Speaker: Merrick Furst, Distinguished Professor, School of Computer Science, Georgia Institute of Technology

Flashpoint is unique in implementing startup engineering, a business creation and innovation process developed by Dr. Merrick Furst at Georgia Tech. Flashpoint works closely with founders to enable them to think clearly about their businesses. It is unique in implementing startup engineering, a business creation and innovation process developed by Dr. Merrick Furst at Georgia Tech. Its companies have attracted more than 150 MM in commitments from angels and investors, and have a market cap of over 500 MM.

Bio:

Merrick is the founder of Georgia Tech’s Flashpoint, a first-of-its-kind startup engineering studio that develops and produces exceptional technology startup companies. He is Georgia Institute of Technology’s first “distinguished professor of computing”. The GT “Threads” program in the College of Computing was his creation, and he is one of the three producers of The InVenture Prize, a live-broadcast tv show that NPR describes as American Idol for Nerds. Merrick is a co-founder of the internet security firm Damballa and is an early-stage fund investor. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, Merrick was the founder and CEO of Essential Surfing Gear, an internet software company, which was acquired in 2000. At the University of California at Berkeley he served as president and director of the International Computer Science Institute, and he established its Center for Internet Research. Prior to Berkeley, Merrick was a professor and associate dean in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. Merrick is an inventor, recipient of the first Presidential Young Investigator Award in computer science, and early creator electronic post-it notes, which were best-sellers on PCs.