Résumé
BRUCE S. MAXWELL
8745 Center Grove Church Road
Clemmons, NC 27012
Cell: (336) 302-2402
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Senior executive with three decades of CEO, COO, and CFO experience
- Assisted in organizing, launching, and funding over 150 startups to date, mainly in Silicon Valley, but also as far afield as Tokyo, Hong Kong, and London.
- Deep experience in raising Angels and Venture Capital, personally inked over $90 million to date.
- Portfolio CEO for Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia, Menlo Ventures, and others.
- Three decades of experience in the high-tech sector; direct experience in the software, Internet, telecommunications, and semiconductor industries
- Strong, hands-on, operational experience managing complex startups
- Excellent presentation and writing skills
- Expert at creating business models and revenue opportunities
- Passionate advocate for the creation of a positive corporate culture.
EXPERIENCE:
10/16-Present Maxwell Consulting, Winston-Salem, NC. Principal
Specialist in getting companies organized and funded. Typically operate as a Fractional CFO, but my skillset encompasses every executive role in the business. Define go-to-market strategies. Validate markets and business models. Develop detailed business simulations and financial projections. Write business plans and pitch deck. Take clients to Angels and VCs in search of funding. Clients include Live Furnish (3D Visualization), Freeman Capital (Robo Advisor), Wellnecity (Healthcare Big Data), and Village Juice (Quick Serve Restaurants).
12/10-9/16 Elastrix, LLC, Pilot Mountain, NC. CEO
Co-founded Elastrix to manufacture raw materials for the rubber molding industry, using scrap tires as our primary feedstock. The company operated a 100,000 square foot factory utilizing a proprietary technology that provided a substantial cost advantage in manufacturing engineered polymers while producing no polluting emissions. Raised $4.25 million in equity and $4 million in debt. Shut company down when the collapse of oil prices caused rubber prices to drop from $2.60 a pound to $0.60 a pound, eliminating recycling as a viable business.
11/06-12/09 Maxwell Consulting, Los Gatos, CA. Principal
Specialist in getting companies organized and funded. Clients included Deskstream (Virtual Desktop Software), GoAnimate (Consumer Animation Website) Juice Wireless (Mobile Social Networking), Precigeo (Aerial Photography Data Analysis), and Emanio (Decision Support Software).
5/06-10/06 Volantis Systems, Ltd. Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom. CFO
Joined this 160-person wireless web software company at the request of its CEO (the former CEO of Lineo) just weeks before the funds from its last venture round were exhausted. The company had extremely sophisticated software to optimize the display of websites across thousands of mobile devices. Arranged a series of bridge loans from existing investors, managed a very tight cash situation, analyzed corporate and product line cost structures, and realigned product pricing. Constructed business case models for our major media prospects and got heavily involved in sales pitches, pricing, and contract negotiations.
10/01-4/06 Maxwell Consulting, Los Gatos, CA. Principal
Specialist in getting companies organized and funded. Clients include Freescale (Chip Technology), Volantis (Wireless Web Software), Dragnet Solutions (Bank Security Software), and Arcturus Networks (Wireless LAN Software). Venture Capital clients include J&W Seligman and Outlook Ventures.
4/01-9/01 Lineo, Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah. CFO
Joined this 340-person software developer of Linux-based OS at the request of its largest investor. My primary mission was to secure another round of funding. Raised $20 million in August 2001 from a combination of venture investors, Sun Microsystems, and Hitachi. Led two difficult restructurings effecting a 66% reduction in headcount and a major change in strategy. Put myself at the top of the list for the last layoff to drive home the necessity of cutting the burn rate.
2/00–3/01 Multitude, Inc. (DBA Firetalk), San Francisco, CA. CFO & VP Strategy
Joined this 120-person Internet Telecommunication services firm as VP Strategy. Led drive to move from a B-to-C business model to a B-to-B model. Took over CFO role three months after arriving. The company did not survive the dot.com crash. Managed a soft close of operations.
2/98-1/00 Maxwell Consulting, Boulder Creek, CA. Principal
Specialist in getting companies organized and funded. Typically operated as interim CEO, COO or CFO. Worked with clients to validate markets and business models and develop detailed operating plans and financial projections. Wrote business plans and PowerPoint pitches. Took clients to VCs and Angels in search of funding. Also assisted VCs in due diligence and problem-solving at portfolio companies. Clients included Sensory, Crossover Technologies, and Deep Blue Dreams.
1/92–1/98 Positive Communications, Inc., Pleasanton, CA. CEO & Chairman
Started this company to distribute pagers and paging services to the U.S. consumer market. Raised $48 million from angel and venture sources. Constructed a unique virtual network to provide paging services in every state in the nation by reselling airtime from over 260 different networks interconnected through a central activation system. Developed national distribution through more than 3,000 retail outlets, including Circuit City, Staples, Home Depot, and Macy's. Grew company to $40 million in annual sales, 350 employees, and sold over a million pagers. Served as CFO, 1992, CEO, 1993-1994, Executive Chairman, 1994-1998.
2/91-11/91 Voysys Corp., San Jose, CA. Product Manager
Developed and brought to market a new line of voice mail servers. Responsible for design specifications, project management, pricing, and product launch.
1/90–11/90 AT&E Corp., San Francisco, CA. Manager, Market Planning
Developed marketing plans and forecasts for a high-tech startup launching a frequency-agile wristwatch pager into the consumer market.
1988-1989 The Gartner Group, Stamford, CT. Consultant
Independent consultant to The Gartner Group for the design and development of a global on-line document search and retrieval service.
1982-1986 Chemical Bank, New York, NY. Special Projects Manager
Planned and managed special projects to support commercial lending & operations. Won budgets up to $1 million per project, created project teams, and managed systems design and implementation. Developed Chemical's first account-level P&L reporting system for its top 1,000 multinational accounts.
1981 Simulations Publications, Inc., New York, NY. Designer
Created military simulations for defense agencies and the hobby market.
EDUCATION:
Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
MBA, June 1988. Arjay Miller Scholar.
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA.
BA, History, June 1980. High Honors, Phi Beta Kappa.
OTHER:
2002 Screening Committee, East Bay Venture Forum
Managed deal flow, screening, coaching, and operations for a forum bringing startups and investors together for company presentations.
1997-2000 St. Mary’s College, Moraga, CA.
Co-taught Entrepreneurship course in the M.B.A. program.