Prepare for Success
How to Attract Venture Capital Financing
in Today's Market
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
8:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
8:00 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. Program
Musser Auditorium
Penn State Great Valley
30 East Swedesford Road
Malvern, PA
Sponsored by Eastern Technology Council
&
Fox Rothschild LLP
Now that the economic climate is improving, companies are once again investing in technology, sales and marketing, product development, and equipment, and are starting to look at opportunities for significant growth through strategic acquisitions or transactions. The improved economic climate is also spurring the growth of new start-up ventures focused on software, services, biotech, telecommunications and many other industries. However, this new economy brings a much tougher business environment that is increasingly competitive, requiring strategic decision-making, broader relationship networks, and abundant financial resources. Whether you are starting a new company or need to grow your later stage company, seeking financing from a venture capital firm may be your best strategy to accomplishing your business strategy.
The task of choosing and approaching a venture capital firm is absolutely critical. Many proposals are rejected either because management clearly lacks the entrepreneurial skills necessary to build a business or because the venture capital firm does not believe in the market opportunity or the product feasibility. In too many cases, however, turndowns stem from the entrepreneurs' lack of familiarity with a particular venture capital firm's tastes, requirements or specializations. It is therefore crucial to know how to choose the right firm and how to approach it.
This program focuses on navigating your way through the venture capital financing process-from first determining whether you should seek venture capital financing, to finding the right venture capital firm, to negotiating and closing a venture capital deal. Participants from various disciplines will offer their insights and expertise to help you successfully navigate your road ahead. Whether you are starting a new venture, or are seeking capital to grow your later stage company, this event will help in the critical process of choosing a venture capital strategy.
Moderator:
Michael S. Harrington, Esq. is a Partner of Fox Rothschild LLP. Michael's practice is dedicated primarily to representing regional, national and international early and middle-stage growth and technology companies in financing, mergers, acquisitions, licensing, taxation and related issues. Michael's clients represent a broad array of technology-focused industries, including medical device technologies, software, Internet commerce, e-learning, healthcare data mining, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and telecommunications. Michael is a founder of his firm's Emerging Business Services Group and is quickly becoming one of the region's leading attorneys in servicing emerging growth and technology companies.
Panel Participants:
Robert S. Adams is Managing Partner of NextStage Advisors and Founding Partner of NextStage Capital. NextStage Advisors is one of the region's leading business advisory firms focused on providing management and growth consulting services to early and middle-stage growth companies. NextStage Capital is an early-stage venture capital fund-in-formation that is focused on the technology sector. Rob is a venture industry executive with more than 13 years of broad operational and financial experience, including business strategy development and implementation, financial analysis and modeling, management development, and business positioning. At NextStage, Rob is focused on strategizing and executing best-practice business improvements that add value to technology and life science companies in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Robert W. Fesnak is Managing Partner of Fesnak and Associates LLP. Bob has more than 20 years of extensive experience in audit, accounting, tax, valuation and financial consulting for private, public and middle-market companies. Bob's areas of concentration include manufacturing, high-tech, services, real estate, wholesale, licensing, health-care, leasing, and broker-dealer industries. His experience includes assisting clients in the registration of various debt and equity securities with the SEC including various SEC filings. Bob was a partner at Smart and Associates, LLP from 1990 to 2004. He is an adjunct professor in the Executive MBA Program at the University of Sciences in Philadelphia and is a member of the investment committee for the Penn SE Mezzanine Fund, L.P., which provides financing to middle-market companies.
Brian G. Murphy is a Partner of NewSpring Ventures, one of the region's most active and respected venture capital firms. Brian has nearly twenty years of entrepreneurial, general management, and M&A experience and possesses a strong background in business strategy, investment structuring, organizational growth, and negotiation of mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining NewSpring, Brian founded and remains Chairman of Acquisition Management Services, Inc. (AMS), a diversified corporate development advisory firm that focuses on middle- market companies. Brian also has been a founder of two venture-backed startups, WordWave, a legal court reporting and broadcast captioning leader, and Precyse Solutions, a provider of medical transcription and health information management services to acute care hospitals.
Stephen B. Wilcox, Ph.D., FIDSA, is a Principal and the founder of Design Science, a Philadelphia-based firm that specializes in consulting services to optimize the human interface of products and, most recently, to prepare early and middle-stage companies seeking outside funding for their presentation to these outside funding sources. Steve is the Chair of the Human Factors Professional Interest Section of IDSA (The Industrial Designers' Society of America) and a former VP and board member. Steve also serves on the Human Factors Engineering Committee of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI). Steve's book, with Michael Wiklund, Designing Usability into Medical Products, was just released.
Jeffrey H. Nicholas, Esq. a Partner of Fox Rothschild LLP and serves as Chair of the firm's Emerging Business Services Group. Jeff concentrates his practice in the areas of securities and corporate finance, including venture capital financing and other private as well as public offerings, securities reporting and disclosure under the Federal securities laws, and corporate transactions. Jeff is a member of the Board of Directors of BioStrategy Partners, a non-profit organization that provides pre-seed and early-stage life sciences companies with the tools to help them grow their businesses to the next level. Additionally, Jeff conceived of and is launching Delaware Crossing Investor Group, an angel network serving the region. Jeff is recognized as one of the region's leading attorneys servicing early and middle-stage growth companies.
Please register for this event online at
https://www.techcouncil.org/calendardetail.cfm?CalendarID=618Questions can be directed to Melissa DeLicci at mdelicci@techcouncil.org or 610-975-9430 x4564.
