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7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. Agenda Review and Introductions
8:45 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Investment and Pricing Strategies
Many feel the investment environment has become more competitive,
putting pressure on valuations, response times and deal sources.
We will discuss:
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Pricing and valuations. Are we encountering increased
pricing, timing and competitive pressures? If so, how much?
What can we do to meet these challenges?
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Due diligence - more or less? Are we spending more or
less time on the market, technology and management than we did
before? What can be done to gain more time?
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Deal flow and marketing strategies. We will share creative
ideas about how to develop quality deal flow.
10:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Break
10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Seed and Early Stage Alliance Trust
Richard Testa of Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault will discuss a new
vehicle to facilitate investment by large institutional investors
in a pool of smaller seed and early stage venture capital funds.
Investment in the Trust will require one investment decision by
the institutional investor and provide an incremental $25 to $40
million in funding for each of the successful venture capital funds.
Speaker: Richard J. Testa
Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault
Attorneys At Law
Exchange Place, 53 State Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02109-2809
11:15 a.m. to 12:15 a.m. Internet Dynamics and Investment Opportunities
Neil Weintraut, Managing Director of Internet Research for Hambrecht
and Quist, will:
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Address the fundamentals underlying the Internet phenomenon.
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Cover expectations as to how this phenomenon will unfold now
and over the next five years.
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Discuss new industries and investment opportunities.
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Review the financial environment in face of the Internet phenomenon,
such as valuations as well as the financing stages for Internet
companies.
Speaker: J. Neil Weintraut
Managing Director
Internet Research
Hambrecht and Quist LLC
1 Bush Street, 17th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94104
12:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. The Kauffman Foundation's Fellows Program
Trish Costello, Director of the Kauffman Fellows program, will discuss
the Foundation's Center for Entrepreneurial leadership, including
its Fellows program that provides for paid resources to work in
venture capital firms.
Speaker: Trish Costello
Director of the Kauffman Fellows program
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
4900 Oak
Kansas City, MO 64112
(816) 932-1000
2:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Limited Partner Relations
Limited partners are our "customers." They influence our
fund raising and issues such as how we wind down a partnership.
We will discuss overall strategies to deal with our limited partners,
such as:
Preparing for the next fund. Some partnerships seem to
do better than others in cultivating long-term relationships with
their limited partners. Probably each of us knows at least one
or two funds that were "over subscribed" shortly after
they started fund raising. Is this due almost exclusively to exceptional
financial performance or did excellent limited partner relationships
play a major role?
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How many of our limited partners were able to invest in our
last fund? How much investor personnel turnover have we incurred?
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When is the right time to broaden our investor base? Should
we raise money when we need it, or plant seeds when we don't?
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Advisory Committees? How helpful or harmful have they been?
Winding down a partnership. What are the challenges of
closing a partnership and what solutions have we learned over
the past few years? Among other issues, we will discuss methods
to gain limited partner approval, and what should be appropriate
carried interest and management fees during an extension.
3:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Break
3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Potential Issues for Additional Discussion
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Topics from the earlier sessions, continued.
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Creative ideas. What are we doing differently or creatively
that may be replicatable or useful to the group?
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Fund organization. What is the "right" size
for an early stage fund? What should be the mix between senior
and junior management? Can a small fund provide for continuity?
What organizations and methods have proven the most time efficient
and effective?
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Challenges of investing with wealthy individuals and megafunds.
With wealthy individuals, how do we price deals and modify terms?
With megafunds, how do we avoid potential cram downs?
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Exiting. What strategies are we employing in the current
IPO environment: exit earlier or wait until a company is really
"ready?" We will discuss methods to exit the less
than stellar performances in our portfolios.
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Getting paid for the extra effort. Should seed funds
get rewarded for the extra effort, and, if so, how?
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Sources of follow-on fund raising. With whom are we
currently investing in follow-on rounds? What has been our experience
with strategic investors?
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Promising industries. What do we believe to be the most
promising industries/sectors for investing? What "hot"
areas are becoming too popular or expensive?
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Geography. Will we invest away from "home"
and if so under what circumstances?
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Diversification. Are we more focused or more diversified
than we were three years ago?
6:00 p.m. Reception
Venture Investing 1996
Stanford Court Hotel
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