On 27 April, Varna Free University will host leading names of the Silicon Valley - a historic site in California, where the first computer chip has been created.  World-renowned entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple) and Mark Zuckerberg(Facebook) started their careers there…. Their companies grow and attract huge investments. Some of the experts who will visit Varna Free University have worked for some of these companies.

The event "BEC: Mentors of the Silicon Valley and Bulgarian IT industry", which will be held in Hall 1 of the Academic and Sports complex of VFU "Chernorizets Hrabar" on 27 April  at 17:00 p.m. includes lectures and public discussions on the topics of investments, entrepreneurship, startups and education. The event is an initiative of the University Academic Accelerator, which aims to support the implementation of student entrepreneurial initiatives and the formation of teams for implementation of new businesses.

About the lectures:

Norman Winarsky – Entrepreneurial Mentor & Technology Pioneer

Norman works with entrepreneurs, startups, research institutes, and major companies to create breakthrough ventures or products, and advises them on the framework and practice for successful innovation Norman is past President of SRI Ventures at SRI International, a world-leading research institute founded by Stanford University in 1946. Norman helped create and build companies ranging from artificial intelligence, natural language, and computer vision, to medical devices, robotics, and nanotechnology. He was a co-founder and board member of Siri, which was spun out from SRI in January 2008 and acquired by Apple in April 2010. Siri has become a worldwide phenomenon, establishing the breakthrough market category of virtual personal assistant. He is currently a lecturer at Stanford University, and co-author of “If You Really Want to Change the World; A Guide to Creating, Building, and Sustaining Breakthrough Ventures”, published by Harvard Business Review Press.

Michael Marvin – Venture & Seed Capital Fund Deployment

Mike Marvin has been actively involved in starting and/or growing more than 100 technology companies – and investing in many of them – over the last 30+ years. He was a founder and first CEO of a startup that went public 7 years later and was ultimately sold to a Fortune 500 company. Also, Mike was an adviser to a $1.4 Billion Equity Fund, where he screened the companies to be funded and served on their Boards. He also Founded and helped manage a seed capital fund that invested $10,000 – $100,000 in startup companies concentrated within a 60-mile radius of great universities . Throughout his career, Mike has been a CEO, Chairman of the Board, Board Member, Advisor, and/or an Investor with numerous technology companies located in New York, Florida, Virginia, Connecticut, and Canada. Mike has joined BEC’s April 2017 trip to Bulgaria to talk with business leaders and entrepreneurs, lecturing about how to build effective seed capital funds to connect with US funding resources

Jamie Williams

NFL & Super Bowl Veteran, Holllywood Actor, Entrepreneur

After becoming an All-American Football and Basketball player at Nebraska University, Dr Williams played professional football and earned a NFL XXIV Super Bowl ring with the San Francisco 49ers. Following football, Dr. Williams embarked on a career that included work in the film industry as a writer, director, screenwriter and actor. Jamie is most known for his role as a writer, technical director and actor in Oliver Stone’s Any Given Sunday. Along the way, he achieved both a Masters Degree in MassCommunication and a Doctorate Degree in Education and Leadership. Jamie’s startup, Ymotion, creates everything from commercials, graphic design, music videos, web development, illustration/animation and social media presence.  All of its “creatives” have degrees in Fine Art, and its clients mostly represent Fortune 500 hundred companies. Jamie’s talks target young people who believe that their future can be something other than a predictable path, and that teamwork is the most important platform from which to launch entrepreneurial success.

Larry Biehl, Investment Manager

Since creating Interculture, Inc. (IC) and Interculture Foundation (ICF) in 2008, Larry and his wife, Maggie, have travelled throughout the world to discover ways in which these organizations could fulfil their mission. He is the founder of  the Bulgarian Entrepreneurship Foundation (BEC). Larry has worked as a Financial Advisor and Investment Manager for wealthy individuals for over 40 years, founding Bailard, Biehl & Kaiser, Inc. with two classmates after graduating from the Stanford Business School in 1969. He co-authored two books a college textbook, Personal Money Management, SRI and McMillan, 6 Editions (1972-1990) and self-help book, Personal Profit Series, Dow Jones (1976-1977). Larry has experience working with many non-profit organizations: Alister MacKenzie Foundation, Heart to Heart Foundation, Esalen Institute’s Project for Economic Growth (Russia), Western Folklife Center, American Prairie Foundation, and the da Vinci Society.

Bogomil Balkansky Vice President, Google – Stealth Mode Tech Entrepreneur

Bogomil Balkansky is one of the most successful Bulgarians in the Silicon Valley. He achieved a remarkable career in VMware - a global leader in software solutions for virtualization and cloud infrastructures. The company is one of the fastest growing software companies based in the Silicon Valley with offices throughout the world. Balkansky holds a bachelor of arts in mathematics from Cornell University and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. He will share his experience and will talk about how to build up a successful career in the Silicon Valley, what qualities and skills someone has to possess to succeed and how Bulgarian companies can apply for funding.

Dafina Toncheva Partner, US Venture Partners – Tech Investor

Dafina Toncheva is clearly a shining example of a successful entrepreneur. Currently, she is Partner at US Venture Partners (USVP) in Silicon Valley, where she specializes in technology investing. Her history is most amazing. At 18 years old, she came to the US from Bulgaria to attend Harvard on a scholarship (after applying to 50 schools and receiving letters of acceptance to 13). She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University with a BS in Computer Science; then went on to earn her MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. After school, but before she became a venture capitalist, Dafina held positions in development and product management at Microsoft, where she focused on authentication systems, digital signatures and business workflow. Dafina is working with the Bulgarian Entrepreneurship Center (BEC) to develop an entrepreneurship curriculum and, among other things, visited Bulgaria in to deliver “Follow Your Passion” talks/workshops to students to encourage them to expand their “realm of the possible”.

Vasil Terziev is a known name in the IT sector - co-founder and CEO of Telerik. He plays a key role in the successful expansion of the company - from a startup in Bulgaria in 2002 to a leading global provider of software solutions for businesses. Following the takeover of Telerik by Progress in 2014, Terziev takes over the office of Director-General of Innovations. In this position he is in charge of the long-term growth strategy of Progress, identification of  new markets and development of innovations. He will tell the story of one of the most successful Bulgarian tech businesses and will motivate young entrepreneurs.

The event is free of charge and is intended for business people, entrepreneurs, investors, academics and students.