[ February 24, 2010, 7:30 am to 9:00 am ]

Join us in Stamford at the office of Martin Chioffi LLP for a breakfast meeting with board members and prospective new members of the Exit Planning Exchange of Connecticut. All professional advisors from various professions specializing in helping business owners plan for the ultimate exit of their business are welcome to attend.

Cliff Sirlin, serial entrepreneur will share with you how he and partner Andy Appelbaum built and sold four companies, the lessons they learned along the way, the meaningful advice received and how Cliff has leveraged this learning as they build their next company. Cliff’s story will share the differences when selling to a public company (Enernoc) versus a private company (wholly owned private sub of Staples.)
 
Mr. Sirlin is the co-founder and Managing Director of Aegis Fuel Solutions. Aegis Fuel Solutions is a Westport, CT based organization that enables industrial, municipal, and supply-chain consumers to utilize energy management solutions to optimize their fuel purchasing capabilities.  
 
Prior to founding Aegis Fuel Solutions, Mr. Sirlin served as the CEO and co-founder of mdenergy, an independent energy manager specializing in designing energy strategies for commercial and industrial businesses throughout the United States.

Formed in February 2001, mdenergy was one of the largest independent energy management firms in the United States managing more than 1,200 megawatts of electric demand. mdenergy actively managed the purchase of over $700 million in annual electric consumption for companies and institutions, including many national accounts in the real estate, lodging, health care, manufacturing, and the food services industries. mdenergy clients included Disney, Barclays Capital, Barclays, ESPN, The McGraw Hill Companies, Tishman-Speyer, Vornado Realty Trust, The New York Times, and Whole Foods.

mdenergy was acquired by EnerNOC, a publicly-traded energy services firm based in Boston, Massachusetts in September, 2007.

Prior to founding mdenergy, Mr. Sirlin served as Vice President of Delivery for Zoots, a national drycleaning company based in Boston, MA founded by Tom Stemberg, the Chairman and CEO of Staples.  In his capacity as VP with Zoots, Mr. Sirlin created, built and managed the $35,000,000 Zoots Delivery Division. As a result of Mr. Sirlin’s direction, the Zoots Delivery Division now operates in over 400 communities and services over 50,000 customers.  During his tenure, Mr. Sirlin was responsible for co-managing the Delivery Division’s P & L, spearheading customer acquisition programs, identifying new growth strategies and overseeing day-to-day operations.  Mr. Sirlin’s involvement in the creation of Zoots was chronicled in the Harvard Business School case study “Zoots-The Cleaner Cleaner” (Harvard Business School #9-801-114, November 15th, 2000).

Prior to joining Zoots, Mr. Sirlin was the co-founder and President of Cleaner Options.  Cleaner Options is a sales and marketing company specializing in the acquisition and retention of commercial, small business and residential customers for drycleaners.  From 1995 through 1999, Cleaner Options acquired and maintained an active customer base of over 20,000 customers with annual revenues of over $10,000,000.  Cleaner Options was acquired by Zoots in May of 1999.  Before starting Cleaner Options, Mr. Sirlin co-founded Madison’s, a Manhattan based telemarketing company specializing in selling services to multi-family apartment complexes and office buildings.

Mr. Sirlin received his law degree from New York University School of Law in 1992.  While at NYU, Mr. Sirlin also studied at the Stern School of Business. He earned his undergraduate degree in History from Colgate University in 1989.  Mr. Sirlin accomplishments have been profiled by CNBC; Inc. Magazine; Success Magazine; Crain’s Business and numerous other periodicals.  Additionally, Mr. Sirlin is a frequent lecturer at the NYU Stern School of Business.

Time: 7:30 – 9:00 AM A continental breakfast will be served.
Location: Martin Chioffi LLP, 177 Broad Street 16th Floor, Stamford, CT, 203-973-5200
Parking is available in the garage underneath the building. Bring your parking ticket with you to the meeting for validation.
Fee: $35 (Registrations at the door an additional $15) 

Thank you to our breakfast sponsor Martin Chioffi LLP and founding partner Chris Martin.