Our Team

LinkedIn Profile

John Hurley is the Senior Executive of the Venture Pipeline group, a DLA Piper business unit specifically focused on enhancing the funding prospects of early stage ventures. Led by business professionals with experience in technology, startups and capital markets, the Venture Pipeline actively advises on strategic business issues that are critical to funding. Mr. Hurley works directly with the Corporate and Securities practice group and with the global investment community, leveraging DLA Piper's experience in the emerging growth and venture capital sectors while screening and scrubbing deal flow to match investors' specific needs with appropriately targeted funding sources.

Mr. Hurley has advised hundreds of emerging growth technology companies on various aspects of their business plans, including management and recruiting issues, market development, strategic partnerships and financing strategies. He has helped more than 50 firms raise capital through DLA Piper's collective global network of angel, venture, institutional and strategic investors.

Before joining DLA Piper, Mr. Hurley was the founder and president of The LMR Company, a management consulting firm focused on creating and implementing business development, fundraising and branding solutions for venture capital, technology and service sector clients. His more than 15 years of operating, business development and marketing experience also includes founding and publishing TECHcapital magazine and serving as senior vice president for Post-Newsweek Business Information, Inc., a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company. He also served as PNBI's vice president of entrepreneurial ventures (1994-1997) and CFO/director of operations (1991-1994). 

Mr. Hurley regularly speaks and advises on issues related to entrepreneurship and raising venture capital and has appeared before seminar audiences in the greater Washington region, at the Atlanta Technology Development Corporation, New York Economic Development Corporation, Austin Software Association, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland and VA CIT Breakfast with Experts. He has been featured in the Washington Post, Washington Business Journal, Regardie's Power magazine, Potomac Tech Journal, Business Journal, Baltimore Business Journal, The Daily Deal and Mass High Tech, the journal of New England technology. He is also an adjunct professor at American University and the University of Maryland where he has taught courses on entrepreneurship and holds a BS from the University of Maryland University College at College Park.

Major Accomplishments

• Member of the acquisition team for the sale of TechNews, Inc. to The Washington Post Company
• Launching TECHcapital magazine
• Member of the launch team for Technology Transfer Business Magazine
• Co-creating the National Technology Fast 500 program (sold to Deloitte & Touche LLP, 1997)

LinkedIn Profile

Mike Krenn is the Founder of the Venture Pipeline. This DLA Piper subsidiary is specifically focused on enhancing the funding prospects of early stage ventures. Led by business professionals with experience in technology, start-ups and capital markets, the Venture Pipeline actively advises on strategic business issues that are critical to funding. The group also works directly with the investment community, screening and scrubbing deal flow to match investors' specific needs with targeted companies.

Mr. Krenn has advised hundreds of emerging growth technology companies on various aspects of their business plans, including management and recruiting issues, market development, strategic partnerships and financing strategies. He has also helped more than 50 companies from the technology, cleantech and life sciences sectors raise start-up capital.

Prior to joining DLA Piper, Mr. Krenn served as Vice President of Business Development with a start-up technology company, Grip Inc., where he negotiated numerous strategic partnerships with leading industry players such as Microsoft, Yahoo, Ticketmaster, Fox and Sabre Systems. Mr. Krenn was also a founding board member and executive director for the San Diego Band of Angels and the San Diego Telecom Council. Krenn speaks regularly on issues relating to raising angel and venture capital.

Community/Professional Activities

• SD Tech Coast Angels- Founding Board Member; Founding Executive Director
• SD Telecom Council / CommNexus - Founding Board Member; Founding Executive Director
• SD Venture Group - Board Member
• NASDQ/AMEX National Business Plan Competition - Judge
• UCSD Connect - Board Member
• MIT Enterprise Forum - Board Member
• Software Industry Council - Chair, Internet SIG
• Partnership for the New Century Economy - Board Member
• Featured Speaker - Software Industry Council, MIT Forum, UCSD Technology Courses, SDSU Entrepreneurial Center Courses, Austin Tech Biz Network, Washington Software Alliance, etc.
• Contributed Articles - Inc. Magazine, Business 2.0, Entrepreneur, Zone, Success, San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego Business Journal, San Diego Metropolitan
• 40 under 40 Award winner, San Diego Metropolitan Magazine

Prior Professional Experience

• Vice President, Business Development, Grip Inc., San Diego, CA, 2000-2001
• Director, Marketing & Business Development, Cooley Godward, San Diego, CA, 1997-2000
• President, Krenn And Friends, San Diego, CA, 1996-1997
• Director of Marketing, San Diego Business Journal, San Diego, CA, 1989-1996

Shayna Modarresi is the Regional Manager of the Venture Pipeline Group for Silicon Valley / Bay Area, where she is focused on enhancing the funding prospects of early / growth stage ventures and advising on strategic business issues critical to funding. She works directly with the investment community, screening and scrubbing deal flow to match investors' specific needs while connecting start-ups with targeted funding sources – by leveraging the firm’s collective global network of angel, venture, institutional and strategic investors.

Shayna has more than nine years of industry experience. She has spent the last four years advising on and responsible for raising more than $2B in capital from institutional, high net worth, venture, and strategic investors while at CMEA and Probitas Partners. While at Probitas, Shayna also advised on the firm’s secondary activities. Prior to joining Probitas Partners, Shayna spent approximately six years as an Investment Banker, advising numerous multinational and regional corporate clients on merger & acquisition transactions. She also has experience in equity and debt capital market financing. Shayna started her career in the Healthcare Investment Banking Group at Lazard in New York.

Shayna holds a BS in Molecular Cell Biology and a BA in Mass Communications from the University of California at Berkeley.

LinkedIn Profile

Ian Westberg is a Co-Founder and Regional Manager of the Venture Pipeline. This DLA business unit is specifically focused on enhancing the funding prospects of early stage ventures. Led by business professionals with experience in technology, start-ups and capital markets, the Venture Pipeline actively advises on strategic business issues that are critical to funding. The group also works directly with the investment community, screening and scrubbing deal flow to match investors’ specific needs with appropriately targeted companies. Ultimately, the Venture Pipeline group works to connect start-ups with targeted funding sources – by leveraging the firm’s collective global network of angel, venture, institutional and strategic investors.

Mr. Westberg has worked in several capacities over the last eighteen years assisting emerging growth companies. As a Senior Corporate Securities Paralegal, Mr. Westberg assisted companies with corporate formation, private financing transactions, merger and acquisitions, and initial public offerings. Prior to co-founding the Venture Pipeline, Mr. Westberg served as a Business Analyst for the Sacramento office of Gray Cary, focusing on client financing issues and venture capital analysis.

Currently, Mr. Westberg advises companies on various aspects of their business plans, including capital structure, management and recruiting issues, market development, strategic partnerships and financing strategies. Mr. Westberg works with emerging growth companies across a number of industry sectors including software, business and consumer services/products, internet, new media, communications, semiconductor, life science, clean tech and retail and has helped more than 50 companies raise capital.

In 2009, Legal 500 recognized Mr. Westberg, noting that clients praise his "standout knowledge of early stage funding and excellent support of early stage companies."