fnMentoring: Jacob Mullins, ExitRound

fnMentoring functions accelerate your startup and expand your high-tech network through mentoring sessions with founders and featured guest experts. Functions are free to members but require your RSVP. If you are not a member you can apply here.  Next week’s featured topic & guest will be:

Jacob Mullins, CEO & Founder of ExitRound

Topic Description: ExitRound is a tool for founders to connect with potential buyers for their business. The select set of buyers on Exitround are stringently vetted to ensure they are active buyers at tech startups and/or large technology companies 

Name: Jacob Mullins

Background: Jacob is CEO and Founder of ExitRound, which he started in March of 2013.  Before ExitRound Jacob joined Shasta Ventures in the summer of 2011 bringing with him a wealth of experience from many sides of the modern day startup industry. Before Shasta, Jacob joined Microsoft to help design and launch the BizSpark program, Microsoft’s first initiative tailored specifically for early-stage startups. As US program lead, his focus was working with all constituents of the startup ecosystem, from early-stage incubators, investors, service providers, and more, to help align mutual interests for the startup’s success. At the time of his leaving, BizSpark had over 35,000 members in over 100 countries. Prior to Microsoft, Jacob was the “business guy” at VentureBeat.com leading all non-editorial efforts including revenue generation, advertising relationships and strategic partnerships with companies like The New York Times and IDG. During college, Jacob co-founded a nutraceutical company with significant international operations in South Africa. As CEO, he led this startup to become a publicly traded-OTC company that manufactured and distributed three product lines: a dietary supplement, gum, and energy drink, in retail, online, and direct marketing channels.

Jacob is the co-founder and Chairman of the Beverly Mullins Memorial Scholarship, a scholarship at UC Berkeley that offers financial assistance to non-traditional aged single parents who are defying all obstacles in the pursuit of education. Jacob has a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University.

Company: Exitround is the private, anonymous marketplace for founders to discreetly explore strategic acquisition opportunities. Exitround was created out of the current market need for founders of early stage tech startups to more easily evaluate all of their options when considering the next stage for their business.

Exitround is meant to be a place where founders can discreetly explore their strategic value by talking with potential acquirers. It is also meant to be a resource center to help provide more transparency into the entire acquisition process. There are resources ad nauseam teaching entrepreneurs how to fundraise, but there is very little information about the process, expectations, and potential outcomes of early stage tech startup acquisitions. Exitround will pull the covers off of this entire process through both online and offline content that will help educate founders on what to expect.

Exitround is largely an experiment created by Jacob Mullins, from the acute needs that he has personally seen within the industry today. From his point of view in venture capital, daily does he talk to startups who come pitching me to raise a Series A, and he knows how difficult it is. Daily, does he talk to his own portfolio companies who are simply can’t find enough great people. When actually, there are some incredibly smart people sitting across the table from him every day who could be a perfect addition to these teams. He trying to connect those dots, and in this case, those people, for the betterment of the employees, the investors and the founders.

fnMentoring is on Wednesday, May 22nd beginning at 10:30 am. RSVP  to participate in this event.

If you are a tech startup founder and want to learn more about the benefits of Founders Network please click here.