| CVG & ACG-CT Breakfast Meeting: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 The alternative energy sector offers the promise of profits and employment creation as it attracts private investment and public sector support. Join with members of CVG and ACG-CT at our annual Hartford Breakfast meeting to hear what our distinguished roster of panelists have to say about the emerging regulatory and investment climate. Topics will include a preview of the most promising technologies and innovations, firm strategies for coping with the lack of credit, access to capital, and how to navigate the political and regulatory landscape.
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| © 2009 Connecticut Venture Group · 203.256.5955 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Friday, November 6, 2009
CVG - Alternative Energy
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
New England Venture Summit - Dec. 8
If you're not at a stage where you are ready to present, you can still learn a lot about what Venture Capitalists are looking for, if you go with your ears and mind open. Talk less and listen more.
You can find out which niches the investors operate in, how much they are looking to invest and how much they expect to make on their investments. They will tell you what they want to read in your business plan.
(By the way, I have no association with the upcoming summit, but I do want to spread the word about it for the good of my readers.) Read on....
New England Venture Summit announces:
Call for Presenting Companies
4th annual conference will showcase 50 of the hottest early stage and emerging growth technology, life sciences and clean tech firms
Friends,
If you are a startup seeking capital and/or partnerships submit your plan for the opportunity to present at The 2009 New England Venture Summit, the premier venue connecting emerging growth companies with active venture capitalists, angel investors, Corporate VCs and investment firms.
Now in its 4th year, the program will bring together over 500 executives and feature thirty leading VCs on timely panel discussions, presentations by 50 cutting edge companies and high-level networking opportunities.
The early application deadline for presenting opportunities is October 21st, 2009.
Apply to Present:
To be considered for one of the Top Innovator slots, please e-mail iwant2present@youngstartup.com for an application.
Inquiries:
Inqueries related to presenting? Contact Adam Negnewitzky at adam@youngstartup.com
Nominations:
To nominate a company send email with details to nominations@youngstartup.com
The 2009 New England Venture
Date:
Location:
Warm Regards,
Joe Benjamin
Founder & CEO
youngStartup Ventures
Where Innovation Meets Capital
Friday, April 3, 2009
Angel Funding 2008
Angels are funding fewer ventures, but they're risking about the same amount of money as they did in 2007. Angels only fund about 1% of the plans they see. That's why it's crucial to have a really solid business plan to demonstrate why your venture will succeed and return the investors' capital to them many times over. For tips on writing a great business plan, see www.upstartbusinessplanning.com.
Read the article from UNH below. Here is a link, too.
http://unh.edu/news/campusjournal/2009/Apr/01angel.cfm
Angel Investments Down in 2008, But Not Deals
By Lori Wright, Media Relations
April 1, 2009
Angel investments dropped in 2008 by 26.2 percent over 2007, but the number of deals was relatively unchanged, with 55,480 entrepreneurial ventures receiving funding, according to the 2008 Angel Market Analysis released by the Center for Venture Research at UNH.
The angel investor market had a considerable contraction in investment dollars from last year but exhibited little change in the number of investments, according to Jeffrey Sohl, director of the Center for Venture Research at the Whittemore School of Business and Economics.
Total investments in 2008 were $19.2 billion, a decrease of 26.2 percent from 2007 when investments totaled $26 billion. However, 55,480 entrepreneurial ventures received angel funding in 2008, a modest 2.9 percent decrease from 2007 when 57,120 entrepreneurial ventures received angel funding. The number of active investors in 2008 was 260,500 individuals, virtually unchanged from 2007’s 258,200 individuals.
“The significant decline in total dollars, coupled with the small decrease in investments resulted in a smaller deal size for 2008, a decline in deal size of 24 percent from 2007. In contrast to venture capital, in which money must be invested during the life of the fund and is in part based on the size of the fund, angel investing is an individual decision and angels invest from their net worth. These data indicate that while angels have not significantly decreased their investment activity, they are committing less dollars resulting from lower valuations and a cautious approach to investing,” Sohl said.
Healthcare services/medical devices and equipment accounted for the largest share of investments, with 16 percent of total angel investments in 2008, followed by software (13 percent), retail (12 percent) and biotech (11 percent). Industrial/energy accounted for 8 percent of investments, reflecting a continued appetite for green technologies, and media (7 percent) rounds out the top six investment sectors.
“Retail and media have solidified their presence in the top six sectors, mainly due to a continued interest in social networking ventures,” Sohl said.
Mergers and acquisitions represented 70 percent of the angel exits, and IPOs 4 percent, in 2008. Bankruptcies accounted for 26 percent of the exits. Annual returns for angel’s exits (mergers and acquisitions and IPOs) were 22 percent, however, these returns were quite variable.
Angels have maintained their position as the largest source of seed and start-up capital, with 45 percent of 2008 angel investments in the seed and start-up stage, a slight increase of 6 percent over 2007. Angels also exhibited an interest in post-seed/start-up investing with 40 percent of investments in this stage, also an increase from 2007. Expansion stage investing (14 percent) showed the largest decline. New, first sequence, investments represent 63 percent of 2008 angel activity, unchanged from the last two years, indicating a continued preference for new, as opposed to follow-on, investments.
The Center for Venture Research has been conducting research on the angel market since 1980. The center’s mission is to provide an understanding of the angel market and the critical role of angels in the early stage equity financing of high growth entrepreneurial ventures. Through the tenet of academic research in an applied area of study, the center is dedicated to providing reliable and timely information on the angel market to entrepreneurs, private investors and public policymakers. For more information visit www.unh.edu/cvr or contact the center at 2-3341.
Monday, September 15, 2008
What VCs Look For
The one statement that stood out to me most was this:
“When I’m looking at the financial projections for a company, the one thing I know for certain is that they’re wrong,” says Topche. “Maybe the market changes; maybe a new competitor will appear; maybe there will be a regulatory change. The ability of the management team to adapt to that change in their environment by adjusting their product or doing something different strategically is almost always the determining factor in the success of that company. These are things that you have to get comfortable with before you write a check.”
That's why Venture Capitalists like investing in smart management. While you can write a great plan and have detailed financial projections, you have to be flexible and able to adjust your plan as the market changes or opportunities present themselves.
To read more, visit this link: http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0908/pro04.html
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Connecticut Innovations - Funding for Ventures
CI is a public/private partnership that provides venture funding. It was started to help Connecticut's economy grow via entrepreneurship. The organization is especially helpful to high tech, bio tech, and sustainable and clean energy companies. Visit their website and subscribe to their blog. Learn more about the clean energy fund and chances for start-ups to get funding.
Friday, January 25, 2008
What I Learned at the Connecticut Venture Group - 1
Entrepreneurship is hot in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Typically, when the economy is disrupted, people turn to starting businesses. The meeting was packed with about 150 entrepreneurs all seeking capital. We did hear from 10 investors (an angel, a banker and eight VCs), who spoke about their areas of interest, their firms and how much they are looking to invest. What amazed me is how much venture capital is available in my area -- millions of dollars. However, each venture capitalist or angel tends to want to invest in specific areas that mesh with their own expertise and their investment criteria. Some want software companies with $5 million in revenue seeking expansion capital. Others want to invest only $500,000 in early stage companies which actually manufacture something and have at least one paying customer. The list goes on.
It's important for anyone seeking capital to be strategic. Discover what the investors want before sending out your plans or executive summaries. One way to do this is to attend meetings like the one I attended or to attend venture fairs. CVG runs the largest venture fair in the Northeast, called Crossroads. I was a judge for last year's event. About half the companies that apply to present are accepted. Go to the CVG's website to learn more about Crossroads and other CVG events.
http://www.cvg.org/