This Week: October 14 – 20, 2012

3:00 – 5:00 P.M. Kepha Partners Office Hours

Come to office hours with Jo Tango from Kepha Partners. Jo has invested in the e-commerce, search engine, Internet ad network, wireless, supply chain software, storage, database, security, on-line payments and data center virtualization spaces.

3:00 – 5:00 P.M. Bessemer Venture Partners Office Hours 

This week join Steve Kraus of Bessemer Ventures Partners for his office hours. Steve has been actively involved in Bessemer’s investments in Sirtris Pharmaceuticals (acquired by GlaxoSmithKline), Affymax, Aveo, Alnara (acquired by Eli Lilly), Transave and many other biopharmacetical companies. He currently sits on the boards of Verastem, Allena Pharmaceuticals, Alcresta, Ovascience and Liazon and is involved in BVP’s investments in Acceleron and Proteon.

3:00 – 8:00 P.M. Global Cleantech Meetup

The heart of the clean energy revolution resides in Massachusetts and this week’s Global Cleantech Meetup event brings together innovative leaders from across the Commonwealth, the country and the globe to grow businesses, advance technologies and expand the adoption of clean energy sources.

As part of this great event, dozens of cool companies and organizations, from Kendall Square to the Seaport Innovation District, are opening their doors to you on Thursday – including the Venture Café. Spend the day on a self-guided tour visiting open houses at these incredible institutions and get some exercise too!

To learn more about or see the full schedule of the Global Cleantech Meetup, please click here.

4:30 – 5:30 P.M. Placemaking as a Catalyst for Entrepreneurism Discussion

What role does placemaking have in serving as a catalyst for success in an entrepreneurial ecosystem, such as the community being fostered with the City of Boston’s Innovation District initiative? Join Matt Edlen and Jennie Kalberer, members of the development team at Gerding Edlen and Co-founders of HUB/Portland, for a discussion on how place interacts with entrepreneurship. Engage in this dialogue to explore the collaborative and social opportunities to connect and succeed in creating a vibrant community of entrepreneurial living.

5:00 – 7:30 P.M. Russian Startups Demo Night

Would you like to learn more about cutting-edge technologies and innovative ideas that are coming out of Russia? Are you looking for opportunities to build relationships, invest in a Russian startup, or simply meet some Russian entrepreneurs?

Join us for Russian Startups Demo Night hosted by Start Up Access, showcasing 7 Russian early-stage tech startups. This will be an evening of open dialogue with entrepreneurs from all over Russia, including its most remote regions, such as Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirsk. The focus of the companies ranges from the development of innovative on-line tools and technologies in marketing and advertisement, to wireless multimedia services, structural monitoring and building safety and atherosclerosis research. You can learn more about presenting team here.

The program will include elevator pitches by each company, followed by a reception. Please register for this event by following this link.

5:30 – 6:15 P.M. Ideastorm

Ideastorm is a high energy, lightly structured brainstorming event. This week’s challenge question: Exercising Sucks. No matter what playlist we put on our Ipod, how much we pay a personal trainer, or what stylish workout clothes we purchase, going to the gym is still a drag. What technology, products, or services can we create to make workouts feel like playtime. Come by on Thursday and help us figure it out!

6:00 – 7:00 P.M. Accelerating Accelerators: the Sustainability and Scalability of Accelerators

The last few years have seen a dramatic expansion in the number of accelerator programs and exponential rise in those applying to these programs. This has led to several questions about this burgeoning industry of innovation. Is it sustainable? What are the  limits on expansion and what is the best method to grow? Finally, what makes a “good” accelerator and as an  applicant, what should you look for in a program?

Come join us at the Café this Thursday to hear from four different programs as they offer their views on this topic. Allan Tear from Betaspring, Ateet Adhikari from Healthbox, Jeremy Bersin from MassChallenge and Andrew Foote from Village Capital will be holding a roundtable moderated by Mike Norman founder of WeFunder.

We hope you stop by, grab a drink and connect!

See you in the Café,

Pardis