Jun. 19–LOWELL, Mass.–One of the area’s most successful entrepreneurs gave up-and-comers some tips in raising venture capital during last night’s meeting of the Merrimack Valley Venture Forum.<\/p>\n
Ron Sege, chief executive of Ellacoya Networks in Merrimack, N.H., honed in on five keys to obtaining investment money in the current stingy environment:<\/p>\n
— Make sure your product or service is relevant to your customer’s business.<\/p>\n
— Be persistent; focus on investors who say no the most gently.<\/p>\n
— Venture investors’ decisions have become formulaic; you need to understand the formula.<\/p>\n
— When bringing a new product to market, put together a battle-tested team.<\/p>\n
— Be prepared to make tough decisions; building a company is a survivor’s game.<\/p>\n
Sege, a former Lycos executive, went on to describe his experiences in growing an emerging firm during one of the driest venture investment periods on record. Ellacoya, founded in 1999 and employing about 55 people, provides technology that allows broadband providers to track high-speed bandwidth usage. It has raised $125 million in venture funding, including $14 million earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Last night’s forum, which drew about 100 people, focused on helping emerging companies develop strategies for attracting venture capital in the current tough economy.<\/p>\n
“When you look at the Merrimack Valley watershed, you see a hotbed for new ideas and companies,” said Joe Romano, a spokesperson for the forum. “Entrepreneurs and technologies in this region had no real forum or support network focused on the local business environment.”<\/p>\n
Following Sege’s keynote address, a panel of executives from such startups as WaterCove Networks, Cedar Point Communications, William Gallagher Associates and ByAllAccounts Inc. fielded questions on topics ranging from angel investors to the challenge of attracting and retaining key talent when funding is tentative.<\/p>\n
The mission of the non-profit Merrimack Valley Venture Forum (MVVF) is to drive business growth in technology sectors throughout the Merrimack Valley by bringing together local entrepreneurs, mid-stage companies, larger technology firms, local academia and investors.<\/p>\n
“Our intent is to put the right people in a room together and get them talking,” said Romano. “Once that happens, you can generate a real understanding of the region’s potential. You can really see the ideas begin percolating.” Christine Lucia of Orca Capital Partners said the forum is a valuable venue for investors to gather business intelligence on a technology- and innovation-rich region.<\/p>\n
The forum next meets in September.<\/p>\n
—–<\/p>\n
To see more of The Sun, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http:\/\/www.lowellsun.com<\/p>\n
(c) 2003, The Sun, Lowell, Mass. Distributed by Knight Ridder\/Tribune Business News.<\/p>\n
TRLY,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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