardware manufacturer. As Marketing Manager at Teledyne Analytical Instruments, he managed the launch of four new product lines.

As a management consultant, he has developed business plans, financial models, engineering models, proposals, and white papers used to successfully raise millions of dollars. While still a student at the University of Southern California's MBA program, where he majored in Entrepreneurial Studies, he founded a software firm that developed and published the first business graphics software for microcomputers. Rick received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University.

Patrick O'Hearn - Principal Consultant

Silicon Valley

Pat is a serial entrepreneur and has held senior executive positions in management, marketing, operations and engineering during over 35 years in the electronics industry. He began his career as a custom silicon chip designer at National Semiconductor and became manager of the Motorola European Design Center, developing embedded microprocessors. He transitioned to marketing, heading up International Marketing for Philips in the Netherlands then into General Management, managing Profit and Loss accounts of $200M+. He has been a senior executive in the communication and semiconductor industry in large multinational corporations such as Plessey, Philips, Fujitsu, Motorola and Cirrus Logic.

While holding an executive position at Philips, Pat helped to form Silicon Architects, an innovative ASIC design company. He arranged a Philips investment and helped to attract leading venture capitalists to form an independent start up. The company was sold 4 years later to Synopsis, earning a healthy return for the stakeholders. Pat served as the founding President and CEO of ATM Limited, a network switching company and raised over $20M in venture investment from leading Silicon Valley venture capitalists. Prior to its IPO the company was renamed Virata Corp. and subsequently merged with Globespan to become GlobespanVirata. Pat served as President and CEO of InTalk, a pioneer in Wireless LAN (WiFi). He negotiated the sale of the company to Nokia, earning a significant return for the stakeholders.

Prior to joining Cayenne Consulting, Pat was Founder and Managing Partner of Sapiential Prime, an executive mentoring company which provided hands-on support to early stage companies. Pat’s skills include creating compelling business plans, financial models and powerful marketing strategies and aligning management teams behind them. He has specialized skills in intellectual property management and creating long term partnerships and contracts. Over 70% of Sapiential Prime’s clients achieved significant success and either executed IPOs or were acquired.

George Papaioannou, MBA - Principal Consultant

Princeton, NJ (Serving Philadelphia and New York)

George Papaioannou has two decades of experience in developing, analyzing, evaluating and executing upon business models, from an investment as well as an operational perspective. He is one of Cayenne's resident experts on business valuation.

George spent the bulk of his career on Wall Street, valuing equity securities and positioning investment opportunities with institutional investors. As a research analyst for Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, he covered the media & entertainment sector. George also played a central role in media & entertainment public offerings and M&A transactions while at DLJ. As product manager for Thomas Weisel Partners, George oversaw all aspects of the equity research department's daily output. He collaborated with the firm's research analysts to develop thematic investment ideas and position them with appropriate investors. George was a member of TWP's Research Review Committee, which reviewed and approved stock rating changes. As a management consultant for IBM Global Services, George specialized in the development and execution of Internet strategies for Global 2000 media & entertainment companies. At online music retailer CDNOW, he formulated a strategy and business model for selling digital downloads.

George serves as a Mentor for the Eugene M. Lang Center for Entrepreneurship at Columbia University. He holds a BA in History from Cornell University and an MBA in Finance and Media Management from Columbia Business School.

Dennis Pape, Ph.D. - Principal Consultant

Orlando, FL

Dennis brings over twenty nine years of experience with high technology companies, from research scientist to manager to start-up founder to entrepreneur, corporate, and investor advisor. His primary expertise is in advising and directing new venture business, technology, and product development. He has strong technical, communication, organizational, and business skills with technical expertise in optics, photonics, optical networks, acoustics, electronics, communications, and medical devices.

Dennis has authored or co-authored business plans and investor presentations that have resulted in over $200M in institutional venture capital funding. He has hands-on experience as both a CEO and CTO during a new venture's formative stage. He was a key player in a number of corporate technology spin-outs while he was at Milcom Technologies, a venture capital backed corporate spin-out firm.

Prior to joining Milcom, Dennis founded and was President of Photonic Systems Incorporated (PSI) in Melbourne, Florida. His firm specialized in the development of optical information processing technology products for both government and commercial customers. He secured seed venture capital funding for the firm and was responsible for the firm's technical leadership position in its field, which resulted in the award of over $7 Million of government R&D contracts, which he managed. Before founding PSI, Dennis worked as a Group Leader at Harris Corporation and as a Member of the Technical Staff at Texas Instruments. Dennis is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of Central Florida Technology Incubator. He is a member of AUTM, IEEE, SPIE, and OSA. He is the coeditor of a book, the author of 3 book chapters and some 50 publications, and was the organizer of numerous national and international conferences in the field of optical information processing.

Dennis earned an AB in Physics from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Physics from Duke University.

Scott Pollov - Principal Consultant

Phoenix, AZ

Scott brings nearly two decades of experience in planning, developing, financing, marketing, and managing entrepreneurial and real estate based ventures, both as a principal and as a consultant. He has managed several hundred strategic consulting engagements for companies in nearly every industry and stage of development. Before joining Cayenne, Scott was the co-founder and managing partner of BizPlanIt, a management consulting and capital advisory firm that assisted clients through the process of creating, financing, growing, and sustaining their business. Scott focused on pre-financing transaction preparation and positioning services, including market and competitive research, business planning services, strategic and growth planning, financial analysis and projections, investor presentation materials, recommendations on value enhancement, presentation coaching, advisory board membership, and the identification and development of strategic, marketing, and technology partners.

Scott has focused extensively on serving companies in the real estate development and finance industries, including master planned community, residential, and commercial developers; multifamily and commercial property investment companies; real estate private equity funds; and commercial and residential mortgage brokers/lenders. Scott has been active as a principal in a real estate investment firm, as well as in the funding of private money and commercial mortgage transactions.

Earlier, Scott worked at at McGladrey & Pullen, a national public accounting firm, where he specialized in financial statement audits for middle market manufacturing, distribution, and medical services companies. Scott holds a B.S. in Accounting and Entrepreneurship from the University of Arizona, and is an inductee in the University's Berger Entrepreneurship Program Hall of Fame for his role in developing BizPlanIt.

Adam T - Principal Consultant

Los Angeles, CA

Adam has broad experience in new ventures and investor relations. His employment experience includes the positions of President/CFO at W2 Energy Development Corporation, CFO at Santa Cruz Guitar Company, and Senior Manager at The Charles Schwab Corporation, where he was responsible for project planning in the Schwab Technology Group. In addition to investor relations, Adam has developed expertise in joint ventures and licensing arrangements, both domestic and international.

Since 1999 Adam has worked as a professional writer, accepting assignments such as business plans, PPMs, economic reports, and other projects. Adam has prepared successful business plans and investment proposals for a long list of clients in industries such as renewable energy, real estate development, telecommunications, gaming, high technology, ports, music/film production, transportation, and investment services.

Adam graduated from Stanford University with degrees in English and Economics, and later received an MBA from U.C. Berkeley. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.

Sarah Thompson, MBA - Principal Consultant

Amherst, MA

Sarah has over fifteen years of experience in financial modeling, corporate finance, operations and human resource management of small and medium sized businesses. She has worked in and with a variety of industries including food and beverage, consumer goods, wholesale, manufacturing of industrial products, electronics contract manufacturing, medical devices, family entertainment, and construction trades. She has first-hand experience having owned, financed and managed her own small business.

Prior to starting her business consulting company, Thompson Business Solutions, Sarah served as a Corporate Controller for Superior Cake, an equity-owned, rapidly growing industrial bakery. Prior to that she worked for Accellent, an equity-owned medical device manufacturer, where she managed the transition of the Cost Accounting functions for three manufacturing divisions to a Corporate Shared Services model. She has also worked as a Corporate Controller for a craft design and wholesale company and for an industrial composite manufacturer. Sarah also served as Business Unit Manager for New Products at Flextronics, NH, where she managed a cross functional team and completed multiple projects for market launches of customers.

Sarah has knowledge and experience in multiple aspects of business and can help your company get started on the right foot. Sarah has specific expertise in financial forecasting and planning, banking relationships, asset-based lending, international business which includes import/export and outsourcing, production planning, inventory management, ERP system implementation, and small business software programs.

Sarah earned her MBA from the University of Massachusetts and her BA in Political Science and International Affairs from the University of New Hampshire.

Rick Tifone, MBA, CExP - Principal Consultant

Pittsburgh, PA

Rick brings over 25 years of executive management, marketing, sales, consulting, and exit planning experience to Cayenne Consulting. He has hands-on experience running startup companies and working with CEOs on strategic planning, performance improvement, and process improvement. In addition to working on business plans, Rick works with the owners of B2B companies to help them increase the value of their business and plan for the single, most critically important financial event of their lives -- the transition out of their business. He has been working with companies involved with software development, IT services, real estate brokerage, commercial and residential real estate, executive recruiting, medical equipment, construction, manufacturing, and government sourcing.

As founder and CEO of Danet, Inc., a consulting and systems integration company providing solutions for the telecommunications industry, Rick managed the profitable growth of the company from one employee to over one hundred. He was recognized by the Pittsburgh Technology Council as the CEO of the fastest growing company in the $10M to $25M range. During his nine years at Danet, Rick guided the company through dramatic telecommunications market changes and a transition from a software company to a systems integration and consulting company. Rick conducted business throughout the U.S. and Canada, South America, Europe, and the Middle East.

Rick's previous public company experience includes positions at General Dynamics, Alcoa, Wang Laboratories, and Tandem Computers. Rick has also operated a residential real estate investment company. He brings a unique perspective from being both a professionally trained business coach and an experienced business leader who has started and grown successful businesses.

Rick's formal education includes a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science from the State University of New York at Potsdam and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz School of Business. Rick also holds a BEI Certified Exit Planner Designation.

Principal Consultant, MBA

San Francisco, CA - Bay Area

Our San Francisco consultant has over twenty years of experience as a management consultant. He specializes in working with San Francisco Bay Area / Silicon Valley companies seeking venture capital. He is the author of numerous business plans leading to successful multi-million dollar investments. His plans have been used to raise capital, to solve critical business problems, and to persuade investors, boards, and senior management to take action. His plans are effective because they are based upon thorough qualitative and quantitative analysis, yet are able to communicate complex ideas in a simple straightforward manner.

He has client experience in high tech, green tech / alternative energy, commercial real estate, construction materials, financial services, biotech, aerospace, manufacturing, hospitality, and service industries.

He earned his MBA from Harvard University and his BA in Biochemistry from Brown University.

Jan Knight, MA - Market Research Specialist

Tucson, AZ

Jan delivers both marketing and advertising experience to her role as our market research specialist. Her focus is on providing customized business intelligence and secondary market research. Her work has helped to shape business plans, marketing strategies, and new business development for a diverse set of clients. She has research experience in fields such as medical devices, software, IT, healthcare, publishing, beverages, and many others. Jan has access to professional subscriber-only databases that provide authoritative data, nationally and internationally and help her to far beyond what the Internet alone can offer.

Previously, Jan has spent over 15 years working as a client liaison for two successful Advertising/Marketing Agencies and as a Purchasing/Manufacturing Manager for an international educational publisher. She regularly speaks to business groups on the topic of advanced online search strategies and market research related topics. Most recently Jan has begun working with a number of start-up companies researching both government grant funding as well as research for the companies’ SBIR/STTR proposals.

Currently Jan is an active member of the Association of Independent Information Professionals and has been active in both committees and conferences for over 9 years. She has previously served as a Board Member for the Greater Tucson Chapter of National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) and on committees for the American Marketing Association.

Jan earned her M.A. in Information Resources & Library Science from the University of Arizona, and her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Norton Greenfeld, Ph.D. - Senior Advisor

Boston, MA

Norton brings decades of experience in the information technology industry as an entrepreneur, as well as in the fields of product development, strategic market research, research and development, and management consulting. Norton has advised numerous startups as co-founder of a virtual incubator, where he assisted entrepreneurs in refining concepts and creating investment materials, evaluated deal flow, and provided technology perspective, including patent applications. He has also advised dozens of industry leaders including 3M, Amdahl, BankBoston, Cigna, DEC, Great Plains Software, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, NCR, Novell, NTT, Open Software Foundation, SAP, Sun, Sybase, Unisys, Xerox, and Ziff-Davis.

He has served as an industry analyst and columnist, contributing to PC Week, Computerworld, and Unix Review. Norton also holds several patents, and teaches management and entrepreneurship at Babson College in Wellesley, MA.

Norton earned his Ph.D. and MS in Engineering Science (Computer Science), and a BS in Mathematics, all from the California Institute of Technology.

Roy Kosuge - Senior Advisor

Los Angeles, CA

Roy has over 10 years of experience building businesses in the intersection of media and communication technology. He specializes in new business development and change management, with a pragmatic approach of identifying big ideas and translating them into tactical successes. His practice spans across strategy, business planning, M&A, partnerships, product management, and operations and finance support for start-up and corporate clients, ranging across cable, wireless, online, interactive, music and video industries.

Before becoming a consultant, Roy was Vice President of International Strategy and Operations for Faith Inc., a Japanese mobile services provider with subsidiaries located in the U.S., France, Brazil and China. He was an advisor to the Founder and COO of Faith, leading critical strategic initiatives including M&A activities and new business development, including an assignment as COO of Voce Wireless, a subsidiary focused on premium wireless services. Prior to Faith Inc., he served as Director of Business Development at Universal Music Group, where he negotiated various content licensing and distribution deals across online and mobile platforms, as well evaluating the impact of new technologies and business models to the core business. Kosuge began his career as a strategy analyst at AT&T Broadband, where he supported product marketing and channel strategy efforts for High Speed Data.

Roy earned his B.A. in Psychology at Harvard University.

Charles Krakoff, MBA - Senior Advisor

Boston, MA

Charles brings over 20 years of experience in financial and strategic consulting, private equity, investment banking, privatization, market research and investment and trade strategy. His industry expertise includes internet/e-commerce, media, telecommunications, agribusiness, security services, industrial parks and energy. He has been an executive in and fund-raiser for several start-up companies, and has worked with over 20 other established and start-up businesses to develop business and revenue models, prepare business plans and investment memorandums, conduct valuations, carry out due diligence, and raise debt and equity finance.

Much of his career has focused on emerging markets in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Before joining Cayenne Consulting he worked for a $150-million Africa-focused private equity fund, managed a financial consulting and advisory unit for Standard Corporate & Merchant Bank in Johannesburg, and worked for six years as a senior associate with Abt Associates, a leading U.S. research and consulting firm. He has also worked for the World Bank as an advisor to national governments on business and investment climate issues, and has advised numerous U.S., European and South African corporations on cross-border investments and market entry and expansion strategies.

Charles earned his MBA in finance and international business from Columbia University and his BA in Anthropology from Reed College. He is fluent in French.

Mario Rosati, Esq. - Senior Advisor

Palo Alto, CA

Mario Rosati is a partner at the Silicon Valley law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. He has represented Cayenne Consulting's founder in previous ventures, and continues to advise him and Cayenne Consulting's clients. He specializes in Corporate Law, especially as it relates to high-technology companies.

Mr. Rosati is a director of Aehr Test Systems, Genus, Sanmina Corporation, Symyx Technologies, The Management Network Group, and Vivus, all publicly traded companies, and a number of privately-held companies.

Mr. Rosati is an adjunct Professor, Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley, and serves on the Board of Advisors for the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He earned his law degree at attended Boalt Hall, University of California, Berkeley.

Paul Sereiko, MBA - Senior Advisor

Boston, MA

Paul has over 25 years of experience in technology, marketing, business development, franchising and business planning across companies ranging in size from startups to global multi-nationals. He has personally raised nearly $20M for ventures that he has either founded or operated as the CEO, and has been associated with an additional $30M in funding for other enterprises including one NASDAQ public offering.

Paul has developed, launched, and marketed over 20 technology products in his including the world's first notebook computer, the NEC UltraLite. Over the last decade he has become an industry expert in the emerging standardized wireless sensor networking market … the so called Internet of things. Within this sector Paul has helped co-found one not-for-profit development consortium, and assumed leadership roles in organizations creating global standards for sensor networking.

Recently Paul completed an intense fellowship program in alternative energy and green technologies. His capstone project in this program was entitled: "Assessing Federal and State Financial Incentive Programs to Improve Solar Power Investment."

Paul graduated from the University of Illinois' Computer Engineering program and received his MBA at Northwestern University's Kellogg school with concentrations in marketing and investment finance.

Hal Siegel, Ph.D. - Senior Advisor

Phoenix, AZ

Dr Siegel has over 20 years experience across R&D and regulatory affairs, and supported multiple VC and public fundraising rounds, founding Siegel Consultancy LLC in 2001. For the past 8 years, Siegel served ImmuneRegen (as Senior VP, Product Development and Regulatory Affairs, and then VP and CSO), then Zila, Inc. (as VP, responsible for the company’s Phase 3 oncology program and device activities, as FDA liaison and establishing multiple research collaborations).

From 2000-2003, Siegel served in the FDA-regulated information technology space, in Sun Microsystems Life Sciences Group, and BioQ, integrating regulatory and scientific content into a SaaS product (a collaboration with IBM, Accenture and Autonomy).

Siegel spent 1993-1998 at Advanced Bioresearch Associates, a boutique CRO, providing regulatory, clinical and scientific support, including to a botanical drug startup acquired by Wyeth-Ayerst. He joined ABA following positions at Hybritech Inc. (an Eli Lilly company) and Iatric Corporation, where he was responsible for regulatory and compliance activities for biological products and a monoclonal antibody/drug product.

He obtained his B.S. Biology from RPI, his PhD in Biochemical Pharmacology from SUNY Buffalo and performed post-doctoral research at Los Alamos National Laboratory and at the Barrow Neurological Institute. He serves on the Phoenix Leadership group of AZBio, the Arizona life science industry trade group.

Vic Singh, MBA - Senior Advisor

New York, NY

Vic is a Principal Consultant at Cayenne and a Founding General Partner with ENIAC Ventures. He has over 12 years of experience as an entrepreneur, operator, and investor in software startups. Vic is currently Founder and CEO of Tracks Media, a stealth mode venture incubated mobile startup. Vic also Co-Founded NearVerse, a venture backed mobile technology startup building a rich media delivery platform for smartphones.

Previously, Vic was a venture capitalist with RRE Ventures, a VC firm with $850MM under management where he focused on investments in consumer internet and mobile. He led the firm's investment in Adaptive Blue (social network for entertainment) and helped close several deals including Flipswap (mobile resell), M-Via (mobile remittance), GoMobo (mobile payments), Payfone (mobile payments) and Tendril (mobile smart grid). Vic has advised numerous startups on product and marketing strategy including Hopstop, Exergen, Organic Motion, Remote Reality and Big Bang Entertainment.

Vic began his career as a technology consultant implementing software solutions for major corporations including Bose, MetLife, LG, Sara Lee and Unilever. Vic holds an MBA from Columbia Business School where he was a Robert Toigo Foundation Fellow, an InSITE Fellow and Co-President of the Venture Capital and Private Equity Club. He earned a BSE in Mechanical Engineering with minors in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania where he was awarded the National Science Foundation Fellowship.

Senior Advisor, MBA

Beverly Hills, CA

Arlene specializes in advising entertainment and technology companies exploring or already engaged in the convergence of media and technology. She has more than 25 years of experience in entertainment, new business models, market analysis and emerging technologies. She most recently managed film and television content alliances for Intel. Arlene also has deep expertise in cable TV, mobile delivery platforms, connected consumer electronics devices, and out of home networks.

With her experience in content production, business development, and technology enablement, she offers a unique and valuable perspective on video content exploitation via multiple platforms to multiple devices. Her consulting clients span the spectrum of media players, including production, distribution and financing entities: studios, cable channels, production and post-production companies, VCs, Internet ventures, advertising agencies, and consumer electronics companies. Arlene has helped senior executives develop strategies for entering new markets, craft long-term strategies and retool existing ones to respond to market shifts. She has written marketing plans, financial and investor-oriented business plans, and evaluated media-investment opportunities for VCs.

Before joining Cayenne, Arlene managed film and television content alliances for Intel. Previously, she was Vice President of Programming and Business Development at Columbia TriStar Interactive (now Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment) where she developed and executed the plan for the studio's entry into the online business, including advertiser-supported original content, online games based on studio properties, and promotional sites for the studio's shows, films and videos.

Arlene earned a BA from New York University, a MA from Yale University, and an MBA from Columbia University.

Marty Zwilling - Chief Knowledge Officer

Phoenix, AZ

Marty Zwilling's passion is nurturing the development of entrepreneurs by providing first-hand mentoring, funding assistance, and business plan development.

He writes a daily blog for entrepreneurs, and dispenses advice on the subject of startups to a large online audience of over 235,000 Twitter followers. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Business Insider, and the Huffington Post. He recently released his first book titled "Do You Have What It Takes To Be An Entrepreneur?"

He has a 30-year track record of demonstrated results as an executive in general management, computer software development, product management, and marketing, as well as in leading technical business transformations, conducting due diligence for investors, mentoring new technical executives, and overseeing business development, customer service, and outsourcing both onshore and offshore.

Marty began his career with IBM, holding an array of positions including executive roles in software development and professional services. Prior to launching on his professional path, Marty's education included the attainment of Bachelor of Science Degrees in Accounting and Computer Science from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

A resident of Fountain Hills, Arizona, Marty is a Board Member at Callaman Ventures, on the startup selection committee of the Arizona Angels Venture Group Inc., an advisor to the Arizona State University Technopolis program, Executive in Residence at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and member of the Advisory Boards for several startups in the area.