Mission & Approach Building technology companies from scratch is fraught with challenge. Whether it’s internal issues with execution, changing market requirements, or an evolving competitive landscape, it is extremely difficult to scale companies from inception to a positive financial outcome for employees and investors. Some companies find that they are so busy with their near term growth they can't spend the time on strategic options.  Many simply get "stuck" at various points in their evolution. What a high-growth company needs is an advisor to work with both the management team and the investors to help the company successfully navigate these transition points – thereby maximizing the success and value of the business. Companies often need help with the following: Working with the founders to build their company rather than just their product Creating a corporate and business development strategy at each stage of development Objectively identifying problem areas and developing a plan to address them (whether by changes in people, approach, or incremental investment)   Evaluating the true technology assets of a company Re-aligning the product development with the market realities Helping the company see new opportunities given their products, people, customers Confirming the current and potential value of a company's various strategies (including writing fairness opinions) Determining whether to buy, sell, or raise the next round (and making it happen) Engagements can be short or long term; they can span from working on focused projects to becoming an active partner at the board level -- potentially spending several days per week at the company as needed.  The goals of any engagement must be aligned with the employees and investors -- the bottom line is to maximize shareholder value. Mark currently serves on the Boards of Multiverse Networks and TheatreWorks. Why Mark Vershel? Mark Vershel is uniquely qualified to help companies at pivotal transition points.  To successfully advise emerging companies in these critical areas requires an exceptional depth and breadth of expertise – from product development to marketing to sales to venture investing.  His range of experience across all of those functions uniquely positions him to help companies navigate these critical transitions. From Intel to Borland, Red Pepper Software and PeopleSoft, Mark continuously refined his skills in Product Development and General Management.  Later, serving as General Partner at Matrix Partners, he was able to leverage his experience as a senior manager and entrepreneur to help startups get off on the right foot – and scale optimally.  His experience as a founding Managing Director of an M&A firm further augments his ability to advise emerging companies on the best strategies to scale.  It is this depth and breadth of expertise that’s required to truly add value for entrepreneurs and investors. updated: February 2009