Join us at TechColumbus for this Webinar: Break Down the Barriers to VC Funding for University Start-ups

Technology Transfer Tactics’ Tech Transfer University 2011 presents a free live webinar:  Break Down the Barriers  to VC Funding for University Start-ups

Join us at TechColumbus on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 ~ 1:00-2:30 pm to hear the live webinar.

If you believe some of the alarming stories about venture capital trends, you might think the entire industry has shut down and every investment dollar is locked away, waiting for a better economic climate to emerge.
NOT TRUE!

Although VCs are surely more selective than ever before, there are now billions of dollars in VC funding that have been sitting on the sidelines – and scores of VC execs looking for their next great bet. And for university TTOs, the news is even better. According to many VC execs, the very fertile ground of university labs is exactly where they’re looking, recognizing the incredibly rich opportunities represented by academic research and the technologies being patented and nurtured into start-ups by university TTOs.
 

BUT ATTRACTING VC DOLLARS TAKES MORE THAN GREAT TECHNOLOGY…
 

Times have changed, and so have VC criteria for “fundable” technologies and new businesses. To attract the attention (and open the wallets) of venture capitalists, you need to prove your worth in terms of product, business model, market size, market differentiation, scientific and executive team, financial terms, risk profile, and more. But with the right technology and the right pitch, IT CAN BE DONE. To guide your efforts, we’ve assembled a top-notch panel of experts for this dynamic webinar:
Break Down the Barriers to VC Funding for University Start-ups

** CLE and CLP credits available **

Here’s a brief look at what you’ll learn in this 90-minute, nuts-and-bolts session

• What VCs want to see, and why
• How to avoid classic mistakes in your pitch
• Financial rates of return you must meet
• Positioning for co-investment
• Special challenges of seed-stage deals
• Determining when you’re ready for a VC versus earlier funding
• How to “stage” your technology and sell the opportunity
• Involving researchers in the process
• Overcoming the TTO “reputation” problem
• Structuring VC-friendly deals
• How to open VC doors with relationship-building strategies

PLUS: Our panel will answer all of your VC funding questions during the Q&A portion of the program!

Your Expert Panel:
 

Gerard Eldering is Founder and President of InnovateTech Ventures, specializing in venture creation based on inventions licensed from universities and research institutions. Since the company’s founding in 2007, InnovateTech has supported numerous mid-Atlantic universities and co-founded three start-up companies including AlphaDetect and Trilumen. Gerard has been working in the technology transfer community for more than a decade and is passionate about the creation of professionally managed and funded start-up companies. Prior to launching InnovateTech, he founded and served as Director of the Technology Transfer Office at The MITRE Corporation. He is an MBA and a registered patent agent.
 

Bill St John is experienced in strategic intellectual property protection, licensing, university-industry relationships, corporate partnerships, strategic planning, due diligence, venture financing, corporate development and management of diverse teams and operations. Over the past 25 years, he has started and managed five successful companies based on technology licensed or developed at university or government laboratories. His experience is unique in that each of these ventures utilized very diverse technologies, and targeted different industries. Each company utilized multi-disciplinary scientific teams. Exit strategies for these ventures included public markets, merger and acquisition. Most recently, Mr. St. John served as CEO of InCode BioPharmaceutics, Inc. InCode is engaged in new drug development using cloning technologies. As CEO, he completed 3 rounds of venture funding and positioned the company for clinical trials of its drug candidates.
 

If you have questions about joining us for this free webinar, contact Gary Rawlings at grawlings@techcolumbus.org