1. 1. Vita W. Douglas Young, Co- founder The Strategic Advisory Group Mr. Young spent the last thirty years as a serial entrepreneur, founding thirteen companies, leading twelve through successful exits. Each company implemented an exit strategy that targeted Fortune 100/500 corporations and publically traded companies to be acquisition candidates. During this same period, Mr. Young made fourteen strategic acquisitions to complement growth strategies for the portfolio of companies he founded. From these initiatives, Mr. Young identified the strategies integral to experiencing rapid growth, strategic positioning, and successful exits uniquely for each portfolio company. Mr. Youngs unique background as a serial entrepreneur illustrates through his passion for providing counsel and advice to business executives in the development of sound business strategies for growth and successful exits. His experience in entrepreneurial initiatives, large-scale revenue ramp up, and strategic corporate structures provide sound strategic planning and advice to entrepreneurs and business executives. Mr. Young has extensive experience in: Entrepreneurial start-ups Seed and angel funding strategies for early and mid-stage companies Negotiation strategies in large contracts and acquisitions Joint venture and partnership strategies Creating and leveraging disruptive technologies that level the playing field for medium to large corporations Corporate strategies and product positioning that maximizes shareholder value Negotiating multi-million dollar licenses and service agreements Term sheet creation and review of investment strategies Access to top level development and management personnel
2. 2. Operational experience in growing a company from two employees to more than a thousand. Exit strategies that incorporate asset, stock purchase, and merger agreements Corporate governance and organization strategies Broad knowledge of corporate documents, including Incorporation models including operating agreements, subscription agreements, and Board Governance Intellectual property and licensing agreements IP assignment and transfer agreements Stock plans including option and warrant agreements Mr. Young identified early on the strategies that were integral to effect rapid growth and successful exits for early to mid-stage companies. Mr. Youngs unique background as a serial entrepreneur illustrates through his service and passion for providing quality advice and counsel to executives. Examples of Mr. Youngs entrepreneurial experience: Sensory Analytics, Inc. - Co-founder and Chairman In 2004, Mr. Young co-founded Sensory Analytics, LLC (SA), an optics technology company providing software technology and systems for use in measuring the thickness of a wide array of wet and dry coatings. Sensory Analytics reach extends from Asia to Europe. The company was awarded Product of the Year in industrial coatings in both the US and Asian markets. Mr. Young currently serves as Sensory Analytics Chairman and remains a major shareholder of the company. Sensory Analytics, LLC has emerged as the leader in advanced coating and film measurement solutions for manufacturers. The Companys innovative lines of SpecMetrix non-
3. 3. contact measurement systems are actively used by global manufacturers to measure, at the nanometer scale, wet and dry coatings on a wide variety of substrates and end-products. Sensory customers use SpecMetrix tools to measure new environmentally preferred layers within metal packaging, aerospace, medical, industrial and coated film applications.Sensoryanalytics.com In 2003, Mr. Young co-founded Live Cargo, Inc., an Internet security, cloud storage and data management technology company. Live Cargo, Inc. had a portfolio of patents and patents-pending focused on the methodology of storage, retrieval and delivery of secure documents, multi-media files and digital content over broadband and wireless networks. LiveCargos software facilitated consumers and corporate users to store, manage, share and collaborate on digital photos, videos, documents, scanned images, and music, all of which refer to User Generated Content (UGC). The software uses any mobile phone or tablet that supports access to the Internet, including a PC and IPTV. Live Cargos software equips service providers (Telcos, Cable Operators) with a solution for an integrated cloud storage and media streaming service for their end users. Mr. Young served as CEO and Chairman of Live Cargo until 2009 when he acquired all of the Companys Intellectual Property.
4. 4. Prior to Live Cargo, Mr. Young was founder and CEO of GuardiaNet Systems, Inc. (GSI), an Internet access management, smart card and encryption technology company focused on public libraries and universities. The Company was recognized as the premier solutions provider for secure Internet access, management, e-purse and personalization of shared public resources. GSIs strategic advantage, including 3M Corporation, precipitated in the sale of the Company GSI to 3M Corporation in April, 2003. Mr. Young brought considerable experience to GSI having founded and sold multiple companies during the previous twenty years. http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/library- systems-NA/library-technologies/library-resources/library-system-information- documents/ In 2001, Mr. Young was hired by EdGate.com, a K-12 education portal, to restructure and reposition the company for sale. He completed a pre-packaged court sale to a venture capital firm in Dallas, Texas that enabled the company to emerge in December 2001 as a debt free operating company. EdGate.com is the leading provider of localized student competency standards and high quality, targeted resources required to teach the standards in the K-12 education market. The Companys core product, the Copernicus Curriculum Matrix (the Matrix), is an object-oriented database that includes local and state standards and assessments with correlated achievement tools, including thousands of lesson resources. The Matrix is the only product offering in the marketplace built from the educational standard object level. Therefore, it is uniquely searchable, scalable and customizable at the state, district, school or class level. www.edgate.com/
5. 5. Early in 1997, Mr. Young left MCI to focus on the rapid growth of CI Impressions, Inc., a company he and two other investors formed in 1993 as one of Image Technologys start-up business units. CI, Impressions, Inc. (CI) developed e-commerce, smart card and digital photography applications targeting the K-12 school and Christian markets. Mr. Young sold CI Impressions to Landmark Communications Inc. (The Weather Channel) in 1999. He then acquired 20% of the company so that he and Landmark Communications could form a new company called Landmark Community Interests (LCI). LCI grew in revenue from approximately $ 3 million in 1996 to annual revenues in excess of $28 million in 1998. Due to the rapid growth in the companys Internet business unit, Mr. Young divided LCI into two companies and acquired Landmark Communications interest in the Internet business known as OnePlace.com. The business evolved into an Internet portal, Internet radio, and e-commerce Company. Shortly after that, Mr. Young was approached by Prudential Securities on behalf of Salem Communications, the eighth largest US radio network based in California, effect a strategy to take Salem Communications public. OnePlace.com subsequently sold to Salem Communications in January 1999. Within twelve months from the acquisition, Arbitron listed OnePlace.com as the 5th largest Christian Internet broadcaster in the world. In 1987, Mr. Young founded Image Technology, Inc. (ITI) and served as its CEO and Chairman until the company was sold to MCI Telecommunications in 1995. Image Technology experienced significant growth and quickly grew to become a company employing more than five hundred people (500). In 1995, Harvard Business School prepared a case study on Image Technology and used it in a course entitled Managing in the MarketSpace. As a result of the unique and patented digital imaging, database publishing and on-line technologies within Image Technology, Mr. Young received interest from both US West and MCI Telecommunications. In 1994, Image Technology developed the interactive shopping and mobile network kiosk
6. 6. systems for US West branded City Key. Due to the strategic nature of Image Technologys patents, US West purchased an option to acquire a 10% equity stake in the company. Similarly, ITIs patented digital imaging and e-commerce technology appealed to MCI Telecommunications and was adopted by campusMCI and networkMCI, each Division of MCI Telecommunications. In 1995, MCI Telecommunications acquired both Image Technology and the Advanced MediaGraphics Center. Mr. Young became president of a.k.a. Image Technology, the MCI business unit responsible for the development and implementation of MCIs Internet strategy. Within 90 days from MCIs acquisition, Image Technology sold a single license of its e-commerce technology for $50 million and secured a five-year exclusive contract with the State of New York representing all of its university and community college system. The contract utilized Image Technologys smart card technology and MCIs telecommunication network. The contract was in partnership with Citi Corp and represented revenue of more than $1 billion. MCI corporate logo before WorldCom merger MCI Communications Corp. was an American telecommunications company that was instrumental in legal and regulatory changes that led to the breakup of the AT&T monopoly of American telephony and ushered in the competitive long-distance telephone industry. It was headquartered in Washington, D.C.[1] Founded in 1963, it grew to be the second-largest long-distance provider in the U.S. It was purchased by WorldCom in 1998 and became MCI WorldCom,with the name afterward being shortened to WorldCom in 2000. WorldCom's financial scandals and bankruptcy led that company to change its name in 2003 to MCI Inc. The MCI name disappeared in January 2006 after the company was bought by Verizon. As of May 2011, the MCI trademark is still maintained on MCI.com and on a sub-page of Verizon.com, while the name of one of its former long distance plans, Friends & Family, is maintained as a Verizon Wireless service offering. Mr. Young has a degree in Physics from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. He served on various boards including the University of North
7. 7. Carolinas Excellence Foundation, the College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Board, UNC-Gs Bryan School of Business Advisory Board, member of the University of North Carolina Finance Committee, and serves as member of the LAAPhysics board. Mr. Young was also a member of the Piedmont Angel Network One and Two (PAN I & II) and the Inception Micro Angel Fund (IMAF). Mr. Young served as board member and Executive Committee Member of the Piedmont Triad Entrepreneur Network (PTEN) and served as director on the board of Bright View Technologies, Inc., a rear screen projection technology company located in the Research Triangle Park, and Sensory Analytics. Mr. Young was nominated twice for North Carolinas Entrepreneur of The Year in 1995 and 1996 and was a finalist in 1996.