Charles Seely

Current

• Advisory Board Member at Startup Exchange
• Advisory Board Member at Nimeral/Agricola
• Dealmaker for Global Entrepreneurs Programme at UK Government

• Shareholder at Progress Financial
• Board Member/Shareholder at Slooh
• Advisory Board Member at Actarus Funds
• Advisor/Shareholder at T-INK
• Advisor/Shareholder at Tangerine Wellness
• Advisor/Shareholder at AccuMED Technologies, Inc.
• Advisory Board Member/Shareholder at Scanbuy
• Partner at Schlossberg Flynn

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Past

• Board Member of Chairman's Board at New Jobs for New York
• Partner at Recognition Group
• Consultant to CEO at ARTNET AG

• Founder, President at Brandfever
• Director of Business Development & Strategy at Interglobe plc subsid of TCS Inc (below)
• Senior Sales Executive at TCS Inc
• Co-Founder at Che Beer

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Recommended

11 people have recommended Charles

Connections

306 connections

Industry

Venture Capital & Private Equity

Charles Seely’s Summary

Charles Seely is an entrepreneur and an advisor/investor in early-stage companies. He was previously the top salesperson at TCS, a telco software company backed by Cisco & Nomura, and part of the key team that built the company from $5-30mm revenue and sold for $150mm+. He founded Brandfever an online factory outlet in early 1999, building one of the leading European management teams and raising several million $ in debt/equity. He also has 3 years financial restructuring experience as a board member of several private & public companies. Charles is an advisor to the UK Government as a "Dealmaker" for the Global Entrepreneurs Programme, and is on the Advisory Boards of the StartupExchange Fund (www.startupexchange.com), Scanbuy (the leading global provider of mobile marketing solutions) and Actarus, an early stage investment fund. He is also on the Board of Slooh, the award-winning astronomy website.

Charles Seely’s Experience

• Advisory Board Member

  Startup Exchange

  (Financial Services industry)

  October 2008 — Present (10 months)

  The objective of Startup Exchange (http://www.startupexchange.com/) is to enable Founders and Executives of privately held companies to diversify their concentrated holdings, and to protect a portion of their assets regardless of the outcome of their company. The fund was started by the founders of 24/7 Real Media, Inc, which was one of the pioneers of online advertising. The investors include Idealab.

• Advisory Board Member

  Nimeral/Agricola

  (Mining & Metals industry)

  September 2008 — Present (11 months)

  Nimeral/Agricola, based in Germany, have developed and own the technology, know-how, patents, and rights for a new process for the hydrometallurgical production of copper from concentrates. This process enables the production of copper at considerably lower cost than traditional processes. Prior to joining the Advisory Board I have been advising the company since June 2007.

• Dealmaker for Global Entrepreneurs Programme

  UK Government

  (Government Agency; Government Administration industry)

  October 2006 — Present (2 years 10 months)

  Official "Dealmaker" for the British Government (http://www.entrepreneurs.gov.uk/content/dealmakerSupport.cfm), where my role is to identify people, companies and ideas of exceptional potential. I have advised a number of leading companies and entrepreneurs in the IT, Media and Cleantech sectors. I have worked with companies in Europe, Canada and the United States.

• Shareholder

  Progress Financial

  (Privately Held; Financial Services industry)

  October 2006 — Present (2 years 10 months)

  Progress Financial (www.progressfin.com/en/about/) is a leading financial services company serving the needs of the growing Hispanic market.

• Board Member/Shareholder

  Slooh

  (Aviation & Aerospace industry)

  August 2006 — Present (3 years)

  Award winning and worlds leading LIVE online consumer astronomy site. www.slooh.com

• Advisory Board Member

  Actarus Funds

  (Venture Capital & Private Equity industry)

  July 2006 — Present (3 years 1 month)

  The Actarus Funds are a series of small, closed investment funds aimed at financing startups in the internet 2.0 sector. The funds were first started in 2001 and are capitalized by a number of angel investors including many of the original theglobe.com investors. Stephan Paternot serves as the funds’ General Partner. Below are some of the companies the funds have invested in.
  
  Portfolio:
  
  www.badongo.com (funded in 2007)
  
  www.fetchback.com (funded in 2007)
  
  www.magazineradar.com (funded in 2006)
  
  www.olx.com (funded in 2006)
  
  www.phanfare.com (funded in 2006)
  
  www.pingg.com (funded in 2007)
  
  www.sonico.com (funded in 2008)
  
  www.zingy.com (funded in 2002. Exited in 2004)

• Advisor/Shareholder

  T-INK

  (Chemicals industry)

  July 2006 — Present (3 years 1 month)

  T-Ink (www.t-ink.com) is the leader in advanced conductive technology. T-Ink invents, develops, designs, manufacturers and markets a wide range of highly innovative conductive solutions under the trademark Thinking Ink®. We print on almost any kind of surface to create everything from printed circuits to printed batteries to printed speakers to printed sensors to printed heaters.
  
  T-Ink conductive ink technology is used by major companies in a variety of applications: novelty and juvenile products, promotional items, packaging, POS and textiles. Our newest solutions extend to transportation, security, gaming, industrial, construction, medical devices and RFID. T-Ink replaces hardware with printable ink, offering users powerful interactivity, taking technology to a new level of involvement with their everyday lives...
  
  T-Ink is disruptive technology.

• Advisor/Shareholder

  Tangerine Wellness

  (Health, Wellness and Fitness industry)

  June 2006 — Present (3 years 2 months)

  Tangerine Wellness (www.tangerinewellness.com/) is the leading corporate weight management program that helps companies lower healthcare costs by rewarding employees that achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

• Advisor/Shareholder

  AccuMED Technologies, Inc.

  (Privately Held; Accounting industry)

  November 2005 — Present (3 years 9 months)

  AccuMED (www.accumedtech.com) is a global manufacturer and supplier of high-tech fabrics and fabricated soft good products.

• Advisory Board Member/Shareholder

  Scanbuy

  (Privately Held; Computer Software industry)

  September 2004 — Present (4 years 11 months)

  Scanbuy (www.scanbuy.com) is the leading global provider of mobile marketing solutions that use the camera phone as the link between the physical world and the digital world. The ScanLife client application and Code Management Platform have been successfully deployed and supported by leading mobile providers and handset manufacturers around the world. Media companies and marketers use the platform to create and manage measurable 2D barcode campaigns, extending brand engagement onto mobile devices.
  
  Founded in 2000, Scanbuy has a strong and growing intellectual property base in 2D barcode technology. The company's investors include Longworth Venture Partners, Masthead Venture Partners and Hudson Ventures.
  
  Founded in 2000, Scanbuy has a strong and growing intellectual property base and was highlighted as a Fortune’s 25 breakout company in 2005 and honored as one of Red Herring’s 100 most innovative companies of 2006.
  
  Various including recruiting current CEO-Jonathan Bulkeley (ex CEO AOL Europe etc), advisory board member Thomas Zilliacus-(Founding President Nokia Asia Pacific), and raised venture capital round.

• Partner

  Schlossberg Flynn

  (Privately Held; Investment Banking industry)

  August 2004 — Present (5 years)

  Leverage connections to advise companies on business development, strategy, fundraising, strategic partnerships and senior management/advisory board recruitment. Earn equity and invest in these companies.
  
  NEW YORK, USA
  
  • Advisor/investor in companies, including AccuMed Technologies, Inc (www.accumedtech.com), T-Ink (www.t-ink.com), and Tangerine Wellness-(www.tangerinewellness.com/)
  
  • Won deal and played lead relationship role in $330mm MBO of Retail Decisions (RTD.L, www.redplc.com, a payment card issuer and a world leader in card fraud prevention and payment processing.) Recruited team which raised equity and debt finance and advised manangement on deal strategy.

• Board Member of Chairman's Board

  New Jobs for New York

  (Government Relations industry)

  July 2006 — September 2008 (2 years 3 months)

  New Jobs for New York, Inc. (NewJobsNY) is a private, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation conceived and launched in 2003 under the leadership of Roger Altman, Chairman of Evercore Partners in New York City, and U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. NewJobsNY is guided by a Board of Directors comprised of the State's preeminent business, education, and government leaders who are committed to driving economic growth throughout New York State. Mr. Altman serves as President and Chairman of the Board of Directors and Senator Clinton serves as Chair of the Board of Advisors. Member of the Chairman's Board, a group of young leaders in New York.

• Partner

  Recognition Group

  (Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

  July 2001 — August 2004 (3 years 2 months)

  A boutique merchant bank. Focus on financial restructuring.
  
  NEW YORK, USA
  
  • Led the financial restructuring of 10 private and 2 public companies, comprising both trusteeship roles as a liquidator and workouts to reduce debt and position for financial investment. Board member of 5 private and 1 public companies during the course of financial restructuring. Negotiated and structured releases with banks, landlords, IRS etc. Advised companies, board, management on their fiduciary obligations in the zone of insolvency.
  
  • Led deals including the financial restructuring of Eureka Networks prior to its merger with InfoHighway , and VNCI (part of Moneyline Telerate, Inc), prior to its sale to Reuters.

• Consultant to CEO

  ARTNET AG

  (Public Company; artnet ag; Fine Art industry)

  October 2000 — February 2001 (5 months)

  The worlds leading online art site. Quoted on the Neuer Markt (Germany).
  
  FRANKFURT, GERMANY
  
  • Advised the CEO and investors on company restructuring
  
  • Implemented significant cost-cutting measures including closing down business units & staff (40+ people) and overhead reductions.
  • Refocused company on core revenue & profit generating businesses.
  • Initiated and integrated major planning and budgeting project.

• Founder, President

  Brandfever

  (Retail industry)

  April 1999 — October 2000 (1 year 7 months)

  Founded a pan-European internet company, launched in the UK, selling excess inventory of leading sports and fashion brands with an initial focus on sports (ie:Reebok, Fila). As the name Brandfever denotes our strategy was to create a buzz around time-limited sales of a selection of fashion and sports products at large discounts. WIth this concept we were a couple of years ahead of Vente-Privee, who have built a great business. It doesn't always pay to be early.
  
  LONDON, UK
  
  • At age 26 I recruited a world-class management team including the ex-President of Neiman Marcus/CEO Storehouse plc (now Mothercare), ex-Global Head of Sales & Marketing Orange Telecom (France Telecom).
  
  • Led pitches in raising $900,000 equity and $4mm in debt capital. Secured agreements with 20+ well-known sport and fashion brands to supply product/excess inventory.
  
  • We built an IT and Logistics infrastructure with the goal to be the largest online factory outlet in Europe, starting in the UK and then launching in Germany followed by France.
  
  • In April 2000 I restructured the company after a term sheet for $9mm failed to lead to an investment due to the stockmarket downturn. I then pitched brandfever to the CEO’s of leading European/USA retailers, media and internet companies and negotiated a Joint Venture with Great Universal Stores Plc (GUS) and BAA Mcarthur Glen (BMG, the leading European factory outlet company). During this period, we were approached about acquiring the assets of boo.com. Despite the backing of GUS and BMG we were unable to secure the capital from Apax for our ambitious plans. The JV failed in October 2000 due to market conditions.

• Director of Business Development & Strategy

  Interglobe plc subsid of TCS Inc (below)

  (Telecommunications industry)

  June 1996 — May 1999 (3 years)

  LONDON, UK & FLORIDA, USA
  
  Seconded from TCS (USA) to Interglobe plc by CEO in June 1998.
  • Member of executive management team. Managed sales teams, agents in Europe and an office in Italy.
  • Initiated internal restructure and downsizing of operations, followed by search for partner (sale). Interglobe was sold to Redstone Telecom (RED:LSE) in February 2000.
  • Worked with the Virgin Group-Head Office (TCS shareholder) on project to implement group wide loyalty/telephony card system.

• Senior Sales Executive

  TCS Inc

  (Public Company; Information Technology and Services industry)

  June 1996 — May 1999 (3 years)

  Senior Sales Executive (96’-98’)
  
  LONDON, UK
  
  • Based in Florida, USA. No.1 salesperson by revenue. TCS sold to Convergent Networks, Boston-USA for $150+mm in July 2000. Participated in establishment of London-based subsidiary of TCS Inc. No.1 salesperson by revenue.
  • Key Deal: Secured key strategic deal with British Telecom generating over $12 million in revenue, which indirectly led to Cisco relationship/shareholding, and played a significant part in success of TCS.
  • Conceived idea and won contract with Harpur Group for a pan-European gas/telephony card system which won Technological Innovation of the Year Award together at CardEx in 1996.

• Co-Founder

  Che Beer

  (Wine and Spirits industry)

  October 1995 — June 1996 (9 months)

  Co-Founder and Director.
  
  LONDON, UK
  
  • Start-up venture to launch and sell “Che” Guevara beer through bars, nightclubs and restaurants in UK.
  • Directed product development, marketing, logistics, and public relations.
  • Aided expansion of market for Cuban beers in UK. First ever Anglo-Cuban beer export accord, announced in Wall Street Journal.
  • Helped devise controversy-led publicity campaign, based on ban by U.S. government. Featured in Financial Times (front page-Dec 26th 1995), New York Times, Miami Herald and CNN News.

Additional Information

Charles Seely’s Interests:

French-Working knowledge, Spanish-basic.

Charles Seely’s Groups:

•    Sustainable Investment Forum
•    Global Entrepreneurs Programme

Charles Seely’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• new ventures
• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• business deals
• reference requests
• getting back in touch