In This Issue:
The CTC Expert Series on Entrepreneurial Finance Continues with A Distinguished Venture Capital Panel
Despite a night of horrendous traffic and parking problems, the second in a series of Expert Panels was a big success. The Venture Capital Expert Panel was hosted by the USC Marshall Center for Technology Commercialization and sponsored by Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan LLP.
The local Venture Capital (VC) community was represented by Ramneek Gupta, ITU Ventures, a premier VC firm focusing on early-stage businesses emerging from the nation's leading universities and research institutions; John Babcock from Rustic Canyon, one of the largest VC firms in SoCal; and Leo Griffin from Monitor Ventures, an early-stage investor and advisory firm that is part of the Monitor Group, a global strategy and consulting firm and merchant bank. (Pictured L-R: Louis Dienes, Darius Sankey, Leo Griffin, Ramneek Gupta)
Dr. Darius Sankey from Zone Ventures and an adjunct professor at the Marshall School of Business was the moderator of the panel. “A profusion of intellectual capital exists at the nation’s leading universities. Professors and graduate students are uniquely positioned to capitalize on their intellect and research,” said Mr. Gupta from ITU ventures, which periodically hires students as campus partners that help the company to identify what is happening at universities.
The Venture Capital Strategies panel provided a valuable opportunity for business, science, and engineering students interested in entrepreneurship, as well as faculty, to have their questions answered directly by industry experts and to establish relationships that will facilitate their access to VCs once their new companies get to a point where they require a significant infusion of capital.
“A strong business model and a qualified management team are essential for the success of any technology-based company”, said John Babcock from Rustic Canyon . “The management team must have demonstrated a proven history of execution with relevant operational experience and technology expertise, and a passion for building successful companies”
Watch for the third panel of the CTC Expert Series on Entrepreneurial Finance, which will take place in February (date to be confirmed) at Popovich Hall 300 (JKP) and will focus on Investment Banking. Those interested in attending should log into CTC’s website (www.usc.edu/techalliance) for detailed information and RSVP to techcenter@marshall.usc.edu.
The USC Marshall Center for Technology Commercialization and the Los Angeles County Business Technology Center partner to create The Technology Entrepreneurship Internship Program
The USC Marshall Center for Technology Commercialization (CTC) has joined forces with a local technology incubator, the Los Angeles County Business Technology Center, to create an internship program that allows USC students to work directly with early-stage technology companies.
The Business Technology Center (BTC), a project of the Community Development Commission of the County of Los Angeles, is a business innovation center with the mission of assisting start-up and early-stage technology firms to grow and prosper. The BTC is dedicated to the development of high technology firms through business management assistance, technical assistance, and the coordination of available financial resources. The BTC is presently focused on companies that transfer and commercialize technologies from federal laboratories and universities.
“This is a great opportunity for both USC students and the new firms providing the projects and internships. The companies benefit from the work of qualified and motivated students while the students are able to put into practice all the knowledge they have acquired at the university, to experience the dynamics of a new firm and to increase their network”, said Juan Felipe Vallejo, CTC’s Project Manager.
Projects and internship opportunities with companies that are tenants or affiliates of the BTC are periodically listed in the Technology Entrepreneurship Internship Program (TEIP) home page in CTC’s website. Qualified USC students interested in these opportunities can submit their resumes on-line for consideration. The opportunities include both paid and unpaid internships.
The first intern in the program, Tyler Newby, a Marshall MBA candidate, is working on a market research project with Arroyo Sciences, a subsidiary of ViaSpace, a BTC tenant that is currently investigating the commercialization of NASA/JPL developed technology in the Sensor Fusion marketplace. “Business Incubators are great for MBA students to be involved with because they are exposed to the newest businesses and get the chance to see, first hand, how new companies get off the ground, grow, and prosper. This experience is invaluable for future entrepreneurs who will start their own business one day. I’m excited to be part of one of, if not, the most successful and influential Incubator in California. The project I’m working on will not only be a learning experience, but also will be a chance to network with investors, business developers, and new businesses that are looking for good MBA’s”.
For more information about the Technology Entrepreneurship Internship Program (TEIP), visit the USC Marshall Center for Technology Commercialization website at http://www.usc.edu/org/techalliance/
Chris Moulding, Co-Chairperson of the Network T2 Consortium and Senior Licensing Associate of Technology Transfer at USC talks about the involvement of the University with Project T2, a technology transfer conference that took place earlier this month.
The conference primarily seeks to showcase University-based startup companies, introducing them to venture capital and angel investors. But the term “Project” embodies a number of initiatives we hope the Network T2 Consortium can advance. Network T2 (NT2) is a consortium of technology transfer professionals from 19 research institutions in Southern California. We have bi-monthly meetings to discuss common interest issues, to hear from companies seeking to in-license university technologies, and to prepare for the annual conference held last month.
Network T2 , assisted by Larta, will pursue a couple of new projects I find exciting. First is an initiative called “Virtual Bundling Agent” that is being supported by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City. This project seeks to standardize a set of agreements between participating organizations, as well as to identify likely areas of technology cooperation, so that multi-institutional collaborations and technology development programs can be organized and begin collaborative work quickly, bypassing the often lengthy process for negotiating formal collaboration agreements between institutions. NT2, with assistance from Larta, is also planning next year to hold regularly scheduled meetings for new IP Review. Larta will assemble a panel of business, legal, and technology experts to review recent technology disclosures from NT2 member institutions. The panel may provide advice regarding technical feasibility, patentability, and potential licensees or investors to contact, assisting the technology transfer offices in their decision making.
The Project T2 Conference this year, a one-day event, had over 25 universities represented, heard presentations from 50 companies, and 300+ attendees. Although these represent increases over the previous year’s event, the Project T2 Conference is not intended to become a mega-event. Rather it hopes to provide a manageable forum where entrepreneurs in technology-based startups can gain the benefit of interactions with investors and management professionals. The Universities and tech transfer professionals in NT2 benefit as well, having the opportunity to make new contacts for the deals that are yet to come.
What were some of the USC technologies showcased during the conference?
We had excellent participation from USC entrepreneurs attending the conference, with seven technologies showcased, each represented by a company or entrepreneurs intending to start up a company. One of these, Contour Crafting, which was highlighted in CTC’s April newsletter issue, described the technology being developed on campus for large-scale computerized fabrication of housing and other types of buildings. Life science technologies licensed from USC by two biotechnology companies, Novelix Pharmaceuticals and Neumedicines LLC, were showcased at the conference. The first of these involves rational design of small molecules for cancer therapies, and the latter involves the development of biologic molecules that alleviate hematological toxicity associated with chemotherapy. Other technologies include software applications that: 1) allow multiple people to interact with hologram-like three dimensional images for potential use in air traffic control, science education, and network security arenas among others, 2) provide educational modules for rapid language and culture skills assimilation using interactive simulation games, speech recognition, and artificial intelligence-based aids and tutors, and 3) a couple of separate applications for encryption in email correspondence and identity confirmation. I was pleased with the enthusiasm shown by the entrepreneurs developing USC technologies, and expect that we may see even more participation in coming years.
What can USC researchers expect to get back from participating in the conference?
The conference is set up to maximize opportunities to network and develop interactions between businesses, investors, and technology transfer professionals. I think that everyone who participated in the conference will have gained at least a couple of potential useful contacts. Two years ago Language Weaver, a USC spinout, credits the Project T2 event with fostering the initial contacts that helped secure investment and management for the company. The initial investor and the company CEO actually related their story during one of the workshops at this year’s conference. For companies selected to make oral presentations, Larta provides mentoring services. It brings several technology and business experts to review and critique the presentations in advance. Presenters seem to find their advice valuable in making the presentations more persuasive. Planning for November’s Project T2 Conference usually begins in earnest around the end of July and printed information is generally available by early September. I hope that USC entrepreneurs will continue to have a strong presence at the conference.