David Hessler, Entrepreneur-in-Residence

David Hessler joined High Tech Rochester as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence in the summer of 2003 with a specialty in entrepreneurial finance, capital strategy, and deal structure. He is an entrepreneurial business executive experienced in both operating management and in private equity financing. David has management experience in both large and small technology businesses, including as CEO and business owner. In addition, he has financing transactional experience as a principal of a small venture capital fund and as Managing Director of two middle market investment banking firms. From 1986 to 1996, David was Chairman, CEO and owner of Information Transfer Inc., a privately-held manufacturer of defense electronic equipment.

Prior to investing in ITI, David was co-manager responsible for investing a small venture capital fund in six early stage entrepreneurial companies. In this capacity he performed due diligence evaluations and the pricing, structuring, and negotiation of the investment instruments. David evaluated over 100 prospective investment opportunities.

His corporate background includes twelve “fast track” years in a variety of increasingly-responsible positions in many phases of strategic, financial and product planning at Xerox Corporation during a period of dynamic growth.

Since the time of his management of a venture fund and of running his own entrepreneurial company, David has been a recognized leader in the regional new business/entrepreneurial community. He has:

• Prepared business plans for several Kodak internal ventures seeking corporate
  funding as “spin outs”.
• Served as interim CEO of a privately-held manufacturer of products for Harley
  Davidson motorcycles.
• Served as financial advisor and mentor to hundreds of early stage companies seeking
  growth capital.
• Taught entrepreneurship in an adjunct capacity at both Rochester Institute of
  Technology and the Simon Business School of the University of Rochester.

In all of these roles, he has been intimately involved in preparing and reviewing technology business plans.

David holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University; an MS in Engineering from the University of Michigan; and an MBA (with honors) from the University of Michigan. He received additional training at the NASBIC Venture Capital Training Institute, and the Xerox/Harvard Executive Program (Exeter).  He has held National Assoc. of Securities Dealers (NASD) Series 63, Series 7, and Series 24 securities licenses.

In his community, David is a founding member of the Rochester Venture Capital Group and the Rochester Angel Network; served as a Delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business, and serves on the Boards of several Rochester, New York non-profit organizations.

Email David Hessler or call him at 585-214-2445.