David Blivin has had a long and successful investment and entrepreneurial career. Immediately prior to starting Cottonwood Technology Group he worked directly with early-stage companies on their strategic focus, market validation and fund raising under his company Lighthouse Partners. Prior to Lighthouse, Mr. Blivin founded and served as Managing Director of Southeast Interactive and over a five-year period successfully built the team that established the first and largest information technology-focused fund based in the Southeast. During Mr. Blivin’s tenure, Southeast Interactive raised three funds totaling over $175 million. He was directly involved in fund raising and was an early investor in companies which have represented a realized enterprise exit value totaling in excess of $1 billion. He has generated cash on cash returns on his directed investments of over 4X.
Before founding Southeast Interactive, Mr. Blivin served as the Chief Financial Officer of Montrose Capital Corporation, a merchant-banking firm that formed and managed over 20 limited partnerships representing in excess of $100 million in equity and $350 million in total capitalization. Prior to joining Montrose Capital Corporation, Mr. Blivin worked as a Senior Auditor with Arthur Andersen LLP where he audited several companies in the technology and communications fields. Mr. Blivin has also participated on numerous boards of directors including The Pantry (nasdaq-PTRY), Opensite (sold to Siebel), Accipiter (sold to CMGI), Nitronex, Channelogics (sold to Scientific Atlanta) and Buildnet. He served as President of the Durham YMCA and lead their successful effort to secure $9 million and build a new facility in Downtown Durham. Mr. Blivin received his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Beto Pallares has a history of success in the entrepreneurial community in the region. Mr. Pallares is President of Joseph Advisory Services, LLC, a strategy consulting firm focusing on high tech business development and investor due diligence. In April 2009, Mr. Pallares concluded a two-year term as the Executive Director of the TransPecos/El Paso Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization, responsible for vetting Emerging Technology Fund applicants for the region. He was also responsible for implementing the strategic vision of the organization, fund raising and developing special projects with a focus on economic development. His work experience includes working as a consultant for EDS A.T. Kearney and Abt Associates in the Northeastern United States, as well as cofounding a successful software development start-up Dalmex Business Technology Partners. He worked in the telecommunications industry in the United States and abroad, heading the business development and marketing efforts in 12 Latin American countries. He also worked in New York City’s financial services industry for a start-up firm, Capital IQ. He’s also had start-up management and board service experience in the telecommunications, food services and holding conglomerate areas. Mr. Pallares holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Economics from Brandeis University and a MBA from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He is on track to defend his dissertation to satisfy the requirement toward a PhD in International Business Strategy. He serves on numerous corporate and non-profit boards.
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