Stradling’s Entrepreneur Spotlight Series: James Citron

On May 16th, Stradling will be hosting an Entrepreneur Spotlight Series in our Santa Monica office, featuring a fireside chat with serial entrepreneur and CEO of Pledgeling, James Citron, and Stradling Shareholder Ryan Azlein. Topics covered will include how to attract venture capital investors at various stages, who are the right investors, when is the right time to sell your company, and social entrepreneurship and the VC world.

Speakers

James Citron: James is a serial mobile and social entrepreneur committed to harnessing the power of exponential technology to create a more connected, healthy and sustainable planet. As the Chief Executive Officer of Pledgeling, James leads the strategic vision and organizational growth of the company, which today is one of the most widely used corporate giving and social impact platforms in the United States powering corporate social responsibility, employee giving and cause marketing programs for over 3,500 companies and benefiting over 1 million nonprofits globally.

Prior to Pledgeling, James built and ran three of the largest text messaging companies in the industry, which engaged 1 of 2 Americans on mobile and engaged over 500 million people globally. It was during this time that James discovered the disruptive power of exponential technology to change lives as his platform delivered billions of text messages on behalf of Presidents, governments, tens of thousands of companies and nonprofits using the power of mobile to save lives. James led two of those companies to acquisitions by Silver Lake and Blackstone private equity-owned companies and the third continues as one of the leading companies in its industry.

Ryan Azlein: Ryan is a shareholder in Stradling’s corporate practice group. His practice concentrates on venture capital and corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, equity and executive compensation matters, intellectual property development and licensing arrangements, SEC reporting and disclosure, public and private securities offerings, complex partnering arrangements, and general corporate matters. Ryan advises a wide range of both private and public clients, focusing on emerging growth, development stage and middle-market companies, as well as the venture capital firms, angel investors and strategic investors that invest in these types of companies.

Ryan is actively involved in the Southern California emerging company and venture capital community, and he regularly lectures to entrepreneurs, peer groups and students on various topics, including venture capital financing and issues faced by emerging growth companies.

About
Stradling's Entrepreneur Spotlight Series highlights thought leaders in the community and provides a forum for technology company founders, capital providers, and industry experts to share best practices and ask questions during a collaborative session.