In Session 4 of Vol Court, Lynn Youngs presents the best 1 - hour business plan course we've seen. Here's the link:
In Session 4 of Vol Court, Lynn Youngs presents the best 1 - hour business plan course we've seen. Here's the link:
In Session 3 of Vol Court, Shawn Carson discusses understand customer value as a cornerstone of the business and the impact customer value has on the strategic planning process.
Here is the link:
Grady Vanderhoofven of Meritus Ventures was the guest speaker at the February meeting of the Innovation Valley Technology Council. Mr. Vanderoofven presented an outstanding summary of Venture Capital in the State of Tennessee relative to the VC hot spots across the country as well as in the southeastern US. While venture capital has tightened up along with every other funding source, Grady presents statistics that show the huge economic impact that venture backed companies have on job creation and the creation of wealth in a local community.
The general outline of the presentation covers these main topics:
Keys points of the presentation:
Great quotes from Grady:
"As far as job creation goes... entrepreneurs are the secret sauce."
"Entrepreneurs are the spark plugs in the engine of the US economy."
Enjoy the presentation:
Venture Capital In The Tennessee Valley Corridor from Shawn Carson on Vimeo.
Grady Vanderhoofven of Meritus Ventures shares a comprehensive report on the status of Venture Capital in Tennessee. Mr. Vanderhoofven was the guest speaker at The Innovation Valley Technology Council.
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The University of Tennessee Research Foundation(UTRF) had a feature article on the Intellectual Property Marketing Advisor Newsletter recently. In the article, they discussed the close relationship they have had with Technology 2020's Center for Entrepreneurial Growth (CEG) Program. John Hopkins, UTRF vice president, describes the relationship as having a "partnership perspective" and he highlights several examples where UTRF and the CEG have worked together to assist startup companies. The UT CEG program is based on a similar program in place with the Partnerships Directorate at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The article goes on to highlight the program from the perspective of a client company. Dr. Michael Zemel of Nutraceutical Discoveries, Inc. had just disclosed a new technology and recounts his initial discussions with UTRF when they decided that starting a company would be a good way to commercialize this new development. Dr. Zemel outlines how the CEG program assisted him in forming a marketing strategy, hiring key staff, prepare for raising funding and negotiating a license deal.
In the article, Dr. Zemel admits that his original business plan "was perhaps a little naïve, based primarily on licensing. We came to understand that in the best of all possible worlds we’d remain a small company if all we did was license. So, we shifted our focus towards partnerships for product development, and CEG was part of that decision-making process.”
The article does a good job of highlighting the local tech transfer ecosystem, bringing together a university researcher with a great idea, with a university tech transfer organization to define and protect the technology, and finally, a business mentoring organization to help the new business be successful.
Here is a link to the article:
In Vol Court Session 2, Mike Carroll of MK Technologies discusses his experiences with starting 14 companies with respect to the product ideas that start good businesses.
Ken Wood, a seasoned entrepreneur, has led the development and product launch of a new product, the TriClean Pro, from Advanced Plasma Products (http://advancedplasmaproducts.com/). The TriClean Pro is a new air purification product based on One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP) licensed from the UT Research Foundation. The TriClean Pro is designed to remove airborne contamination from the surrounding environment and utilize its plasma capability to kill bacteria such as MRSA and viruses such as Swine Flu. The product is designed for use in markets including healthcare, senior and assisted living facilities, athletics, and hospitality industries representing multi-billion dollar target markets. The company has recently engaged 20 independent sales representatives to begin distribution of the product across these markets.
Advanced Plasma Products was founded in Fall 2008 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Applied Science Products. Applied Science Products also acquired another company, Cummins Family Produce, that produces $8M - $10M in revenue annually and significant free cash flow that is being used to fund the development of products for multiple markets. OAUGDP technology is a platform technology that can be applied to multiple markets including air purification, chamber disinfection, medical waste disinfection, medical instrument sterilization, and active flow control for wind turbines. The company has attracted additional funding from partners who will also act as distribution channels to further support the development and launch of specific products in medical waste pneumatic transportation and wind turbine fields.
Mr. Wood and the Company’s CFO, Rich Rosenfeld, have significant experience in commercializing early stage technology and developing the necessary corporate infrastructure to build a successful enterprise. As President and CFO respectively of Barringer Technologies, they managed the development of embryonic spectrometry technology into the world’s leading trace detection company. Barringer Technologies produced the trace detection products currently used to detect explosive residues at airport security checkpoints and for numerous other law enforcement and security applications around the world. There are now over 15,000 systems across the globe. Barringer Technologies was ultimately acquired by a multinational conglomerate for $82M after Ken and Rich grew it from just over $500,000 in research contract revenues to $160M revenue by the time they left.
Advanced Plasma Products is participating in the UT CEG program, a partnership of Technology 2020, the UT Research Foundation, and The University of Tennessee. APP has worked with the CEG program on key milestones, strategic planning, and access to capital strategies. Applied Science Products and Advanced Plasma Products are both based in Knoxville, Tennessee and recently appeared in an article in The Knoxville Business Journal that can be found here: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/feb/15/technology-gets-new-licensee-after-controversial/
Contact: Ken Wood, Advanced Plasma Products, 908-507-6239 kswood@optonline.net
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The University of Tennessee Research Foundation, in partnership with the College of Business Administration’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation(CEI), the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth (CEG) and OutOfTheGarage.com, has launched a 9 seminar series called Vol Court. The series is open to students and faculty from the University of Tennessee who are interested in starting their own businesses.
The one-hour seminars will be held on Tuesdays, beginning on Feb. 9. Some of the sessions will be held at the University of Tennessee Research Foundation Technology Business Center while others will be held in the James Haslam II Business Building.
“Our goal is to create an entrepreneurial culture on the UT Knoxville campus,” said Tom Graves, CEI director of operations. "Participation in Vol Court is an exceptional opportunity to network and develop skills that also can be applied in competing for the additional $20,000 in prizes to be awarded to winners of the Annual Undergraduate Business Plan Competition this April. I strongly encourage interested competitors to attend."
Joy Fisher, UTRF director of marketing and business development, said those interested in attending the seminar should include people who’ve got great ideas, but no business know-how, as well as people who have business know-how, but are looking for great ideas. “This is a perfect way to bring people together to see if they can merge their talents and turn them into businesses,” she said.
The first session of the series is "Going Pro". We have two entrepreneurs, Chuck Witkowski, President and CEO of Protein Discovery, and and Andrew Dougherty, President and CEO of Medinteract both sharing their experiences to date... a few war stories, things they would do differently and generally how great is is to work building your own dream company.
NuForm Materials announced this week that they have received matching funds from the State of Kentucky to match a recent SBIR Phase 2 award from the National Science Foundation. NuForm Materials is based in Sadieville, KY and was founded in 2007 by Tom Robl, a researcher from the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research. His team developed techniques for processing fly ash as part of a DOE funded project. When the funding ended, Dr. Robl formed NuForm Materials, licensed the technology from UK and brought on Brock Marrs as VP of Research.
Once the company was formed, they submitted a SBIR Phase 1 proposal to the National Science Foundation for a proof of concept study using ceramics the company recycles from discarded fly ash as an additive in Aluminum metal matrix composites. They hit a home run on their first at bat, defying the 15% odds of winning a phase1 SBIR. The award was made in December of 2007 and work began in January 2008. The state of Kentucky matches Phase 1 SBIRs 100% so NuForm Material was able to turn their $100k SBIR into $200k. These matching funds in turn, qualified them to apply for Phase 1B from NSF which added another $25k and extended the project from 6 to 12 months.
During the Phase 1 period, they determined that their initial fabrication method, stir casting, was going to be difficult but the timing and extra funding made it possible for them to shift to an alternative process called powder metallurgy which ultimately proved successful. They teamed up with ECKA Granules of America, one of North America’s largest suppliers of aluminum powders, for their proof of concept studies. A Phase 2 proposal was submitted in January 2009 and awarded in July 2009. The timing of matching funds provided by the State of Kentucky got them through the “SBIR Funding Gap” between January and July.
The company was founded on core technology covered by two patents awarded to the University of Kentucky. This technology was licensed to the company and the SBIR funding has led to additional patents filed by the company. NuForm Materials hopes to have prototype testing completed by the end of the Phase 2 project. The goal is to sell ceramics, first to the Aluminum Metal Matrix market and then possibly to the Polymer Composites market. The raw material comes from coal fired power plants and the acceptance of the beneficiation process will depend in part on if the EPA decides to rule fly ash as a hazardous waste. The process is mobile in that the technology will fit on a trailer flatbed and can be driven to a location. This could lead to the construction of a more permanent production facility at or near the power plant with the product being distributed regionally.
By that time, NuForm Materials will need to raise equity capital. They have already anticipated this and have retained the consulting services of Chicago based Native Capital Investment who is working closely with them on their financials and their business plan so that when the time comes, they will be ready.
Brock Marrs said that NuForm Materials attended one of the Energy Boot Camps hosted by Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation and conducted by the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth. “It was perfect time for us,” Marrs said. “We were a couple of engineers with no background in finance and commercialization of technology.” For most SBIR Phase 2’s the commercialization plan is a vital part of the proposal. Marrs said their Phase 2 probably would not have been accepted had it not been for what they learned at the Boot Camp.
Asked if he was glad he made the jump from researcher to entrepreneur, Marrs said that although it’s been up and down, he’s glad he took the plunge.
Contact:
Brock.marrs@nuformmaterials.com
Phone - 859-489-3341
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It’s 2010! A New Year! And yes, at this time of every year just like clockwork, it’s tax time. That’s one part of business and personal life that we just can’t escape.
This article isn’t about tax and how to save on your taxes, as much as, it is about a perspective on tax and the profits of your company. I’ll be the first to say that tax rates are already high (likely to get higher) and that each business and individual should make every effort to lower their tax through appropriate deductions and available credits. This is good management.
Given this, however, we find people that manage the finances of their company with the objective of paying no tax rather than to make a profit.
What’s the difference? An actual story that I’m familiar with may illustrate this point. We were referred to a business several years ago in which a business owner didn’t have the cash necessary to continue his business operations. Upon investigation, we found that this business owner was so determined to pay no tax that he continued to purchase equipment and other assets for the write-offs. He was meeting his objective of paying no tax while at the same time driving his business into bankruptcy. He was literally paying at least five times more for equipment and other assets than he was saving on his tax bill. Plus, he wasn’t even using the equipment. His purchasing decisions should have been based on how these assets would help the business make more money.
This sounds extreme, but this is a true story. The message here is manage your business and make your purchases to make money. Too often the mindset is to minimize tax first rather than make money. This is an important distinction. Your first financial management point should be to make a profit. This is what we’re in business to do.
Another point to remember is that many business owners need to raise capital for the growth of their business, and they have a difficult time doing so. Because most investors are only interested in those firms that demonstrate the ability to create strong and consistent earnings, profits are essential for obtaining capital.
Remember, you want to take advantage of every tax savings opportunity and tax credit available to you, but, making an attractive profit should be your primary objective.
www.parkerbusinessconsulting.com
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Strategy has always held a specific interest for me. In my past life, while climbing the corporate ladder, I was exposed to a strategic management process called The Balanced Scorecard. In the early 1990's, two researchers, Drs. Robert Kaplan and David Norton, realized that simply using financial measures to determine the effectiveness of a firm's management team tended to focus more on short term tactical thinking and overlooked long term strategic success. The result was a report in the 1992 Harvard Business Review called the Balanced Scorecard which was later published into a series of books. There is a quote from Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy Into Action that explains why companies fail. It's not from a failure to plan or to develop a good strategy. It's usually because the management team failed to execute the strategy, despite the fact they measured financial performance.
This was all very interesting stuff but it seemed more appropriate for larger companies. In fact, when I began working with startups, I kind of forgot all about The Balanced Scorecard. My Kaplan and Norton books still have a prominent place in my library but it seemed that the problems of entrepreneurs were much more real time and fluid; more improvisational like a jazz musician than the formally trained classical virtuoso.
So today...., I am Googling the Entrepreneurial Scorecard looking for when the new Michigan study will be available and there......
...there it was.....
"Entrepreneurs use Balanced Scorecard..."
I just had to go for a swim. And sure enough, it was deep. The article is very well written but it is an 18 page white paper written by Robert Lussier and published in The Journal of Small Business Management. Here is a link: Entrepreneurs and the BSC For those who are really into the strategic planning process, it is well worth the read. BUT FOR THE REST OF YOU....
The four basic perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard are worth your consideration, even if you are the only employee in your company right now. One day you will be managing a group of people and eventually, they will be managing groups of people. By that time you will need a good tool to keep things on track and it won't hurt to begin thinking about that now. Besides, the framework applies to any size company.
I realize I'm asking questions instead of giving answers but the point here is to introduce you to a strategic management process that will help you manage your growth as you achieve sustainability. The article above has three good case histories of small companies who are successfully deploying the Balanced Scorecard as a way to ensure they stay on track with the most important things to their business. You may even get some ideas you can implement sooner than later.
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