These days, obtaining current, correct information is a challenge. The ability to set up a website in minutes, millions of blogs and instant communication has created two situations – 1) everybody believes his or her opinion has great value (!); and 2) there are what appear to be infinite information channels to monitor to know what’s happening. And really, how much time each day can you devote to keeping up to date with everything.

I found some local daily updates that help me stay on top of things. The Boston Business Journal has a number of daily newsletters. I receive a Daily Update, Morning Buzz and Startups & Venture Capital Daily. I quickly review the list of highlighted articles and within moments, know what’s important in the Hub.

In today’s Startups & Venture Capital edition there is a great article by David Barbash of Posternak Blankstein & Lund LLP entitled “How to avoid making an adversary out of your VC.” It’s worth a few minutes of your time to read it.

Another very important resource is IBM. Our regular meetings are held at the IBM Innovation Center in Waltham. IBM does not charge us for the use of the meeting room. However, as I’ve frequently said at our meetings, there is a difference between no-charge and free. There is always a cost of some sort or another when using a facility such at the one in Waltham. And it is a cost we are delighted to “pay” because IBM has some tremendous programs for Entrepreneurs.

IBM’s Global Entrepreneur program is aimed at start-up companies that are

• Privately held
• In business for less than five years
• Actively engaged in developing a software-based product or service

There is no charge to participate and the program gives you access to software, knowledgeable people, and promotion support. It’s like adding more people to your business and extending the size and reach of your company.

IBM has just announced its upcoming SmartCamps, including one in Boston on June 20 and 21st. The winners of SmartCamp Boston will take part in a three-month mentorship with IBM and will be invited to attend the SmartCamp Global Finals. You can find more information at http://128icg.org/2012_SmartCamp.pdf. Take a minute to see if this might be useful to you and your company.

And as always, any questions, problems or concerns, just call or send an email to me.

Annette
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Annette Reynolds, Executive Director
annette@128icg.org
617 306 2906

In the 5 years I’ve been running the group, there have been a few changes. The Roster is now distributed electronically rather than printed at the meeting. Our location has been floating since the Best Western discontinued its hospitality services earlier this year. We have one evening meeting during the summer (Nothin’ But Net). We’ve also formed alliances with a number of other groups in an attempt to get everyone’s information to the greatest number of people.

When I first took over the group, I asked everyone in the database what they liked, what they disliked and what they would like to see changed. I am once again asking those questions. What changes would make the group and the meetings more valuable to you? If you were the boss, what would you do? Please take the time and let me know.

Historically, relatively few companies seeking Venture Capital or Angel investment dollars have actually succeeded, and the economic conditions of the past few years have further depressed the opportunities for young companies. At our meetings, as entrepreneurs speak with the investors, occasionally I see interest glinting in the eyes of our speakers. Both Sean and Ryan have money to spend. You rarely have a better chance for a one-on-one with an investor than at one of our meetings.

Next week we’ll be at the Enterprise Center in Salem, MA at 128 Venture North. Once again our speakers are people who can help entrepreneurs find money to run their companies. Join us then. To register: http://2010may27funding.eventbrite.com/

See you then.

From the perspective of what investors tell us at our meetings, this is a highly distilled version of what they see. Given, the show is edited for high entertainment value, but the underlying principles are all on display.

If you missed the show, you can view it online at http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank/index .

Several factors make this prime-time fare:

1. The entrepreneurs are pitching consumer-focused ideas. No high-tech or drug discovery here. You will see kitchen items, a hinge for a guitar neck and (believe it or not) an implantable bluetooth device. I guess you pull on your earlobe to connect.

2. The level of naivete about investment is apparent – the entrepreneurs are willing to give up 5-10% of their companies for lots of money. Company valuation is a strange concept.

3. At least one idea for each show is just way out there (a la a Bluetooth connection you need surgery for).

4. The entrepreneurs have PASSION! Many have mortgaged themselves to the hilt and invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in their dreams.

Take a few minutes and watch it. Very entertaining to be sure.

Admittedly, I am biased. I wish to see Massachusetts as the world leader in Innovation. While existing companies should have the right to protect their products and IP, too often the non-compete is wielded as a heavy club to beat to death the advent of potential competitors. I have seen where a start-up company was sued as they were attempting to raise their second round of capital. Although the courts found in favor of the start-up defendants, precious resources were squandered defending the company and almost derailed the raising of additional monies that were needed to keep the company moving forward. And here is an ethical question for you. If a company lays off a worker, should that company have the right to enforce a non-compete contract? In my mind I envision a firm hiring all the brightest minds in their field, and then laying them off after a couple of months, secure in the knowledge that they don’t have to compete with the best in their discipline for the next year.

You can read the entire editorial at: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2009/07/12/clause_for_concern/ . Also take the time to read the comments associated with this editorial. A number of bright people have opinions worth noting. Feel free to share your thoughts with us as well.

In order to assure that at least one investor is in the room, our speakers are always Angel Investors or Venture Capitalists.  That way there is at least one investor in the room. In truth, there are generally more. One of the gentlemen from Cambridge Light Partners is in attendance at most meetings. Those who have attended regularly have heard me tell the group that many angel investors travel incognito. They pose as attorneys or consultants or even management candidates. Almost as valuable as being able to speak to an investor face-to-face, is being able to speak with someone who can give you a personal introduction to an investor who might be interested in your company. Sometimes these people are consultants who are hired to help you prepare your company for investment and who will arrange an introduction. Sometimes these people are attorneys who work with venture capital firms and know what they are looking for in an investment.

At its core, the 128 Innovation Capital Group is a networking group. We provide a forum where you might meet the person or company that will help you achieve your goal. Unlike many other groups though, we allow you to introduce yourself to the entire group and provide a list of all attendees and their contact information after the meeting. Just as importantly, if you have need of a particular type of resource, you can call me, and I’ll go through my entire database and help identify someone who can help you. EXCEPT … I don’t make referrals to investors. First, I don’t feel I have the expertise to evaluate your idea well enough to know to whom to refer you; and second, there are times when you must do the hard work yourself. Taking the journey has a tremendous amount of value.

So, what is our value proposition? We provide a venue where you can meet those who can help you become more successful. We provide contact information for all those who come to the meeting and share it with you. We can provide referrals to those who can help you – service providers and consultants, sales professionals and management gurus. We give you a forum on LinkedIn where you can communicate directly with others in the group ( http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/1513/651956658E7C ). Taking advantage of these tools can help bring you success.

Special thanks to our speakers of the past few months:  Dan Bathon of Windspeed Ventures, Dhiraj Malkani of Rockport Capital, Luis Barros of the Massachusetts Life Science Center, Ania Knap of MaxTera, Fred Morris of Brook Venture Partners, Gary Magnant of Sage Science and Gregg Stone of Kestrel Ventures (download presentation).

And a very special THANK YOU to Richard Langevin for kicking off our Virtual Networking Event on Blitztime.  I spoke with many who attended and they all agreed the presentation was  first rate and the networking more intense and useful than many other types of networking events. You can download Richard’s presentation by clicking here.

Plan to join us for our next BlitzTime event on May 21st where we will be featuring a program by Margaret Somer, Regional Director of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center. Her topic is, “Thinking Outside the Investment Box: Alternative Investment Options” – an extremely timely subject. You can register for this event by clicking here.

Thurs., March 26, 2009  7:15 AM   Enterprise Center at Salem State College

How To Find Investors in Biotech

Register for this meeting and pay by credit card.

Register for this meeting and pay by at the door.

Join us for a Panel Discussion of opportunities in the Biotech field. Our panelists include Luis Barros, Senior Vice President of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Ania Knap, Co-founder, President and Chief Science Officer of MaxTera and Frederic H. Morris, Founder and Partner at Brook Venture Partners.

Luis Miguel Barros, Senior Vice President of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center in their Investments and Industry Development section. He is the person who can tell you all about the $1 billion commitment of the Patrick Administration to growing the biotech sector in Massachusetts and what that can mean to you. 

Ania Knap, PhD, MaxTera Co-founder.  President and Chief Science Officer

Ania will talk about the experience of MaxTera in raising funding.  MaxThera, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing new drugs to treat bacterial infections, especially those resistant to existing antibiotics. 

Frederic H. Morris, Brook Venture Partners, Partner and Founder

Brook Venture Fund II is a $100 million venture fund with SBIC license, which has made 17 investments to date. Its focus is Information Technology (CRM, Business Intelligence, Publishing and other data-rich business activities); and Medical Technology (devices/software/technology-based services).  Initial investment size is typically $1.5 – $3 million, with total investment in a company of $5 million.  Management is of primary concern in Brook’s evaluation, since it believes that management is most responsible for the success of a company rather than the technology or the market. Brook Venture Fund I with related partnerships invested $25 million into 17 companies; the team and the strategy of focusing on expansion stage technology companies in the under-$5 million investment size capital gap resulted in top-quartile returns in its vintage peer group.  Mr. Morris is on the Boards of HistoRx, Inc., PointCare Technologies, Inc.; Peminic Inc.; Bioscan, Inc.; Laser Projection Technologies, Inc.; Telematch, Inc., Security Innovation, Inc., Atlas Watersystems, Inc. and the North Shore Technology Council (MA) and the North Shore Accelerator. Prior to forming Brook, Mr. Morris founded and led the Specialized Lending Division of State Street Bank in Boston where he was a Senior Vice President and member of the Management Committee.  Mr. Morris holds a BA from Yale and earned his MBA from Harvard after serving as Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy.

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March 12th Meeting in Waltham

We had a full house for our March meeting in Watlham on March 12^th when Dhiraj Malkani of Rockport Capital spoke about Opportunities for Investment in Clean Energy Technologies. This meeting was sponsored by  MassInvestor, Inc., Publisher of the Massachusetts Venture Capital Directory. Our moderator was Rob Adelson who did his usual masterful job.

We had several special treats at the meeting. The first was the presence of a delegation from Norway whose main goal was to gain insight on the Angel and Venture Capital funding process in the United States. Thank you to Ron Sutherland of Innovation Norway for helping to make this happen.

The meeting was also captured on video by WCAC  – Waltham’s local Cable Access Channel. Once the editing is finished, I will post the session for all to view.

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Massachusetts Venture Capital Directory

As I mentioned above, our meeting was sponsored by the Massachusetts Venture Capital Directory, published by MassInvestor, Inc. The folks at the company have been long-time supporters of the 128 Innovation Capital Group and Michael Stern, Editor of the directory sits on the Advisory Committee of the group, providing help and counsel when needed.

More importantly, the Massachusetts Venture Capital Directory is my bible when it comes to finding presenters and providing information to you about various firms that invest in exciting young companies. Your association with the 128 Innovation Capital Group entitles you to a 15% discount when purchasing a copy. A special site has been set up for our group – http://www.massinvestor.com/128icg.htm . Check it out.

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Upcoming Events

128 Innovation Capital Group and 128 Venture North

March 26, 2009, 7:15 – 10:00 AM

128 Venture North

Enterprise Center at Salem State College

How to Find Investors in Biotech – A Panel Discussion

April 9, 2009

128 Innovation Capital Group

Mr. R. Gregg Stone – Kestrel Ventures, LLC

Angel Investors Overview – Who Angels Are and How they Finance Startup Companies

Affiliate Groups

ENET – the IEEE Boston Entrepreneur’s Network

Tuesday April 7, 2009

Raising Money from VC’s and Private Equity – The Capital Continuum

Medical Development Group

Wednesday April 1, 2009

Advances in Cardiology Devices: Does the Performance Match the Promise?

WPI Venture Forum

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Transition, Exit and the Future

OnLine Events 

Friday, March 27

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM

Morning Networking with Annette

This is a general networking session I am promoting to all networkers I know. It’s a good way to find out how BlitzTime works. All you need is a telephone. If you are in front of your computer, you can see the profile of the person you’re networking with. Register at http://www.blitztime.com/events/2859-1128764438

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Agility, Caution and Cost Control: How Small Companies Are Responding to a Big Recession

Webinar presented by one of our Gold Sponsors – Trinet

Register: http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=139420&s=1&k=B7A73652B7DF337F7B81A64A479969CA

There is no cost to attend

Thursday, April 23^rd

8:00 – 9:30 AM

How to survive in Challenging Times without Outside Investors

To register: http://www.blitztime.com/events/2861-1128764438

Thursday, May 21^st

8:00 – 9:30 AM

Thinking Outside the Investment Box: Alternative Investment Options

To register: http://www.blitztime.com/events/2862-1128764438

Business Expo

May 19, 2009 – New England XPO For Business at Boston

Boston Convention & Exhibition Center

The 128 Innovation Capital Group is on the Steering Committee for this event that should prove to give great value to all who exhibit and all who attend. There will be over 36 Educational Seminars spanning the many issues that face business owners and managers. There will be over 300 exhibitors, showing the latest and greatest. And best of all, there is no charge to attend. For more information, go to http://www.eventmanagement.org/newengland/ .

Following the event, you are able to send an e-mail to those you spoke with from the BlitzTime site. The e-mail has your e-mail address. You will not have the contact info for the others until they contact you or respond to your e-mail.

While our initial event was strictly networking, future events will be scheduled with a speaker followed by networking – mirroring our regular meetings. Please let me know what topics you would like to know more about and I’ll find an expert in that area. Also, there are many other events on Blitztime that might be of interest to you, especially if you are a hard-core networker. I have been very pleased by the connections I have made through BlitzTime that have proven to be valuable to me in my various ventures and pursuits.

Check it out – http://www.blitztime.com/bt/1128764438