
Vice President at the Lunsford Group, Entrepreneur, Blogger
San Francisco Bay Area

Vice President at the Lunsford Group, Entrepreneur, Blogger
San Francisco Bay Area
Bernard is Vice President of the Lunsford Group, which is a private holding company consisting of entities in technology, media, research & consulting, health care, investment boutique and real estate. Previously, he was Co-founder and VP of Business Development at GoingOn Networks, a social media platform for companies and organizations. He led the initial product development where BusinessWeek recognized the GoingOn platform in their "Best of the Web" list for 2007. He continues to serve as an advisor and also serves as an advisor to Innotive (an interactive multimedia platform), Fidgt (web 2.0 address book), and Qbox (online music tagging & utility tool).
Previously, he was Director of Strategic Planning & Sales at Innotive Corp. Prior to this, Bernard was a Director at iRG, a leading boutique investment bank in Asia, where he focused on Telecommunications- Media-Technology companies.
Prior to iRG, Bernard was VP of Business Development & Marketing at HeyAnita Korea, a leading voice portal and solutions provider, which was joint venture between Softbank and HeyAnita, Inc. Bernard was responsible for establishing strategic and content partnerships and helping to build the company from its conceptual stage to a 54-person operation. Additionally, he assisted in the closing of the company's two rounds of financing totaling $14.5 million. Prior to HeyAnita, Bernard was Co-Founder and VP of Strategic Development for View Plus, a video-on-demand company where he helped build the company from its concept stage.
Additionally, he gained experience in the strategic planning unit of Digital City Chicago, a partnership with the Tribune Co. and AOL. He also served as a legislative liaison to Governor Jim Edgar of Illinois.
Bernard completed a post-graduate fellowship with the Coro Foundation. He received his MPA in Telecom and New Media Policy from Columbia University and a BA in English and Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
entrepreneurship, helping other entrepreneurs, startup advice, company building, capital raising, business development, corporate planning, strategy, video-on-demand, wireless, online gaming, web 2.0, software-as-a-service, blogging, social networking, korea, china, and asia market entry.
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Commercial Real Estate industry)
March 2008 — Present (5 months)
The Lunsford Group is a private holding company consisting of entities in technology, media, research & consulting, health care, investment boutique and real estate. The operation – augmented with consulting – has served such distinguished clients as Apple Computer, Herman Miller, Sears, Roebuck and Co., BuyDirect.com, TRW, Eastern College, Joy Manufacturing, World Vision, Malaysian Industrial Development Agency (MIDA) and the Brunei Investment Agency.
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Internet industry)
May 2004 — Present (4 years 3 months)
- Advisor to GoingOn Networks, a B2B social media platform. (11/07-present)
- Advisor to Innotive, an interactive multimedia software company based in Seoul, Korea. (05/04-present)
- Advisor & Board of Directors member at Fidgt, a Web 2.0 and social networking address book based in Los Angeles. (Advisor, 09/05-present. Director, 03/08-present)
- Advisor to Qbox, an online music tagging and utility tool based in the Bay Area. (11/07-present)
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Internet industry)
December 2004 — October 2007 (2 years 11 months)
GoingOn provides an on-demand platform that allows companies and organizations to exploit the power of Social Media. Provides robust publishing tools, social networking, and various community management features to empower companies to build online communities.
- Responsible for writing the business plan and creating the financial model. Secured 12 strategic partnerships with various technology companies related to advertising, analytics, and infrastructure.
- Assisted in sales, such as the closing of Forbes.com and WorldNow, account management, and managed financial and legal operations.
- Led initial product development through Sept 2007.
BusinessWeek recognized GoingOn Networks in their "Best of the Web: Social Networking Tools" list for 2007.
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Computer Software industry)
August 2003 — April 2004 (9 months)
Currently serves on the advisory board of Innotive. Retained as the interim Director of Strategic Planning & Sales for Innotive, a multimedia and digital publishing software company. Identified flaws in their business model and initiated wholesale changes from a customized software product to an off-the-shelf product; assisted in the sales efforts in the U.S. and Asia; secured partnerships with major distributors.
April 2003 - February 2004
Signed as a capital raising agent for a bulge-bracket firm’s Asia investment banking group. For various deals, such as a $100 million capital raise for a new digital animation studio.
December 2003 - March 2004
Signed as a capital raising agent for a $200 million movie fund based in Asia & Australia. Unique movie fund with a production pipeline, a partnership with a leading talent agency, and strong team (e.g. producers from The Lord of the Rings series)
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Venture Capital & Private Equity industry)
April 2002 — April 2003 (1 year 1 month)
Failed first-time fund effort trying to raise capital in depressed economic conditions and concerns over the environment in North Asia, such as the North Korean crisis. Developed business plan, secured and identified sources of dealflow in China and Korea, and organized the team and advisors for an early-stage venture capital fund in Asia.
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Investment Banking industry)
March 2001 — April 2002 (1 year 2 months)
Developed business and client relationships for a leading boutique investment bank focused on telecommunications, media, and technology (TMT) companies. Founded by #1 banking team in ex-Japan Corporate Asia, and #2 in Corporate Asia, in 2000 by Institutional Investor.
- Secured mandates and was responsible for the majority of business development and sourcing in Korea
- Built expertise and network in TMT industries such as data centers, online gaming, wireless, and broadband
(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)
February 2000 — February 2001 (1 year 1 month)
Established the joint venture operations of HeyAnita Inc. and Softbank, a leading global venture capital firm. Core team from ViewPlus, Inc. was recruited for this effort. Led marketing & advertising, and business development teams. Wrote business plan and financial model for institutional investors. Currently, the company is profitable (over $14 million in revenue last year).
- Built the company from ground up to 54 employees. Launched a new voice technology platform and information service in a foreign market.
- Developed advisory board and corporate partnerships, such as MasterCard Korea and Korea Telecom.
- Closed two financing rounds totaling $14.5 million, including $7.5 million during an economic downturn
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Telecommunications industry)
June 1998 — January 2000 (1 year 8 months)
Took original technology and created the business plan and financials for a multi-cast video-on-demand service targeting cable and satellite TV industries. ViewPlus was admitted into Garage.com's "Heaven" (investor & entrepreneur matching service), where less than 2% of companies were accepted.
- Managed establishment of company, patent application process and other legal and financial duties.
- Secured partnerships with Oracle, Scientific-Atlanta, Liberate, and others to support prototype development and service deployment.
- Closed $600,000 of angel funding and secured financing of $33 million.
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; TRB; Online Media industry)
May 1997 — August 1997 (4 months)
Summer position during graduate school. Assisted in the strategic planning and rollout of 10 new suburban “virtual communities” within Digital City Chicago , a joint venture of the Tribune Co. and AOL. Also worked on the marketing and development of the Tribune’s online self-publishing tool.
(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Public Policy industry)
August 1995 — May 1996 (10 months)
One of 48 selected nationwide for a post-graduate leadership program and placed in its St. Louis site. Training emphasized organizational analysis, critical thinking, project management, and group theory. Notable alumni such as Senator Dianne Feinstein, Congressman Jerry Lewis, Congressman Vic Fazio, Congressman Anna Eschoo, and Governor Tim Kaine (Virginia).
- In-depth inquiry of various leadership and management styles by interaction with leaders across society. Such as President Clinton, Vice President Gore, Secretary Albright, Governor Mel Carnahan, John McDonnell (McDonnell Douglas), and Ben Edwards (A.G. Edwards).
- Completed assignments and projects in business, government, labor, media, and non-profit sectors. Created the strategic plan for the St. Louis Community Information Network (CIN), a web-based information system for the City of St. Louis. Consulted Interactive Systems Incorporated on the viability of their interactive television project.
(Government Agency; 10,001 or more employees; Government Relations industry)
December 1993 — June 1995 (1 year 7 months)
Analyzed legislation relevant to the department: disability, education, and healthcare issues. Presented the governor’s policies to related interest groups and state legislators for public policy formation.
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Food & Beverages industry)
June 1988 — July 1988 (2 months)
Best summer job in my youth. Developed the artful skill of making sandwiches at one of the best fast food chains in the world. Worked there and afterwards I eat the food with full confidence. I loved horsey sauce on potato cakes and giant roast beef sandwiches with Arby's sauce.
Fellowship, NetKAL Fellow (Center for Asian-Pacific Leadership), 2007 — 2007
MPA, Telecom & New Media Policy, 1996 — 1998
BA, English & Psychology, August 1989 — December 1993
U.S. politics, nonprofit work, high-tech, wireless, software, video-on-demand, online gaming, video games, video game playing, eating, cooking, and getting fat.
Center for Bioethics & Culture (San Ramon, CA, Board of Directors), Shih Yu-Lang Central YMCA (San Francisco, CA, Board of Managers), Coro National Alumni Association (D.C., Board of Directors), Mirae Foundation (New York, NY, Board of Directors), N.A.A.C.P-Springfield, IL (former board member), NetKAL
Notable op-eds:
"Twitter, Tina Fey, and the Future of Micro-Blogging," Mashable, May 15, 2008
"Coming Soon: Nontrepreneur Nation," Private Equity HUB, April 21, 2008
"U.S. tech trends for 2008," VentureBeat, December 20, 2007
"Life after Facebook, and the coming 'Dark Period',” VentureBeat, October 4, 2007
"Building The Perfect Team," AlwaysOn, August 17, 2005
"Where technology is ubiquitous, opportunities abound," AlwaysOn, January 17, 2005
"A lesson for the liberal elite," The Boston Globe, November 30, 2004