ABOUT US

Sara Conte

Sara Givens Conte started SGC Ventures to help companies discover growth opportunities and solve problems. Currently SGC Ventures is focused on working with private-equity clients to provide analysis that fuels investment.

Recent Projects

Click below for more information.

Recent projects

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Background 

Sara's background in startups, corporate development and strategic planning give her a broad perspective and skills. 
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Co-Founder of a Digital Startup

Co-founded Brand Genie (formerly PrestoBox) in 2012. The company was first to market in automating branding for small businesses. Sara's experience as President of this venture gives her an entrepreneurial perspective that is helpful when working with portfolio management teams.

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Investment Banking

Sara Conte began her career working in investment banking at JP Morgan, Prudential Securities and Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette (DLJ). ​

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Director of Corporate Strategy and Development

Managed the strategic planning and corporate development functions for 10 years for NTR, a private-equity company in Europe, and their subsidiary company Greenstar.


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Business Education

Sara Conte graduated from Harvard Business School and Claremont McKenna College, Cum Laude. ​

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​Management
Consulting

In addition to working as an internal management consultant at NTR, Sara Conte worked as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group.

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Active in the Community

Sara is active in supporting technical innovation for economic development, mentoring entrepreneurs, and giving back to the community.

Board of Directors

Technology Association of Oregon
​Sara Conte is currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Technology Association of Oregon (TAO).
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The Technology Association of Oregon is dedicated to bringing together some of the brightest minds in the technology industry. The largest professional technology association in the Northwest, the TAO is comprised of over 350 companies in Oregon and SW Washington.

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Speaker and Mentor

Lewis & Clark College, Center for Entrepreneurship
Sara Conte is a speaker and mentor for Winterim.

​The Winterim program at Lewis & Clark encourages students to explore how innovators and entrepreneurs think. Each year the curriculum focuses on how to discover specific skills and tools that help transform ideas into reality. Students meet and learn from experts in the field of entrepreneurship in this weeklong workshop.

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Judge and Mentor

Startup Weekend
​Sara Conte is a judge and mentor for Startup Weekend.

Startup Weekend is a 54 hour event that brings together designers, developers, entrepreneurs, and experts from all domains to do amazing things. All Startup Weekend events follow the same basic model: anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers. Teams form around the top ideas (as determined by popular vote) and embark on a three-day frenzy of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation. The weekend culminates with presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders with another opportunity for critical feedback.

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Judge

New Venture Championship
Sara Conte is a judge for the New Venture Championship, hosted annually by University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business.

The New Venture Championship (NVC) is the original six-round business competition for graduate students. NVC has evolved into the premiere international entrepreneurial investment competition since it was founded in 1992. 
NVC’s mission is to develop skilled and knowledgeable entrepreneurial leaders who are able to present their ideas in concise and thoughtful ways, be open to construction, and adapt to the ever-changing business environment.

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