Venture Capital News
Event: TiEcon Delhi 2006: Entrepreneurship – The DNA of Growth (Oct. 26-28)
Entrepreneurs and business leaders from across the country will meet in Delhi for the seventh annual TiEcon India 2006. TiEcon Delhi 2006, the annual flagship event of The Indus Entrepreneurs, New Delhi chapter, is scheduled to take place at ITC Hotel Maurya Sheraton & Towers from October 26 - 28. Focused on inspiring and educating entrepreneurs as well as debating aspects that influence the entrepreneurial environment and the opportunities in the Indian market, TiEcon is one of Asia's largest conventions for entrepreneurs. The theme for this year's conference is 'Entrepreneurship – The DNA of Growth'.
TiEcon Delhi 2006 is a celebration of entrepreneurship showcasing entrepreneurial successes from India and overseas. The keynote addressees will feature some of the most celebrated names from various verticals showcasing entrepreneurial successes. Over one thousand delegates including successful and budding entrepreneurs, Indian and global investors, service providers, academicians and policy makers will be part of the conference.
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu will organize a dedicated session for Investors on the first day of TiEcon. The session will cover the various aspects of developing an effective business plan through real case studies of successful entrepreneurs. The day will also have a Company showcase where selected companies will present to the Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors for funding.
In addition the conference will see parallel sessions addressing the challenges and opportunities in specific sectors like products and services, BPO/KPO, Education and Training, Digital and Mobile Entertainment and Travel, Tourism and Lifestyle. Also, sessions will focus on the entire entrepreneurial life cycle of Starting Up, Scaling Up, Realizing Value and Early Stage Funding. For more information, see the TiEcon Dehli website.
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Ann Arbor SPARK Receives $8 Million to Create Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund
Ann Arbor SPARK, the driving force in establishing the Ann Arbor region as a destination for business expansion, retention, and location, was recently awarded $8 million from the Michigan 21st Century Jobs Fund. The funding will be used to create the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, an equity fund that will invest in technology- based companies to support business formation and acceleration.
The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund is a collaborative effort of Michigan's 11 SmartZones. Each SmartZone is responsible for recommending an investor to the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund review board. Ann Arbor SPARK will serve as the Fund's administrator, with Skip Simms as its director.
To qualify for the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, start-up companies must be representative of one of the state's identified competitive technologies and have the sponsorship of its local SmartZones. In addition to SmartZone sponsorship, companies must have received grant, angel or venture capital funding greater or equal to funding requested of the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund.
The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund's terms will match the terms of a recipient's agreement with the third party investor. The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund is an equity investment fund and, as such, will receive the same returns as the third party investor.
Investments from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund will be determined by the Fund's review board, comprised of 11 professional investors. Each SmartZone will recommend and provide investors for the Fund's review board.
Ann Arbor SPARK will begin accepting applications for funding through the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund in late 2006.
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MedVenture Associates Adds Executive in Residence Charlie T. Liamos
MedVenture Associates, a leading healthcare venture capital firm, announced Wednesday the addition of Charlie Liamos, as Executive in Residence in MedVenture Associates V. Liamos joins partners Annette Campbell-White, Chris Kaster, Robert Brownell and Jan Barker, in a move that will strengthen the firm's leadership and breadth of skills in the field of healthcare venture capital investing.
Liamos has more than 20 years' exprience in finance and operations' leadership positions and 11 plus years in the diabetes market, developing technologies and growing businesses. Prior to joining MVA, Liamos was President and CEO of Fovioptics, Inc., a medical device company that focused on the development of a noninvasive blood glucose monitoring system.
Before that, he served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of TheraSense, Inc., and served on its Board of Directors. He joined TheraSense when it was a private company and was a key person involved with the company's successful IPO and later the sale of TheraSense to Abbott Laboratories. When Abbott acquired TheraSense in 2004, Liamos was named Division Vice President of Business Operations for Abbott Diabetes Care, and served on the committee that integrated TheraSense into its new parent company.
He previously has worked in operations management at LifeScan, a division of Johnson & Johnson. He began his career at General Electric.
Liamos has a B. S. in Finance from the University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont and is a graduate of GE's Financial Management Program
Liamos serves as a Board Member for Insulet Corp.
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PodShow Receives $15 Million From Venture Firms
PodShow, Inc., the digital media entertainment network whose properties include PodShow+, PodShow Podcast Network, PodShowPDN, Podcast Alley, Castblaster, the Podsafe Music Network and, most recently BTPodShow, announced that the company has raised a second round of venture funding from new and original investors, totaling $15 million, led by DAG Ventures. This announcement comes on the heels of the BT PodShow press conference where the companies disclosed plans for a co-branded service for the UK and Ireland that goes beyond the Internet to include initiatives like BT Vision, a television-based home entertainment initiative.
As the company has grown, PodShow has moved deeper into producing its own content, offering access to a wider range of third-party audio, music and video, and providing a complete, single-click platform for the creation, discovery and sharing of killer content. At the same time the Company has been working to provide broader and more reliable distribution on the Internet while initiating plans to move its content into the home and across all mobile devices.
Receiving interest from multiple investment groups, PodShow closed this round of funding very quickly. Management selected DAG due to their familiarity with the sector, and unique investment approach.
