Cahit Akin – A Venture Capitalist/Entrepreneur Talks about Starting and Growing Technology Companies

Dr. Cahit Akin, former venture partner at ITU Ventures and co-founder and CEO of Mushroom Networks Inc., will share his experiences and insights about starting and growing technology companies from perspectives of a venture capitalist and an entrepreneur. He will talk about key lessons learned about building a winning team, creating a successful product portfolio and the path from the first customer to "hockey-stick" revenue growth.
Before co-founding Mushroom Networks, Dr. Cahit Akin was a venture partner at ITU Ventures, the venture capital arm of Brownstein Schnel Holdings. Dr. Akin also worked as a senior marketing consultant at Princeton Brand Econometrics, managed the Cal-IT2 Adaptive Systems Laboratory, a $12 million project which spun off two venture-backed companies, and founded Respectrum.

Dr. Akin has worked on the technical and research aspects of communications for over 15 years and holds several patents. Dr. Akin was a Most Admired CEO nominee by the San Diego Business Journal, a recipient of the NATO Graduate Study Scholarship, and a team member of the 1993 International Mathematics Olympiad.

Along with three University of Michigan degrees, Dr. Akin holds a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Bilkent University.