ABOUT US
George Kenney
Founder & Managing Partner
George Kenney is founder and Managing Director of Shepherd Ventures, a successful Tech, SW and Life Sciences Fund. George has a strong technical background combined with extensive Wall Street and financial industry experience. As a catalyst for change, he has invented many technical and financial products. George founded 5 companies, 4 of which were successful. He has syndicated many debt and equity financings for a broad range of technology and financial companies. George runs an Entrepreneur’s Boot Camp with 30+ certified graduate CEOs.
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Before forming Shepherd Ventures, George was CTO and Partner at Nicholas-Applegate, a money management firm in San Diego, where he directed technology and operations to grow and sell the company. Prior to Nicholas-Applegate, George was a Managing Director at Kidder Peabody in New York City, becoming an expert in Investment Risk Management. Previously he held top positions at Swiss Bank, Salomon Brothers, American Stock Exchange, North American Philips and five start-ups. George holds numerous US and foreign patents.
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George holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia, an MSEE from Stanford and a BSEE from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Additionally, he is a Graduate of Harvard’s Industrial Management Program. George served as Trustee of the San Diego Pension Board (SDCERS) with $9 billion in AUM. He has served as a Trustee for the San Diego Museum of Art and as pro-bono Chairman of the Museum's Investment Committee. He has also served on the Board of Governors of the National Association of Small Business Investment Companies and is currently a board member of several technology companies.
WHAT WE OFFER
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Most CEOs fail to raise money because they think is it a logical process. Unfortunately, raising money is 90% emotional because investors fear losing money and they do not trust CEOs. The skills and knowledge required to raise money are very different from building a successful company. CEOs know how to sell their product to customers, but selling to investors is drastically different and not all that logical. Most (99%) startup CEOs do it wrong and fail to raise funds.
We show CEOs how to excite investors and mitigate their fears by selling trust.
Entrepreneur’s Boot Camp is an intensive 8-week program that prepares entrepreneurs to raise funds. We have helped over 30 companies with many different businesses. Over half of our graduates raise money!
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We answer the following mysteries:
★ Why is it so hard for me to raise money?
★ How come only 1% of companies get funded by VC’s?
★ Hack investors' brains- overcome their fears!
★ Does my messaging fail the Kleiner and Viral tests?
★ Am I selling the wrong thing to investors?
★ Why are focus groups essential to raising money?
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You’ll learn how to accelerate your fundraising, and receive detailed advice on what to do (and what not to do) when you are trying to raise money. You’ll also have the unique opportunity to go behind-the-scenes with key players in the field with exclusive pitch decks from the startups that succeeded in raising money. We help you fund your dreams!
BOOTCAMP AND SHEPHERD VENTURES
Boot Camp helps CEOs remove funding roadblocks by overcoming investors' fears. The Startup Funding Boot Camp Program was developed by George Kenney, the founder of Shepherd Ventures. Shepherd Ventures (www.shepherdventures.com) is a venture capital fund in information technology and life sciences.
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We are seasoned venture capitalists, successful entrepreneurs and senior-level operating executives. We add value with hands-on mentoring by providing extensive operating experience and strategic partnerships that lead to successful funding.
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