CONNECT eNews - February 25, 2010
CONNECT NEWS
By Camille Sobrian, COO, CONNECT
New York City State of the City address announces creation of a NYC CONNECT modeled after San Diego CONNECT
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn focused her State of the City address last Thursday afternoon on lifting the city out of the economic downturn that has led to the loss of 143,000 jobs in the five boroughs—outlining a plan to cultivate a high-tech industry…She announced High Tech Connect, patterned after a successful program in San Diego that pairs budding tech companies with successful entrepreneurs in the industry and helps them develop business plans and find work space. Read more in Crain’s New York Business.com and SDUT.
VC Rules of the Road from Carl Eibl, Managing Partner, Enterprise Partners
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To get VC funding in the current environment, you need both a product and a customer. The only two questions to convincingly answer to an investor are: “Precisely who is the customer and precisely why are they buying your product?”
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The emphasis is on “precisely.” To answer convincingly, the entrepreneur or management team must do a deep dive into the customer or set of customers in a space and really understand the “who” and "why.” It is not sufficient enough to say that the team comes from a particular industry and based on their background they know the answer.
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Who are the individuals who make the buy decision? What is their title? What is their function and responsibility in their company? How do they get evaluated and rewarded within their job responsibilities? How many people are involved with the buy decision and will this be a consistent situation with other customers?
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Why did the individual(s) buy the product or solution? Answer this question in terms of the customer pain point that is solved and why this pain point is a top priority. As well as the selection criteria and internal customer dynamics and rewards of the individual(s) who make the buy decision. Will this be a consistent situation with other customers?
- If the start-up only has one customer or may not have a customer but has insight to the key questions above, think about staging VC funding with very small capital to go prove the answers to the key questions above and then get a second portion of funding upon proof.
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Ask an EIR – CONNECT EIR Mike Krupp fields CEO questions
Q1. Who should I approach for investment?
A1. The fastest way to get traction is to pitch individual investors or VCs who have experience in your space. They will quickly understand the space, the problem you are solving and the size of the market opportunity. They might already have invested in a complementary technology, partner or customer.
Q2. How long does it take to secure investment in my company?
A2. It depends on the source you approach and how prepared you are to answer their questions. One thing that is certain, it takes longer than you think.
Q3. How do I meet investors?
A3. Along with CONNECT programs like Springboard, Deal Network and Venture Roundtable, use your network. Ask your law firm, accounting firm, tenant representation firm and all your business acquaintances. Network at CONNECT events and the events held by the trade organization in your sector.
CONNECT Scrubbed DEALS
By Ruprecht von Buttlar, Director, Business Creation and Development
Springboard conducts first ever grants panel: Mintz Levin, Knobbe Martens and Fabiani & Company provide guidance
The objective of the grants panel is to position the company most effectively for the acquisition of federal grants. Diomics was the first company to present; they will focus their launch in the life sciences arena by developing a product line that addresses needs in the forensic sciences industry. Read more here.
Funding NEWS
Substantial portions of grant money from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) remain available
See story in GrantWeek
The available ARRA funding opportunities, in addition to other ARRA updates, are accessible on the ARRA 2009: Economic Stimulus Package Updates & Resources website at: http://www.foundation.sdsu.edu/news/news_stimulus_resources.html
NCI 2010 funding opportunities for small businesses - apply by April 5
National Cancer Institute’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs announce new grant funding opportunities. Read more here.
Upcoming Funding Related Workshops:
Policy NEWS
UC San Diego Extension presents program on politics and public policy of U.S. healthcare
The week-long program explores the roles the federal, state and local government play in healthcare and how individuals can influence them. You will also have the opportunity to learn government structures, the legislative process and how to develop and deliver strategic, effective communications. In the end the skills and relationships that result will allow participants to advocate more effectively and take a greater leadership role. Read more here.
Member NEWS
A growing topic in the healthcare industry is the adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs) with the incentive from the American Recovery Act and the $19.2 billion from the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act to implement them. CliniComp is helping the healthcare industry get up to speed with their Essentris EMR which eliminates paper charting in hospitals by automating the documentation process in hospital’s departments by integrating with bedside devices and existing hospital information systems. In turn this reduces error, improves productivity and forms the foundation of a hospital-wide database. Read more in SDBJ.
CliniComp’s Essentris system has been implemented into a large portion of the Department of Defense's electronic medical records market. U.S. Military Health named CliniComp its inpatient clinical documentation provider in 2009. Today it supports more than 60 percent of military health system inpatient beds and by the end of 2011, will be installed at all facilities. Read more in SDBJ.
Partner NEWS
Cleantech Group names CleanTECH San Diego one of the top 10 cleantech cluster organization of 2010
Read more here.
Upcoming CONNECT EVENTS
Upcoming COMMUNITY EVENTS
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