Saturday, November 29, 2008

Deal Done Due

Program courtesy of the The TacomaAngel Network (TAN), and price discount courtesy of the Chamber: “Doing the Deal—Due Diligence”

Use this special code when registering yourself or others to get the special price: [promo code 6614], and pay only $115.

To register.

The first Doing the Deal Course this past November 19th at UWT’s new William W. Philips Hall, facilitated by noted Intellectual Property expert Bob Okabe, was raved about by the attendees—
  • made it clear why investors need certain provisions,


  • and why companies need theirs;


  • and how to make the two come together

--a critical marriage that needs to be understood by all who are interested in Economic Development in the region.

And, that session, importantly, was attended by 40% angel investors, 30% companies wanting to learn how to best present their case for funding, and 30% from the planning and service community learning how to serve their communities and clients better. A similar mix is expected at this new Seminar.

This is your invitation to come, and bring your associates, to take the Doing the Deal course’s most critical Sequel: Doing the Deal—Due Diligence. This Course has been touted as “the one course to take IF you are taking only one! “ It will be led by Bill Payne, the nationally acclaimed facilitator, and a serial entrepreneur with over 40 angel deals under his belt, as well.

(And, for this new seminar—Due Diligence-- we will be combining the seminar with a Special Invitation for you to personally join us for TAN’s regular deal sharing meeting during the lunch break—see first hand, how three new high potential companies present to obtain funding).

In this Seminar, learn the steps to know if your or any other proposition makes sense or doesn’t: Know how to tell if a business plan is solid, the management can perform, and that the marketing, manufacturing, technology, patents, and capital plan don’t have fatal flaws.

And get it from the best. The Power of Angel Investing ™ By the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, presented by the Angel Capital Education Foundation, hosted as a public service by the TacomaAngel Network (TAN) and supported by the Tacoma Pierce County Chamber.

AND, If you or one of your colleagues have already taken the first portion--Term sheet, Valuation and Building Portfolios, then Doing the Deal—Due Diligence is the “bookend” course required to complete that education.

PLUS you will, as a courtesy of the Tacoma Pierce County Chamber, you may receive the courtesy of the low TAN discount price. Pay about half what the first course costs, due to Due Diligence’s somewhat shorter length.

Remember: Due Diligence is critical to your making any proposition successful—perhaps the most important part of an investor committing investment funds; or someone committing their life’s work or betting their career on an endeavor, is to learn the way to tell if the proposition or deal is REAL or not.

All the right terms and proper valuation don’t mean a thing if the proposition doesn’t hold water, if the business plan, really doesn’t make sense or can’t be done, if the people cant do the job, or the marketing, technology, patents, manufacturing, or capital structure have a fatal flaw. You need to know whether each of these components measure up, so you aren’t blindsided with a failure after putting in so much effort.

In short, you, or someone from your organization, should take this course and find out how to know!

  • What must be confirmed;


  • the cost of confirming; and


  • the risk of not knowing.


  • What it takes to validate the plan,


  • and contain the risks.

Friday, November 21, 2008

SST 2008 Fosters Innovation

SST 2008 was another home run, featuring as it did so many hometown tech firms. Our congratulations to UWT Assistant Director of Industry Partnerships Andrew Fry.

This blog could resemble a short story if I were to report on all aspects of the SST 2008. But, you should have been there! The price was right - free, thanks to the UWT Institute of Technology. However, the final panel of the day focused on Tacoma area tech firms, and after an individual overview by the representatives, responded to a Q&A session. The answers to just one question - the first question, will be covered here.

That first question came from Andrew Fry, as a warm-up for the audience that mostly filled W. W. Philip Hall: Since our area gets no credit for a nexus of tech firms, most of which here are in cybersecurity and information assurance, why did you each locate here?

The answers:
  • Gary Frank, Avue Technology: We lived here.
  • Rod Rasmussen, Internet Identity: We lived here. He said he had to convince the co-founder, but that the existence of Click! Network and the UWT did that.
  • Mike Brown, Prepared Response: The infrastructure here is the best. He specifically praised the power consistency and certainty as well as conductivity.
  • Jennifer Leaf, NewTech: That's where our work is (Ft. Lewis). But, she noted this office has won accolades from the corporation as a recruitment base for the entire company.
  • Mark Briggs, Serra Media: We lived here. We've established a joint presence in Tacoma and Seattle because of the regional nature of media. And, they intend to maintain a dual base. Besides, they are familiar with the local talent market and have a determined hiring base from the local community.
  • Eric Hess, Sagem Morpho: Our first client in the U.S. (City of Tacoma) had the foresight to contract with us to locate our headquarters here.

Another quality event in Tacoma focusing on technology and entrepreneurship.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Deal Done True

The TacomaAngel Network pulled off a class presentation about Deal Making yesterday at the new William W. Philip Hall on the University of Washington Tacoma campus.

Working with the Kauffman Foundation, the ~50 attendees, mostly angels, but some from economic development departments, were treated to a straight forward presentation by Bob Okabe. If you've never seen a $25,000 chair, he can show you his. Liberty Chair designed by Niels Diffrient

The follow-up to all this will be a Due Diligence course February 11, again at UWT. This follow-up has an even more advantageous price, plus it will be meshed with the TAN regular monthly meeting.

If you're a qualified investor, or just taking the follow-up, I'll add my personal endorsement for a quality offering.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

South Sound Technology Conference 2008



Please come to the 9th Annual South Sound Technology Conference this Friday November 21st at William W. Philip Hall on the University of Washington, Tacoma campus.

Registration begins at 8:30am and the conference kicks off at 9:00am with a welcome from Congressman Adam Smith. The conference is free, but an RSVP to zaidec@u.washington.edu is highly recommended.


South Sound Technology Conference 2008

Agenda:
8:30am to 9:00am Registration

9:00am Opening Address
Welcome by Andrew Fry, University of Washington, Tacoma.
Remarks by Chancellor Pat Spakes, University of Washington, Tacoma.
Remarks by Congressman Adam Smith.
Remarks on behalf of Congressman Norm Dicks.
Remarks by Dr. Orlando Baiocchi, Director of the Institute of Technology, University of Washington, Tacoma.

9:15 to 10:15 Panel -- “Fostering Innovation"
Moderated by Senator Jim Kastama

Panel Members:
John Dimmer - Tacoma Angel Network
Lee Cheatham - Washington Technology Center
Egils Milbergs – Exec. Dir. Economic Development Commission of Washington State

10:15 to 10:45 Focus Topic -- "Cloud Computing: The Next Technology Revolution"
Aaron Kimbell – Spinnaker

10:45 to 11:15 Dual Perspectives Panel -- "Cloud Computing in the South Sound"
Moderated by Aaron Kimbell

Panel Members:
Mike Marzano, Topia Technologies – Cloud Computing in Software
Dr. Ankur Teredesai –Institute of Technology, UWT – Cloud Computing in Education

11:15 to 11:25 Break

11:25 to 12:00 Focus Topic – “Facial Recognition Solutions”
Eric Hess – Biometric Product Manager, Sagem Morpho

12:00 to 1:00 Panel - "Technology Industry Sampler: Sound Sound Companies"
Moderated by Andrew Fry, Institute of Technology, UWT

Panel Members:
Mike Brown - Prepared Response
Mark Briggs – Serra Media
Dan Creamer - Avue Technology
Jennifer Leaf - NewTech
Chris Richardson – Internet Identity

Friday, November 14, 2008

Location, Location, Location

The TacomaAngel Network announced a relocation of their November 19th Seminar to the newly opened UWT William W. Phillip Hall.

The William W. Philip Hall is located at 1914 Pacific. The Hall is also just across Pacific Avenue from the Washington State History Museum (WSHS) and its ample parking. You will find parking both in the WSHS parking lot on Pacific and on Campus as described below. For specific directions from your location, click the following “Google Maps Link”: Map: Google Maps Link


Registration starts at 8:00 am and the program promptly at 9:00 am.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Our President-Elect on Tech

Some interesting information about Mr. Obama's take on tech-related policies:


Until next time!

Michael O'Brien is a partner at Praece Strategic Technology Consulting, helping small and medium businesses align technology plans with business goals.