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National Association of Fostering Innovation Capital |
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August 14, 2008 | Volume 12 Issue 32 | |
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Editor: George Lipper | ||
In this issue:
Has It Slipped Your Mind?Mid-August already. The Olympics are half over. The political conventions are about to grab our attention. A new school year is beginning. Then Labor Day, Football Season, the World Series. With all this, it’s easy to forget you haven’t yet signed up for the 2008 NASVF Conferencet. Get it done now so we can all get together again in Detroit on September 10-12 for the best early-stage investing networking event of the season: Here’s the full Program and Registration Link Biotech Campaigns for Easier Access to Generic Drug MarketBiotech, like Clean Energy, takes a huge amount of money and patience for long-horizon exits, both of which seek federal help. Biotech thinks it might have found a shorter route by giving Congress a lesson in biotechnology. Geoffrey Allan is explaining protein structures and how they work; and reviewing how drugs are absorbed into the body. If lawmakers understand the difference between chemical and biologic drugs, Allan reasons, they'll be more invested in getting quick approval for generic biotech drugs. Today the generics market for chemical drugs like aspirin is booming, but there is no way to get cheaper copies of pricey biologics, for complex life-threatening diseases like cancer, into patients' hands: Washington Post Bayh-Dole Still Alive and Kicking; But Is It Producing the Intended Results?Is the Bayh-Dole Act still working? The surge in academic technology transfer at US universities and the concomitant biotechnology boom that occurred since the landmark legislation passed in the early 1980s seem to indicate that it is. But according to IP law scholar Dov Greenbaum, those events may not be solely attributable to the Bayh-Dole Act. In fact, Greenbaum believes that Bayh-Dole’s primary lasting legacy may become the myriad bureaucratic and inefficient technology-transfer offices it has spawned at hundreds of small US universities and research institutions: Biotech Treansfer Week Las Vegas Joins the Biotech ChaseAfter striking out in New Jersey, Las Vegas goes looking for willing biotech companies to move from California. Having learned their lesson, the Nevasa Development Authority refocused its efforts on the rich vein of biotechs in California, a much shorter haul: Las Vegas Review-Journal With its first $15 million in incentives from Florida in hand, the Port St. Lucie branch of Oregon's Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute is poised to beat its state-mandated hiring targets. VGTI Florida is close to hiring a prominent European scientist who would bring a research team of 25 to 35 people to Port St. Lucie, says Daniel Dorsa, vice president for research at Oregon Health & Science University, the institute's parent: Palm Beach Post Some Good Venture Deals Escape Even the Premier VCsDavid Cowan is a successful Silicon Valley venture capitalist whose credits include VeriSign, Ciena, HotJobs, Postini and LifeLock. His golden touch is such that in 2001 he made the Top 10 of Forbes magazine's "Midas List" of deal makers. Yet to some people Cowan is the guy who whiffed on Google, eBay and PayPal. While the lords of tech finance are loath to acknowledge mistakes, Cowan and his firm, Bessemer Venture Partners, don't just admit to billion-dollar blunders but describe them in an "anti-portfolio" on the firm's Web site: San Jose Mercury News No question the Googles, Intels, Ciscos Systems and Hewlett-Packards get most of the attention in Silicon Valley. But Sanjeev Agrawal and Dinesh Katiyar serve as a reminder that the valley's soul rests in small companies you've never heard of. The start-up partners are among the army of tech whizzes who have outgrown the valley's colossal companies and moved on to launch small firms that are big on promise and risk: San Jose Mercury News A panel of tech startups at an event in Silicon Valley this week were mostly bullish about the prospects for success, even in the face of a faltering economy. Perhaps one good sign; these were not a lot of me-too social network wannabes, but a diverse set of product and service offerings: InternetNews Tech IPOs Out of Favor and May Be for Some TimeTech companies once dominated the U.S. IPO calendar -- but not anymore. During the dot-com craze nearly a decade ago, practically every other IPO was by a tech company. Last year saw a revival, with 37 information technology companies raising $7.6 billion -- their best showing since the bust. Yet so far this year, only three IT companies have gone public, raising $531 million, according to Thomson Reuters data, as risk-averse investors gravitate toward surer bets: Reuters Rackspace Hosting, a San Antonio company that provides Web hosting to corporate clients, went public last Friday, ending a six-month market drought in initial public offerings of shares in technology companies. But Rackspace’s shares sank 20 percent in their first day of trading, and analysts cautioned that the company’s debut, which raised $187.5 million, did not signal a turnaround in the dim prospects for tech start-ups hoping to cash out by selling stock to the public: New York Times Corporate Venture Capital Seeking Innovation and Strategic GrowthThis instructive study, undertaken for NIST, examines corporate venture capital (CVC) as a model of innovation. CVC programs in established corporations invest in and partner with entrepreneurial companies. By doing so, the established companies are able to identify and source new emerging technologies from entrepreneurial companies. There is no single “one-size-fits-all” approach to CVC that applies to all corporations. CVC best practices and performance assessment will depend on the CVC’s role in the corporation, its mission, and the corporate environment: National Institute of Standards and Technology The Next Big Thing Often Can't Prove ItselfThe echo effect. Are you using Twitter, Flickr, FriendFeed, and Sphere? Hardly a week goes by that the Internet cognoscenti don't declare some new service or tool as the next big thing - and if you're not using it, you're hopelessly behind. But Waltham venture capitalist Mike Hirshland, who spends much of his time in California, says Silicon Valley has created its own echo chamber of blogs, conferences, and podcasts, where early adopters all buzz about the newest site they've discovered: Boston Globe Putting a Value on a New VentureSure, there are generally accepted ways to determine what an established private company is worth . But for a relatively unproven venture, the process is really more art than science (some may even think it's magic or voodoo, or just plain craziness). To be sure, it's best to have a potential investor suggest a valuation and negotiate from there. To get a sense of how potential investors arrive at a valuation (and how to do one yourself), there's no need to learn Excel or crank out discounted cash-flow models. Instead, understand the following basic rules of thumb: Business Week Heekya was one of nine start-up Web companies unveiled last week at an event in Reston organized by new local technology group LaunchBox Digital. The organization is trying to cultivate the scene for the area's technology start-ups by connecting them with experienced entrepreneurs and venture capitalists who can provide coaching on how to build a business: Washington Post North Carolina Fund of Funds Investment Firm Raises $310 MillionThe new Triangle investment firm TrueBridge Capital Partners, which set out to attract a quarter-billion dollars from investors, has breezed past its target to raise $310 million. Edwin Poston, a general partner in the new firm, said raising the money wasn't easy. "I think any time there is economic uncertainty, it makes it more difficult," he said. Truebridge is running a "fund of funds": Raleigh News & Observer According to a media release from India, TrueBridge will invest 25% of its new Kauffman Fellows Endowment Fund in India and China. The fund will invest in venture capital and growth equity managers, principally in the early stage IT and life sciences sectors: VC Circle Deputy Director of Arizona's Genonmics Research Institute Leaves, Citing Venture Fund ScarcityCiting the lack of Venture Captial in Arizona, Dietrick Stephan, who has served as Translational Genomics Research Institute's deputy director for discovery research and directed its neurogenomics division over the past five years, will leave the Arizona research group for his own company, a San Francisco Bay Area consumer genomics firm called Navigenics: Arizona Republic TheFunded, a site that lets entrepreneurs rate venture capitalists, continues to stir things up. EDF Ventures, a mid-sized venture capital fund in Ann Arbor, Michigan which has been reviewed negatively by several people at the site, has subpoenaed some records from TheFunded in a court action the firm is taking against an entrepreneur who left a comment. The anonymous entrepreneur said the firm’s members “are to be avoided unless you are desperate.” Venture Beat Layoff Provides the Spark that Ignited Seattle StartupNathan Casey doesn't think of himself as a big risk taker. But when word came last winter that he would be losing his job as a vice president at Washington Mutual, the 27-year-old newlywed decided the time was right to take the startup plunge. Casey hooked up with two friends from the Seattle bank who also were slated to lose their jobs and hatched Jobvana – a social networking site that tries to help people find local service providers: Seattle Post-Intelligencer Building Delaware into Bigger EconomyThe next governor of Delaware will have to lead in one of the most challenging economic times in our history. It's not challenging because the current state or federal administrations failed in performing their duties, but because the global economy is rapidly changing the rules by which we have lived since the industrial revolution: Wilmington News-Journal Focus on Filling High-Tech Jobs in South Florida Is Paying OffJust three years ago, Palm Beach County was at the height of a housing boom and laying the foundation for promising jobs of the future, especially in bioscience. The county has seen a small gain in life science employment since 2005 mainly because of Scripps Florida's research center, but it's not replacing the thousands of jobs lost in the region due to the ensuing housing bust that continues: South Florida Sun-Sentinel With a boost from some tax-break incentives, Orlando-based Planar Energy Devices Inc. says it plans to establish a microelectronics plant in Central Florida within the next three months. The maker of micro-batteries plans to relocate from Tennessee a factory operation it acquired earlier this year from Oak Ridge Microenergy: Orlando Sentinel Michigan Gains in Life Sciences Venture Capital InvestmentsVenture investing targeted at life sciences companies in Michigan continues to rise, providing further indication that public and private efforts to grow the industry are paying off. At midyear, Michigan ranked third among 11 Midwest states in both the number of deals and the amount of venture capital invested in the industry, according to Cleveland-based BioEnterprise: Tri-Cities Business Review However, a new study shows Michigan's three largest metropolitan areas -- Detroit, Grand Rapids and Lansing -- significantly lag behind the Midwest's most vibrant metro areas in attracting college-educated young professionals: Ann Arbor News Adam Smith would be proud. In their efforts to promote new postdoctoral business programs for non-business majors, universities haven’t been bashful about suggesting that faculty should act in their own self-interest. Making $50,000 a year teaching in a psychology department? Why not spend two months at Virginia Tech and double your salary? Inside HigherEd In a Down Economy, Angel Investors Change StrategiesThey may have less to invest, but America's startup backers are pooling their capital to do as many deals as ever. The grim economy has led not only to a drop in consumer spending and the foreclosure of more than a million homes, but to changes in the way angel capital is deployed. Angels, by definition, invest their own money, so downturns in the stock market and real estate values can mean they have less to invest and are more gun-shy about investing it: GigaOM Queen City Angel Fund Gets Another Boost from the OhioOne of the first truly local “angel” venture capital organizations in Ohio is ready to continue seeding the region’s tech/entrepreneur scene after receiving a new round of funding from the state. Queen City Angels, a group of 28 area investors, received $2 million in matching funds from the Ohio Third Frontier Success and Pre-Seed Funding Initiative Program in late July. The organization, founded in 2001, is matching the state grant with $2 million of its own investments: Cincinnati Enquirer Georgia Scientist Claims Tech Transfer Deal Cost Her, UGA MillionsA former University of Georgia researcher is mired in a legal battle that she says cost her $100 million and cost the university more than $220 million. The dispute involves the drug Restasis, which helps to treat the condition known as “dry eye.” The drug was discovered in the 1980s by Renee Kaswan, then a UGA veterinary researcher who found the drug worked on animals. In 1993, Allergan Inc. bought the rights to use Restasis to treat humans from The University of Georgia Research Foundation: Atlanta Business Chronicle Is SOX the Reason Some Firms Leave the U.S.?It has become received wisdom on Wall Street that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has damaged American competitiveness. It made listing in the American market less attractive to foreign companies and drove initial public offerings overseas. It raised costs for American companies without providing any significant benefit. But do the facts support that wisdom? No. New York Times Government Investment Requires Full TransparencyThe General Assembly wants to play an active role in the South Carolina economy — that much is clear. The state has recently allocated millions of dollars to special projects, proposed targeted tax incentives and even sponsored local festivals and parades, all in the name of economic development: Charleston Post and Courier Investor and Entrepreneur Seminars & ConferencesDetroit, MI Sept. 10-12, 2008 - 15th Annual Conference of the National Association of Seed & Venture Funds Register Now Offered by Our Friends:Wichita, KS September 4, 2008 - 5th Annual Great Plains Capital Conference Great Plains Capital Conference Sun Valley, ID September 9-11, 2008 - Venture Capital in the Rockies Venture Capital in the Rockies Columbus, OH September 17-18 2008 - Ohio Early Stage Summit IV Ohio Capital Stage Summit Baltimore, MD September 18 2008 - Johns Hopkins Neuroscience Investors Conference Johns Hopkins Neuroscience Investors Conference Sioux Falls, SD October 22, 2008 - South Dakota Innovation Expo South Dakota Enterprise Institute Scottsdale, AZ December 10-11, 2008 - Invest Southwest Capital Comference Invest Southwest |
  Member Spotlight The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber is the visionary organization in Oklahoma City, providing business leadership and collaboration with our public and private partners. The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber is working to create a business climate that attracts new businesses and enhances growth and expansion opportunities for existing businesses. Ultimately, we will create a community with an irresistible quality of life. Next year, Oklahoma City will be hosting the NASVF annual conference. As you may have heard, it’s a great time to be in OKC. Stop by our display for information on how you can eat, drink and be merry while attending NASVF in September 2009 in Oklahoma City! Join NASVFNASVF is accepting membership inquiries from organizations and individuals who build their local economies through investment and facilitation of investment in entrepreneurial ventures. Review our Member Benefits and submit your Inquiry Form today!MembersHave a tough seed/venture capital question? Let NASVF provide the answers! Check out the newest member-only feature, "AskNASVF". This member exclusive email service is provided to help our members network and learn among the industry's top innovation capital leaders.  |
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