Welcome to the My High Tech Startup blog!
These writings are meant to provide some information (and occasionally an insight or two) to individuals involved in the entrepreneurial world. Entrepreneurs, investors, techies, inventors, lawyers, accountants, futurists, bankers, candlestick makers, lovers, fighters, Olympians and anyone else who stumbles across this page wondering where to find Seattle on a map may find this useful. The blog will cover topics ranging from legal issues faced by startups to trends in venture capital to a sense of the Seattle entrepreneurial community to my own personal interests in technologies or life. If there is something that you’d like to see or a question you’d like me to try and answer, just let me know. I’ll do my best.
You’ll see some great cartoon images here on the site. Thanks to Kansas City artist Travis Fox who drew the images you see here and provided the images in the book.
I’ve also written two books designed to help entrepreneurs and startups. Both are great resources you can pick up at Amazon. All the proceeds benefit two great nonprofit organizations: Kiva and Startup Weekend. Check them both out and get involved!
What Every Engineer Should Know About Starting a High Tech Business Venture
That’s the title of a book I’ve written (yes, it is a bit long, but it is part of a series… so think “Starting a High Tech Business Venture” for short. This website also contains previews of chapters of the book, documents you can download that are referenced in the book, and information I would have liked to cover, but there just wasn’t enough room. I may be biased, but I think the book is a good resource and hopefully, in conjunction with this website, becomes an even better one.
Green Entrepreneur Handbook
This book comes out in November 2010 and is designed as a one-stop resource for any entrepreneurs, startups, technologists, executives or managers that have considered starting a green business or want to think about how their business can be more green and clean. You can purchase the book here or visit the site GREENtrepreneur.org for more details, information and updates.
The formal bio
Eric A. Koester is VP of Operations and General Counsel at Appature Inc., a technology company providing relationship marketing software, and a former attorney at Cooley LLP (previously with Heller Ehrman LLP’s Venture Law Group) with a practice focused on emerging technology companies, venture capital firms and investment banks, with particular emphases on venture capital and bank financings, corporate partnerships, commercial agreements, intellectual property licensing, public offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. Eric is a graduate of the business school at Marquette University and a graduate of The George Washington University School of Law. Eric is also a certified public accountant. He’s also proud to be an entrepreneur as well, starting a consulting business MEGO Consulting, Learn That Name (which was acquired by Gist) and App&Seek.
Prior to joining Heller Ehrman, Eric held financial and accounting-related positions at Morgan Stanley and Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. While attending law school, Eric held positions in the Enforcement Division of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) (formerly NASD, Inc.) assisting with ongoing securities industry enforcement proceedings, as a Summer Associate at the Government Accountability Office in Washington, D.C., and in the legal department of the Health Industry Group Purchasing Association (HIGPA) focusing on issues of antitrust in the healthcare contracting industry.
Eric is married to Allison Koester, a PhD candidate in Accountancy at the University of Washington. They have two pugs, Bailey and Riley. Eric loves to travel and his lifelong goal is to make it to all 100 of the Hillman Wonders of the World. So far, 43 down… lots to go.
For more about me, you can also visit my LinkedIn page here.
