Jul. 29–TAMPA, Fla.–Iliant Corp. beat the odds recently when it landed a $3-million investment from three venture capital funds despite a sluggish investing climate.<\/p>\n
The Tampa company, which provides technology services to doctors’ practices, had two things in its favor: a profitable business and existing backers willing to put more money into the 3-year-old concern.<\/p>\n
Rick Salas, Iliant’s chief executive, said it made sense to tap earlier investors, including Tampa’s Lovett Miller & Co., for a second round of funding.<\/p>\n
“It was the route of least resistance,” Salas said. “And our lead investors have been excited and supportive of the direction of our business.”<\/p>\n
Iliant was one of 14 Florida companies funded by venture capital investors in the quarter that ended June 30. Most, like Iliant, returned to previous investors for fresh infusions of cash. And like Iliant, all but three of the companies were seeking later-stage funding.<\/p>\n
The state’s biggest deal of the quarter, $20-million, involved Intellon Corp., a technology company in Ocala. It was Intellon’s 10th round of funding, a phenomenon unheard of just a few years ago, when startups typically went public after just a few rounds. With the market for initial public offerings moribund, however, more private companies are forced to tap familiar faces for continued financing.<\/p>\n
Venture capital firms put $45.7-million into Florida companies in the most recent quarter, according to the MoneyTree survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association. That’s down from $57.4-million invested during the first quarter of 2003 and well under the $70-million reported for the same period a year ago.<\/p>\n
Marty Donsky, marketing manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers, described the Florida investing climate as “static at best.”<\/p>\n
“If I were an early-stage technology entrepreneur, I would pack my bags and move someplace else,” he said. “The time to jump up and down is when we see more first-time funding and more new faces.”<\/p>\n
Nationally, venture investing rose slightly in the most recent quarter, ending two straight years of quarter-to-quarter declines. Investments totaled $4.3-billion for the three months that ended June 30, up from $4-billion in the first quarter.<\/p>\n
Entrepreneurs in California, Massachusetts and Texas attracted the most venture capital; Florida placed No. 16.<\/p>\n
Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association, said that while the uptick hardly represents a dramatic turnaround, it is positive news.<\/p>\n
“The venture capital industry is actually in a good place right now — not withholding money, but not spending it freely either,” he said. “A few more quarters at this pace would be healthy.”<\/p>\n
Though Tampa’s Iliant was able to get continued funding under tough conditions, Salas hopes he won’t have to ask for more.<\/p>\n
“We believe this may be our last round of capital,” he said of the company that has 300 employees and 2,000 physician customers. “I could envision us either going public or being acquired. We’re focused on building a successful company, then we’ll have all options open to us.”<\/p>\n
—–<\/p>\n
To see more of the St. Petersburg Times — including its homes, jobs, cars and other classified listings — or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http:\/\/www.sptimes.com<\/p>\n
(c) 2003, St. Petersburg Times, Fla. Distributed by Knight Ridder\/Tribune Business News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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