When venture capitalists say “NO”—creative financing strategies & resources, by Ron Peterson

“Venture debt is typically used to supplement equity and accelerate growth to allow a start-up to achieve milestones that will increase stakeholder value,” explains Albert Martinez, senior relationship manager at Santa Clara, CA’s Silicon Valley Bank, a major venture debt lender. “It is not a good substitute for equity for start-ups that are not able to attract outside investment.” Venture debt is much like any other loan, but typically involves “a specialized financial institution,” explains consultant Douglas Y. Park, head of Palo Alto, CA-based DYP Advisors. Though there are special features, all the features of a traditional loan are also present, including principal, interest, and repayment terms, Park says. Still, venture debt has its advantage, Martinez notes. “The benefits of venture debt are that it is less dilutive than equity, and many times you can draw it as it is needed. If it is an option, the equity component of the pricing is less than 10% of what equity might cost.” Some lenders, Park points out, “may also seek to obtain some rights to invest in the borrower’s subsequent equity round on the same terms, conditions and pricing offered to its investors in those rounds.” Venture debt lenders, he explains, usually ask for warrants or the right to purchase shares at a predetermined price. And, Martinez adds, “venture debt lenders typically have the right, not an obligation, to participate in follow-on rounds, so they may or may not actually become investors.” If the start-up is looking to broaden its investor base, it is a viable option, he says, “but in general, lenders’ rights to invest are much smaller than what venture equity investors will invest.”

The USC Stevens Institute for Innovation at the University of Southern California took a chance on a new way to commercialize its technology, and the experiment — a one-shot auction rather than an ongoing, structured license — succeeded to the tune of $7.7 million. The auction approach, “serves as an opportunity to demonstrate that USC welcomes industry relationships of all kinds. Strong industry relationships are important to the university in many respects, and we want people outside of academia to understand that we are flexible and willing to explore creative ways of partnering.” The USC deal was creative enough to win awards for the school and its auction partner, ICAP Ocean Tomo. The patents are related to digital multimedia library cataloging and search technologies that were originally developed to provide a means to archive, index and search some 50,000 video testimonies of Holocaust survivors and other witnesses collected by the Institute. It was founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg after he completed the film “Schindler’s List.” Today, the collection is one of the largest digital video libraries in the world. In contrast to an outright sale, the auction of the exclusive license from USC “enabled the university to raise significant funds while maintaining ownership of the underlying assets.

The transaction is seen as a ‘game-changing’ approach for universities and government research organizations, enabling them to raise funds in a manner consistent [with] their underlying missions,” “We believed that our patents were valuable, and wanted an efficient way to get the technology in front of multiple potential industry partners in an unthreatening way,” explains John Sweet, the senior licensing manager who spearheaded the deal. “The public nature of the auction was attractive, even though it’s somewhat unusual for a university to license patents for a one-time, upfront fee.”
Chapter 4—Where to Turn for Help
While contacts can help immeasurably, you can’t rely on those alone. Besides, things are changing. Former Treasury Secretary and Goldman Sachs Chairman, Bob Rubin, said: “Business does not happen off Rolodexes anymore.” Wall Street relationships are different today than they used to be. Investment bankers have played musical chairs so often that clients are rarely attached to one banker. It’s not a long-term relationship game anymore. It’s a matter of who has the best ideas at the right time.
Resources are right around the corner.
You’ve seen that successful fund raising involves many different avenues and putting all the pieces in place for your effort can be daunting. You don’t have to do it all by yourself. Countless resources exist to speed the funding and entrepreneurial process along and taking advantage of what exists right around you may be more than adequate. Each geographic area of the U.S. enjoys multiple facilities for promoting emerging, high-growth businesses. A visit or call to any of these organizations will start you on your way to many groups that can be of help (don’t think that they are going to solve your problems, but they can speed things up for you). The following is hardly an exhaustive description of those resources and is meant only to suggest the type of help available, and spur you to uncover those waiting assets. (Updates at www.threearrows.biz )

The National Association of Seed and Venture Funds has a website with incredible resources at www.nasvf.org. Inc Magazine has a rich lode of information for entrepreneurs and both their website www.Inc.com and their e-zine messages should be on the checklist for any entrepreneur. Try their Where to Find Financing on the website as well as information on angel investors, government programs and a special series on innovation. The Wall Street Journal pitches in with the Startup Journal at www.startupjournal.com and has an interesting test you Are qualified to be an entrepreneur? by Joseph Mancuso. www.forbes.com provides a continual flow of insights. Magazines such as Business 2.0, Fortune Small Business, and Business Week are three of the bibles of the investing world and have online news services that continually feed you information on business models and funding. Try www.redherring.com, www.business2.0.com, www.FSB.com, and www.businessweek.com. Magazines that are growing in influence within the minority communities include Black Enterprise (www.blackenterprise.com) and Hispanic Magazine (www.hispaniconline.com).

Several newspapers are very friendly to entrepreneurs seeking capital and many illustrations in this book stem from their reporting. Silicon Valley’s Mercury News and the Boston Globe both regularly feature articles on imaginative business startups and provide continual references to capital, technology, etc. The London Financial Times, New York Times, Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal are a few other newspapers that should be searched for information relative to your own industry. www.corante.com is the website for a filtered approach to the daily press and picks up the best in such categories as venture capital, biotech, etc., while connecting you to innumerable blogs.

The Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, publishes articles with great advice for business owners and wonderful links for money, training, alternative sources of capital, etc., at www.entreworld.com. These are also the people that bring you entrepreneurial insights on Public Radio and fund numerous entrepreneurial initiatives around the country. Kauffman provides a free comprehensive assessment of a company’s financial vital signs at www.businessekg.com. Separately, The Wayne Brown Institute (WBI) at www.venturecapital.org helps with tools to raise capital, prototypes of startups, a venturing network, and a review of business plans ($395). The WBI has established connections with investment banks, venture capital funds and service providers in the funding industry that you can take advantage of at their seminars.

www.businessfinance.com has lists that include over 78,000 sources of capital, from individuals to venture capitalists. www.cfol.com provides lists of investors in addition to a membership program for other forms of startup business help. The National Association of Small Business Investment Companies can direct you to venture capital sources (703-683 1601). The Idea Café at www.businessownersideacafe.com is an interactive site with excellent information. The same site has a section on financing that includes tips, a glossary, financial resources, loan agreements and other financial documents, and a network to put money and entrepreneurs together. A good part of the IdeaCafe is to make the process of forming a business more enjoyable and less lonely.

Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs, www.sbdc.org) may offer as little as cheap copying facilities all the way up to full-fledged counseling and valuable referrals. Usually located at or in connection with colleges or universities, SBDCs are a source of classes and conferences that can be invaluable for the entrepreneur. The Wharton SBDC in Philadelphia houses a number of student entrepreneurs along with a roster of business classes, directed by Dr. M. Theresa Flaherty at www.wharton.upenn.edu.

Laura Ricci has been involved in dozens of SBIRs and runs a grant consulting company from her website www.1Ricci.com. With over twenty years of experience in helping scientists and engineers win grants, Ricci can be quick and reasonable along with providing a high likelihood of success. Big firms like Lockheed Martin have used her services in addition to academics around the country.

Counties are frequent sponsors of business development programs, often in conjunction with SBDCs and other government agencies. Loudoun County, VA (www.loudounsbdc.org) provides a free class in the essential steps for starting a small business. Their basic teaching is a set of 21 marketing tips although you may have to sit through an insurance presentation that falls a little short of good theater. Your nearest Federal Reserve Bank has a Community Affairs Office that is charged with economic development. Even though the FED has all the money they aren’t going to give you any, but they may help you find other resources.

Many specialized businesses can find resources particularly directed towards their market. If you have environmental implications, check out www.epa.gov/efinpage/reg9fet.htm. You’ll find a free 245 page report Financing Environmental Technology, A Funding Directory for the Environmental Entrepreneur prepared by the EPA in concert with the Alameda Center for Environmental Technologies.

The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT, www.cit.org) of the State of Virginia provides a free seminar for entrepreneurs who are looking for their first round of financing. Led by a corporate attorney, an interactive business counseling session is held to provide real-time experience in the process, answer questions, learn about resources, etc. The Center sponsors seminars and recently had an imaginative series on the life sciences industry and another on finding federal funding for technology companies. CIT also provides counseling and business plan services for Virginia companies, workshops, a one-day boot camp, mentoring, substantial innovation awards, small grants (up to $5,000) to help with funding proposals to the feds, and discounts on proposal writing software.

Even the Toastmasters (www.ieToastmasters.org) recognize both your need and your contribution to the economy. The Internet Toastmasters bring together Internet-minded business professionals (and who isn’t a user of the Internet in business today?) where participants improve their public speaking and leadership skills through regular practice, positive feedback and networking. Your first session is free and if you like what you see, the dues are modest.

The Emerging Business Forum (www.emergingbusinessforum.org) charges $395 for an event to help culturally diverse entrepreneurs build relationships with established companies, investors, and potential customers. Their program is directed to: “Educate emerging companies by enhancing their management knowledge and confidence, support management diversity, and build awareness of the benefits of doing business with emerging businesses; accelerate access of emerging companies to funding sources and improve negotiation skills; improve marketing skills through presentation and media training; identify strategic partners among established companies, leveraging strengths in corporate and government expertise and recognizing merger and acquisition candidates.” For $29.95, American Venture at www.avce.com will list your business plan with a number of their investor subscribers for a three-month period, and throw in a year’s subscription to their magazine. The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) (www.livingeconomies.org) helps to connect capital to firms listed with them and otherwise organizes events and provides tools for local firms. Michael Shuman directs the Green Policy Institute for BALLE at shuman@igc.org, and is an amazing fund of information on community development and the value of local organizations.

Gender has a place in entrepreneurial development. The Women President’s Educational Organization (www.womenpresidentsorg.com) has a free networking session called “Speed-Dating” to introduce you to other businesses and make connections with service providers, potential customers, etc.

Merger and acquisition firms such as the McLean Group (www.mcleanllc.com) will host sessions for young companies that explore topics in locating investors as well as cashing out once you’ve built your company. A recent program on “value drivers” featured a top ten list of ways to increase a company’s value in the marketplace. www.trivisionpartners.com brings organizational structure, business plans, and marketing efforts to the telecommunications sector.

 

The road to raising capital is rocky, with a great number of duplicitous firms and individuals making promises but are either unable or unwilling to deliver. It’s up to you to find the really helpful and ethical groups out there.

Women in Technology (WIT, www.womenintechnology.org) hosts a set of $150 seminars to help educate entrepreneurs and tries to match experienced mentors to companies that need them. Over a five-month period, they provide 2 hours per month of networking and guided discussions to help match protégés with four different and experienced mentors. Menttium is a company that runs a national business mentoring program. The costs are $4,800 to enroll but users such as Corinne Wayshak at Confoti, Inc. found it a bargain. She used her mentoring experience to bail her out of a sinking funding program and turn it into an over-subscribed investment round.

Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), with chapters at nearly 800 colleges in the U.S. and 500 overseas, challenges students to launch small businesses and other economic projects in their home communities. The students gain invaluable experience while offering hands-on training for economic projects and new entities around the world (www.sife.org). Students from all walks of life have been turned on to business life by their early involvement in seeing how much difference a viable enterprise can make in the life of a community.

The D.C. Society of Young Professionals (www.dcyoungpro.com) charges $25 for a two-hour session with a number of service providers to help nervous potential entrepreneurs decide if they want to embark on their own. The Society offers sessions on: obtaining capital and seeking investors; marketing and advertising; tax deductions; building a website; legal requirements; operating and employment agreements; IP protection, etc. Sessions are led by an experienced venture capitalist, a serial entrepreneur, the head of a PR firm and other prominent business development experts. The Young Entrepreneurs Organization (YEO) has been around since 1987 to educate its 4,700 members and provides an array of learning and networking opportunities domestically and overseas (www.yeo.org). Local chapters of YEO could form an invaluable support system and introduce you to others who are faced with similar problems in building a business. Affinity groups like this probably have formed in a location convenient for you. In Boston, MA check out the Cambridge Business Development Center at www.cbdc.org. In Colorado you can find the Colorado Internet Keiretsu at www.wiredwest.org. The Mosh Pit in Baltimore, MD places student-developed business plan against each other for a $10,000 prize, but with the additional requirements that they recruit a stellar virtual management team, adding a realistic element of negotiation to the process.

The Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest provides a prize of $175,000 in venture capital for the best new business idea from Michigan-based firms (www.gleq.org). The competition is managed by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies and Grand Valley State’s Seidman School of Business, with financial backing from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. A 17-member panel that includes representatives from nearly every venture capital fund in Michigan judges the applicants, and also meets regularly with entrepreneurs to provide mentoring and networking.

The MIT Forum (www.mitef.org) is one of the oldest and best places to hone your investment pitch, gain high-level suggestions on your business model, and seek funding. If selected, you’ll describe your business in a twenty-minute session, listen to the comments of three highly qualified professionals, and take questions from the audience. These sessions can be brutal on the principals but being asked difficult questions and hearing scathing comments can be just the ticket to toughen you up for the bigger journey ahead.