CVF Past Events: 2002
Here is a brief description of our 2002 events. When possible, we provide the speaker's power point presentation. Please click on the date and topic of interest, and you will be directed to that information on this page.
November 21, 2002
Advising Early Stage Companies - How to Advise and Grow Your Portfolio Companies
September 19, 2002
Analyzing Trends and Evaluating Companies in the BioInformatics Market
July 18, 2002
Deal Structure - How to *Write* the Fine Print
May 16, 2002
Valuation: Art, Science, or Mysticism?
March 21, 2002
Due Diligence - How to look under the hood of an investment
NOVEMBER 21, 2002 Featured Presentation:
Advising Early Stage Companies - How to Advise and Grow Your Portfolio Companies
Scott Caruso, Founder, HotShare Inc.
Albuquerque, NM
Here is a summary of Scott's presentation:
Successful investment entails more than writing a check. Successful early stage investors are routinely involved in helping the companies they invest in to make good decisions, make useful connections, and exercise discipline in working their business plan.
Scott Caruso, a New Mexico-based angel investor and business advisor will share his knowledge and practical experience with making the most of an investment once the investment decision has been made. Scott is a long time resident of New Mexico and a NMSU graduate who spent the early part of his career at Sun Microsystems as a systems engineer. In 1994, Scott left with several other Sun employees and founded an ISP/consulting business. The company was aquired by Verio in 1997, and then went through an IPO in 1998. Verio was ultimately bought by NTT at the peek of the dot com bubble. During this time, Scott took on various roles including managing the Verio Consulting Group and several IT projects. He operates Hotspare, Inc., a consulting practice that works in the arenas of information technology and business development.
Click here to view the power point presentation.
Entrepreneur's Forum:
Chuck Call, CEO
MesoSystems
MesoSystems is a market-leading biotechnology company specializing in the
development and manufacture of systems for the assessment of environmental
biological hazards. The company's products enable its customers to
determine if people are being threatened by or have been exposed to harmful
and even life-threatening bio-organisms. MesoSystems has offices in
Kennewick and Seattle, WA and Albuquerque, NM.
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SEPTEMBER 19, 2002 Featured Presention:
Analyzing Trends and Evaluating Companies in the BioInformatics Market
Saira Ramasastry, VP Global Healthcare, Merrill Lynch
San Francisco, CA
Here is a summary of Saira's presentation:
Informatics, and specifically bioinformatics, is one of the strengths of
the northern and central New Mexico entrepreneurial community. This
market is inherently global in nature. As a result, private investors,
as well as entrepreneurs, need to be aware of developing trends in the
marketplace and the criteria used by investors to evaluate companies in
the bioinformatics sector. Ms. Ramasastry will provide an overview of
the key elements of growing a bioinformatics company, using a case study
example of a company she followed from pre-venture stage through its
public offering four years later. She will also provide her views on
developing trends in the bioinformatics arena.
Ms. Ramasastry worked in Mergers and Acquisitions prior to joining Merrill Lynch. She received an M.Phil. in finance from the University of Cambridge and an M.S. in Applied Math from Stanford University. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa at Stanford University and graduated with distinction with a dual B.A. in Economics and Music. She is also a published author of fiction.
You may email Saira at sairama@earthlink.net.
Entrepreneur's Forum:
Solaria Corporation, Taos, NM
Dwight Kuhns
Solaria is a technology innovator that has developed a technology platform for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems that will dramatically reduce the production cost of solar panels. The company intends to bring solar power to the masses by making it accessible and affordable.
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JULY 18, 2002 Featured Presention:
Deal Structure - How to *Write* the Fine Print
Robert von Goeben, Managing Director Starter Fluid, San Francisco, CA
Here is a summary of Robert's presentation:
As many investors have learned the hard way in the past 2 years, valuation is only one of the relevant factors to consider in structuring an investment that will succeed in the long-term. Good term sheets create a win-win relationship for both the investor and the entrepreneur. In this presentation, Robert will draw on his professional experience investing in seed-stage technology companies to describe what to look for in a term sheet from an investor's perspective.
Robert von Goeben is Starter Fluid's founder and lead investment director. Prior to starting Starter Fluid, Robert was a founding director of Redleaf Venture Management, one of Silicon Valleys first Internet-only venture funds. Robert has an MBA from the University of Southern California and a BA in
Mathematics from the State University of New York.
Click here to view the power point presentation.
Entrepreneur's Forum:
Exagen, Albuquerque, NM
Waneta Tuttle, Founding CEO
Exagen is a start-up molecular diagnostics development company with the mission to develop and clinically validate novel molecular diagnostic products based on discovery of multi-feature gene and protein biomarkers for early detection, prediction of clinical outcomes and therapy monitoring in cancer and emerging infectious diseases. Ms. Tuttle, a successful New Mexico serial entrepreneur, will present Exagen, and discuss their efforts and successes at fundraising.
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MAY 16, 2002 Featured Presention:
Valuation: Art, Science, or Mysticism?
Ram Shriram, Founder & Managing Partner Sherpalo Ventures, Saratoga, CA
Ram discussed the dramatic changes in company valuations over the past three years. He pointed out several tools for investors in researching potential portfolio companies, and discussed the most common negotiables on a typical term sheet. Ram Shriram started Sherpalo in January 2000. Sherpalo's strength lies in turning entrepreneur's dreams into lasting profitable businesses.
Ram Shriram was an officer at Amazon.com, reporting to Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO until September 1999. Ram was an early member of the Netscape executive team joining them in late 1994 where he built Netscape's indirect channels of distribution worldwide, and managed several hundred people across three continents producing well over half of Netscape's $346 million in revenue in '96. Ram currently serves on the boards of Google.com, Yodlee (a next generation personalization engine), Elance (digital delivery of services), and 247Customer.com (outsourced remote services).
Click here to view the power point presentation.
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MARCH 21, 2002 Featured Presention:
Due Diligence - How to look under the hood of an investment
Mike Pogue, Angel Capital Network, San Francisco, CA
Mike discussed how investors should evaluate a potential deal. Prospective investors learned what to look for and how. Entrepreneurs seeking investment capital learned how their business plans and credentials are evaluated by investors. Mike brings considerable experience in performing due diligence on potential investments.
For the last seven years, Mr. Pogue has focused his attention primarily on technology companies, working with over twenty companies, either as an investor or in senior management roles. He is a board member of the International Angel Investors Institute and is chairman of the San Francisco Chapter of International Angel Investors Institute.
Entrepreneur's Forum:
Elisar Software Corporation, Albuquerque, NM
Greg Heileman, Chairman, Co-Founder, and CEO
Greg talked about Elisar's experience in raising capital. Elisar Software provides secure and flexible digital rights enforcement solutions that empower content creators and distributors to compete confidently in the expanding e-commerce marketplace. Elisar Software received its Series A private equity funding from Murphree Venture Partners and The Telecommunications Development Fund in 2001.
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