Version 2.0 of the Guru Red Manifesto was co-authored by Mike Smock and Curt Sahakian. Smock is the Managing Director of vSente a San Francisco based strategy consultancy. Sahakian is a Chicago based attorney and founder of the Corporate Partnering Institute. Smock and Sahakian did their first deal together back in 1982 and have since advised hundreds of start-ups and growing concerns. Few entrepreneurs have as much experience as Smock and Sahakian. The Guru Red Manifesto is an expression of this experience.
Mike Smock is an internationally recognized expert on strategy. He has executed more than 500 campaigns in 38 industries over a 25 year career. Immediately prior to vSente, he was the Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing for CRM vendor Moss Software (recently sold to E.piphany) and Chief Revenue Officer for outdoor apparel maker Gramicci. In his early career Smock held senior sales and marketing positions with AFG Industries later sold to Asahi Glass and Allied Tube and Conduit now part of Tyco. He was the Cofounder of Dynaquest Corporation an artificial intelligence pioneer, and led the successful leveraged buyout of Associated Piping and Engineering from Johnson Controls. As an advisor his clients have included GTE, Marshall Industries, IBM, Phillips, Texas Instruments, Jacobs Engineering, Weider Nutrition, Luxul Broadband, SyQuest Corporation, Christensen Boyles Corporation, Lockwood Greene and many small, privately held enterprises
Curt Sahakian has participated in business transactions in industries as varied as advertising, biomed, biotech, chemical, computer, confectionery, construction, consulting, distribution, electronics, energy, entertainment, food, gaming, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, medical, real estate, retail, securities, software, and telecommunications. Sahakian has served as Vice President of Business Development for artificial intelligence pioneer Dynaquest Corporation, as General Counsel of RIMS, as a member of the MIT Enterprise Forum's Entrepreneurial Services Committee, and as General Manager of Winthrop Financial Group. He is the author of "Corporate Partnering, A How-To Handbook", "Sahakian's Key Partnering Checklists", "The Executive Partnering Kit", "Customer Partnering - An Executive Guide to Key Practices", "Sahakian's Due Diligence Checklists", "Business Applications of Propaganda", "The One Page Strategy Sheet", "Simplifying Complex Sales Contracts - getting more contracts signed sooner and easier", and "Sahakian on Shareholder Buy/Sell Agreements." He has lectured at DePaul University's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business and is a past member of the Strategic Leadership Forum, an international society of strategic planners. Sahakian has been active in providing continuing legal education to the organized bar, including lecturing, writing, and organizing seminars. He is a member of the Illinois Bar, and past chairperson of the Chicago Bar Association Computer Law Committee and the Chicago Bar Association High-Tech Finance Sub-Committee.
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