January 18, 2002

Contact:
Sarah Ray
802-443-5794
sray@middlebury.edu
Posted: January 18, 2002

MIDDLEBURY,
VT -Middlebury
College will provide students and the public with a current
snapshot of the technology industry when it hosts a
conference on Jan. 26-27 titled “DigitalBridges2002: What
Worked? What Didn’t? Why?” Dot-com presidents, venture
capitalists, journalists and others will participate in a
series of seven panels on topics ranging from the future of
the industry and funding to entrepreneurship and
marketing.

Panelists
will include Rich Tarrant, Jr., founder and chief executive
officer of MyWebGrocer.com, a New York-based online grocery
service, and the son of the IDX co-founder by the same name;
Bill Bishop, executive vice president of CBS
MarketWatch.com, a San Francisco-based online financial news
service; and Frank Sesno, former CNN Washington bureau
chief. Local business and media figures, such as Vermont
Teddy Bear President Liz Robert and WCAX-TV News Director
Marcelis Parsons, will also participate.

All
events will take place in Room 216 of Bicentennial Hall on
Bicentennial Way off College Street (Route 125), and are
free and open to the public.

The
two-day conference was organized by Michael Claudon,
Middlebury College David K. Smith Professor of Economics, in
conjunction with the course he is currently teaching during
January term, “DigitalBridges2002.” Claudon, who wants to
encourage participation by the students and the public,
said, “At all of these panels, we will welcome questions
from the audience and encourage everyone to engage in the
discussion.”

The
keynote event of the conference is a “town meeting” that
will take place from 6-7:15 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26, and
is titled “Dot.future-New Technologies, Tomorrow’s Internet
and Us.” Moderated by Sesno, it will include Jeffrey Schutz,
managing director of the Denver-based Centennial Ventures;
Sean Durkin, founder of Burlington-based MassMobile, a
wireless software company; and Carol Moore, executive
consultant of marketing and new technologies in the strategy
and change consulting division of IBM’s Amsterdam
office.

Dot-com
conference to examine technology industry Jan. 26-27/Page
2
The first panel of the conference on Saturday morning, “Pure
Online Plays Dropped the Dot.Bomb-Who’s Left in the
Rubble?,” will begin at 8:45 a.m. and will include Pieter
Schiller, a general partner in the Boston office of Advanced
Technology Ventures, which handled Petstore.com’s initial
public offering. Ted Adler, founder and chief executive
officer of collegeXTRA.com, a Burlington-based creator of
Web sites for small businesses and college towns, Rich
Tarrant, Jr., of MyWebGrocer.com, and Neil Johnson, founder
of Mass.-based Cadent.com, an Internet company that offers
Web sites, data systems and other services, will also
participate.

From
10:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m., a panel titled “To Dot.com or Not to
Dot.com-Redefining the Rules for Adding Clicks to Bricks?”
will discuss what takes place when traditional companies
expand sales opportunities by adding an Internet presence.
Taking part in this panel will be Liz Robert of Vermont
Teddy Bear; Wing Pepper, vice president of marketing
strategy at Modem Media, a Norwalk, Conn.-based marketing
firm with clients such as General Motors; Kate Welch,
business development specialist at Colorado-based mWired, an
information technology service; and Carole Moore of
IBM.

“After
the Bust-Have the Fundamentals of Early-Stage
Entrepreneurship Changed?” will be the topic of the next
panel from 1:30-2:45 p.m. Don Spero, director of the Dingman
Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland,
will join in a discussion with Rory Riggs, president of
Biomatrix until it was bought by Genzyme Biosurgery in
December 2000; John Bohan, president and chief executive
officer of L90, which provides online advertising and direct
marketing for advertisers and Web publishers; and Cairn
Cross, a partner in FreshTracks Capital, a Middlebury-based
venture capital firm.

Several
partners in venture capital firms will discuss “Venture
Capital Winners and Losers-Post-Dot.bomb, Fundamentals
Reign” from 3-4:30 p.m. Peter Campbell of New York-based
Generation Partners, Jeffrey Schutz of Centennial Ventures,
and Lindsay Jones of Boston-based Advent International will
serve as panelists.

After
the keynote event on Saturday evening, the conference will
continue on Sunday, Jan. 27 from 8:30-10:30 a.m. with a
discussion about “Online Campaigning: Assessing Strategies,
Models and Techniques.” J.J. Gilmartin, consulting director
of circle.com, an online marketing firm based in Wilton,
Conn., Wing Pepper of ModemMedia, John Bohan of L90, and
Sean Durkin of MassMobile will serve as
panelists.

The
conference will conclude with a panel titled “Special
Report: News Goes Digital” from 10:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Sesno
will join Marselis Parsons of WCAX-TV, Bill Bishop of CBS
MarketWatch.com, and Tim Clemens, state editor of the
Rutland Herald, for this event.

Dot-com
conference to examine technology industry Jan. 26-27/Page
3
For more information, contact Serena Peck of Middlebury
College at 802-443-5435 or visit the Web site maintained by
Claudon’s class, http://www.digitalbridges20.net/,
where the full conference proceedings and student-authored
reports on each of the panel topics will be available for
viewing following the conference.
To follow are events calendar listings:
“DigitalBridges2002-What worked? What Didn’t? Why?”
A Technology Conference Featuring Seven Panels
January 26-27

Saturday,
Jan. 26
8:45-10:30 a.m.
“Pure Online Plays Dropped the Dot.Bomb-Who’s Left in the
Rubble?”
Pieter Schiller, Partner, Advanced Technology Capital
Ted Adler, Founder and CEO, CollegeXTRA.com
Rich Tarrant, Jr., Founder and CEO, MyWebGrocer.com
Neil Johnson, Founder, Cadent.com

10:45
a.m.-12:30 p.m.
“To Dot.com or Not to Dot.com-Redefining the Rules for
Adding Clicks to Bricks?”
Elisabeth Robert, President, The Vermont Teddy Bear
Company
Wing Pepper, Vice President of Marketing Strategy, Modem
Media
Kate Welch, Business Development Specialist, mWired
Carol Moore, Executive Consultant, Marketing and New
Technologies, IBM
Global Services

1:30-2:45
p.m.
“After the Bust-Have the Fundamentals of Early-Stage
Entrepreneurship Changed?”
Don Spero, Director, Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship,
University of
Maryland
Rory Riggs, Former President, Biomatrix
John Bohan, President and CEO, L90
Cairn Cross, Partner, FreshTracks Capital

3-4:30
p.m.
“Venture Capital Winners and Losers-Post-Dot.bomb,
Fundamentals Reign”
Peter Campbell, Partner, Generation Partners
Jeffrey Schutz, Partner, Centennial Ventures
Lindsay Jones, Partner, Advent International.

6-7:15
p.m.
“Dot.future-New Technologies, Tomorrow’s Internet and
Us”
Frank Sesno, Former Washington Bureau Chief, CNN
Jeffrey Schutz, Managing Director, Centennial Ventures
Sean Durkin, Founder, MassMobile
Carol Moore, Executive Consultant, Marketing and New
Technologies, IBM
Global Services

Sunday,
Jan. 27

8:30-10:30
a.m.
“Online Campaigning: Assessing Strategies, Models and
Techniques”
J.J. Gilmartin, Consulting Director, circle.com
Wing Pepper, Vice President of Marketing Strategy,
ModemMedia
John Bohan, President and CEO, L90
Sean Durkin, Founder, MassMobile

10:45
a.m.-12:30 p.m.
“Special Report: News Goes Digital”
Frank Sesno, Former Washington Bureau Chief, CNN
Marselis Parsons, News Director, WCAX-TV
Bill Bishop, Executive Vice President, CBS
Marketwatch.com
Tim Clemens, State Editor, Rutland Herald

All
events will take place in Room 216 of Bicentennial Hall on
Bicentennial Way off College Street (Route 125), and are
free and open to the public. For more information, contact
Serena Peck of Middlebury College at 802-443-5435 or visit
the Web site maintained by Claudon’s class,
http://www.digitalbridges20.net/, where the full conference
proceedings and student-authored reports on each of the
panel topics will be available for viewing following the
conference.