Articles about Investors in Startups as of October 27, 2009

Not wanting to be left completely behind, Yahoo will soon launch their own real time search engine too. But unlike Microsoft and Google , they won’t be partnering with Twitter and Facebook directly for the data (perhaps memories of their ill-fated blog search engine from 2005 linger). Instead, we’ve heard, they’ll work with one of the existing real time search engines . If our source is correct, that partner is OneRiot , and the product will launch very soon. There isn’t much more to say about this right now.

…in Silicon Valley:…in applied research, all of those new discoveries are ultimately going to slow or stall because the ‘pull’ of innovators who want to put those technologies to work, is fading. Sure, some big and aggressive companies like Intel will put some these inventions to work. But the big pull has always come from the thousands of fast-moving, risk-taking new start-up companies who find unexpected (and sometimes vast) new applications for those technologies. Those companies aren’t there anymore.

What does it take to garner first place in a venture fair? Perhaps a technology that addresses a clear need. That certainly seemed to be the case when a new technology that measures the radiation absorbed into the human body from cell phones faster and for far less money than current methods was awarded first prize at the University of Maryland Electrical and Computer Engineering Research Review Day Faculty Venture Fair, held Oct. 9.

Ok, let’s review those wonderful days from whence we sprang, so fraught with the advantages of having nothing. So potent with opportunity. It was the middle of the ’70s when we started our careers. Inflation was high and rising. The Soviets were seen as a major threat. Japan was beating our brains out and buying everything, even if nailed down (like Pebble Beach and New York skyscrapers). I had to borrow money at 15% (or more) to buy paper in order to meet customer demands for printing.

Experts say there are real lessons for an entrepreneur to learn from the ABC reality show Shark Tank, in which entrepreneurs vie for venture capital, reports Entrepreneur.com . “If you’re an entrepreneur who’s planning on going in front of investors, this is a show you should start watching,” says Melissa Krinzman, managing director of the business plan development firm Venture Architects. “There are lessons to be learned from each pitch.” 1. Nail your elevator pitch. 2. Know your numbers.

Credit: The 5th Ape Do women have the guts to wear a halo ? The stereotype says no: Women want to play it safe with their money. They just aren’t as adventurous as men when it comes to investing – and that means most will shy away from becoming angels. It’s true women are still underrepresented in angel investing : Just 8% of the 225,000 active angels in 2005 were female, according to the Kauffman Foundation .

Angel investors across the country spent fewer dollars but backed more companies during the first half of 2009 compared to last year, according to a 13 Vote(s)

Many women get business loans from banks in order to start a business. Even though this is the traditional way, not many women know about grants.

Inc. magazine swears that there’s still angel investment funding out there for the right businesses.  Well, OK, maybe “swear” is too strong a word.  Still, the articles “ Angels Are Still Interested ” and “ Angel Investing 2009 ” paint the picture that, while perhaps not quite roaring like a mighty river, angel investor financing is more than just a pathetic trickle.

If you are a company rolling down the venture capital trail you’ve undoubtedly heard the term that usually shuts most fund raising efforts down before they can actually begin, that term being ‘due diligence’. When an investor of venture capital firm expresses interest in funding your project, the next thing that happens after intent contracts are submitted is the dreaded due diligence process.

If you are a company rolling down the venture capital trail you’ve undoubtedly heard the term that usually shuts most fund raising efforts down before they can actually begin, that term being ‘due diligence’. When an investor of venture capital firm expresses interest in funding your project, the next thing that happens after intent contracts are submitted is the dreaded due diligence process.

If you’re on the venture capital trail there’s no doubt you’ve heard the term that usually shuts most fund raising efforts down before they can actually begin, that term being ‘due diligence’. When an investor of venture capital firm expresses interest in funding your project, the next thing that happens after intent contracts are submitted is the dreaded due diligence process.

If you are a company rolling down the venture capital trail you’ve undoubtedly heard the term that usually shuts most fund raising efforts down before they can actually begin, that term being ‘due diligence’. When an investor of venture capital firm expresses interest in funding your project, the next thing that happens after intent contracts are submitted is the dreaded due diligence process.

If you’re a business on the venture capital trail there’s no doubt you’ve heard the term that usually shuts most fund raising efforts down before they can actually begin, that term being ‘due diligence’. When an investor from venture capital firm expresses interest in funding your project, the next thing that happens after intent contracts are submitted is the dreaded due diligence process.

The University of Virginia invites nominations of and applications from individuals with experience in science, technology, entrepreneurship, and business development for the position of Executive Director for Technology Transfer and Ventures. One of the primary missions of a comprehensive university is “dissemination of knowledge.” An important method of realizing this mission is through technology transfer – the process of transferring new ideas, inventions, processes, know-how, or services that are invented or created at the university to society, usually via commercialization in the private sector.

The University of Virginia invites nominations of and applications from individuals with experience in science, technology, entrepreneurship, and business development for the position of Executive Director for Technology Transfer and Ventures. One of the primary missions of a comprehensive university is “dissemination of knowledge.” An important method of realizing this mission is through technology transfer – the process of transferring new ideas, inventions, processes, know-how, or services that are invented or created at the university to society, usually via commercialization in the private sector.

San Diego-based biopharmaceuticals firms Ligand Pharmaceuticals and Metabasis Therapeutics announced this morning that Ligand is acquiring Metabasis, in a deal worth $3.2M in cash plus rights to receive payments from any royalties or licensing of programs in the future. According to Metabasis CEO Mark D. Erion, the sale was made due to the firm’s “limited financial and operational resources.” Metabasis was advised by Merriman Curhan Ford in the deal.

W2 ENERGY, Inc. (PINK: WTWO.PK ) MiV Investments initiates an independent company profile on W2 Energy, Inc. (PINK:WTWO.PK), which looks to breakthrough within a $23B bio-fuel industry, as a successful alternative renewable energy company amongst worldwide rising oil and energy prices. since the dawn of technological advancements, the world has relied on the burning of fossil fuels in order to generate sufficiency and reliability for our energy needs.

With all the manufacturers having their own application store, none is more powerful than Apple’s App Store. There has been several occasions where RIM’s BlackBerry AppWorld might have taken the spotlight away from them for a day or so… but the App Store’s dominance has paid huge dividends for Apple and the iPhone app developers. Another [...] Related posts: Is your Smartphone a “conversation killer”? In the Globe this morning there is a great article…

At one point or another, many people require funding to start up a business or project or even to purchase an asset. However, most of the times they do not have the required capital to do so. Sourcing for resources can be nerve racking and hectic. You should not give up though there are many sources of capital available if you do some research. If you want to achieve financial freedom you may have to take some risks but they should be calculated.

Trilliant , one of the most buzzed about names in the emerging Smart Grid space, has firmed up its toehold in Europe, announcing a new contract with British Gas , one of the most formidable utilities in the world. The power company, now owned by Centrica, will be deploying Trilliant’s software, called UnitySuite, to allow its smart electrical and gas meters communicate seamlessly with the utility, home energy displays, appliances like thermostats, and any other energy management devices that might be rolled out soon.

CEE-09 Investor Day is an investment conference for seed and start-up stage companies, entrepreneurs, angel investors, and venture capitalists. The conference staff expects approximately 200 start-ups from 10 countries and up to 1000 participants from all over CEE region to attend

Over the last few months, I have been in touch with several interesting startups and some of these are looking for angel investments. Sectors range from Mobile VAS (an interesting concept which operators have already embraced), online/offline ecommerce venture to startups in media space, as well as manufacturing ones. Funding requirement – each of these startups are looking for a crore or so. If you are an angel investor (a startup looking for angel investment), please get in touch (ashish at pluggd.in) asap.

On May 29 th of this year ZL Technologies sued Gartner Inc. and one its analysts, Carolyn DiCenzo, over their placement of ZL Technologies in the 2009 Email Archiving Magic Quadrant.  It is interesting to note that Gartner published their 2009 Magic Quadrant 10 days earlier.  In their original complaint ZL asked for over $1.696 billion in general and punitive damages, plus attorney’s fees and disgorgement of any of Gartner’s profits from the unlawful acts claimed by ZL Technologies.  The actual

Live Blogging Guy Kawasaki at the NASSCOM PRODUCT CONCLAVE at Hotel Lalit, Bangalore. I am Glad to be the Official Blogger again for the conference. There surely is nothing better than listening to Guy Kawasaki right in the morning. This surely is one of the best ever presentations I have seen. Guy is absolutely straight on with [...] Related posts Talking Mergers and Acquisitions in the Start-up Industry in India at The NASSCOM PRODUCT CONCLAVE So now we are in the second phase of the…

On November 17, 2009, the Nob Hill Masonic Center will open its doors to thousands of cleantech industry professionals for the Third Annual Cleantech Open Grand Expo & Awards Gala. The event will commence with an exposition floor filled with over 120 cleantech companies, followed by a series of demonstrations and business plan pitches from Cleantech Open finalists. The afternoon will continue with the national awards ceremony, during which the 2009 National Cleantech Open winner will be announced and presented with a $250,000 prize package.

Over the weekend we wrote about Bump Technologies’ recent funding round led by Sequoia Capital, which was revealed (perhaps accidentally) during Sequoia Partner Greg McAdoo’s presentation at Y Combinator ’s Startup School. Bump declined to comment on the round on Saturday, but they’ve now confirmed that the round has just closed. They still wouldn’t confirm the exact amount of the round, but we’ve heard it’s over $3 million.

On Wednesday, October 21, President Barack Obama announced plans to convene a conference of “regulators, congressional leaders, lenders and small businesses to determine what additional steps we can take to get credit flowing to small businesses that want to expand and create more jobs.” Small business groups like the American Small Business League (ASBL) are concerned the real agenda of the upcoming Obama administration small business conference will be to adopt legislation and policy that will change the definition of a small business and divert federal small business contracts to wealthy venture capitalists.

In September, defense contractor Raytheon announced an agreement to purchase R&D innovator BBN Technologies, but didn’t say for how much. Today, the deal closed and the price came out. It is $350 million. Investors Accel Partners and General Catalyst Partners, who co-led a management buyout in 2004, made out very nicely. Accel says that its cut was more than $100 million, which suggests it owned about a third of the company. (BBN was one of Accel partner Jim Breyer’s investments).

In January of 2009, the Jewish Masonic gangsters at the ADL ordered the Vatican to not lift its excommunication of Bishop Williamson . The Anti-Christ ADL argued that anyone who, “denies that six million Jews were deliberately slaughtered during the Holocaust,” is unworthy of Communion with Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Light of the World.

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