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CED's Venture Conference Newsletter

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25th Annual Venture Conference Highlights

Recognized as the largest and longest running venture fair of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, CED's 25th annual Venture conference will feature numerous networking opportunities with hundreds of investors and entrepreneurs; remarks from Quintiles Chairman and CEO, Dennis Gillings; NVCA President, Mark Heesen; and a panel on the State of Capital Markets with Morgan Creek Capital, BlackRock, Parish, Chapter IV and Wakefield Group.

For Investors-Only: CED's Venture Conference will feature exclusive investor only events such as a golf tournament on the Robert Trent Jones 18-hole championship Washington Duke Golf Course. This year's tournament will include a with real-time scoring technology via a blackberry device, allowing you to hit the links in style thanks to eGolfScore technology. In addition, Venture is the only conference that provides pre-registered investors access to a Presenting Company Wiki that offers an interactive forum, providing an in depth look at the presenting companies. The conference also features an investor dinner at a unique Brazilian steakhouse and company presentations from across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic ranging in industry from medical devices, clean tech, software, and more.

For more highlights on the conference, visit www.cednc.org/venture.

Presenting Company Line-up

Forty-six companies have been selected to present at CED's 25th Annual Venture Conference which will feature feature Showcase, Late Stage, Early Stage and Angel Retreat Presenters in IT, Telecom, Alternative Energy, Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices

SHOWCASE PRESENTERS
  • CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Indianapolis, IN) Biopharmaceutical company focused on new therapeutics for neurological diseases – developed a novel clinical stage migraine molecule.
  • Regado Biosciences, Inc. (Durham, NC) Biopharmaceutical company developing antidote-controlled therapeutics via simultaneous rational design of drug-antidote pairs.
  • SciQuest, Inc. (Cary, NC) Providing eprocurement, strategic procurement, and supplier enablement solutions to academic, biotech and research-centric organizations.

LATE STAGE PRESENTERS (Technology Track: IT, Telecom & Alternative Energy)
  • Zenoss, Inc. (Annapolis, MD) Open source application, server, and network management.
  • Digitalsmiths (RTP, NC) Video search company providing solutions for advertising, user generated content and other consumer opportunities.
  • Tricycle, Inc. (Chattanooga, TN) Eco-efficient merchandising alternatives for commercial interiors.
  • Hatteras Networks, Inc. (RTP, NC) Broadband Ethernet solutions over existing copper facilities.
  • Omnilink Systems (Alpharetta, GA) Location-based services technology solution provider.
  • Inlet Technologies (Raleigh, NC) Digital media technology for content creation and distribution.
  • Yap, Inc. (Charlotte, NC) Automated speech to text messaging platform for mobile devices.
  • Semprius, Inc. (Durham, NC) Provider of photovoltaic modules for solar farms.
  • StrikeIron, Inc. (Cary, NC) Data as a Service (DaaS) company.

LATE STAGE PRESENTERS (Life Science Track: Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices)
  • Agility Healthcare Solutions (Glen Allen, VA) Healthcare resource and workflow to control patient-care process.
  • Phase Bioscience, Inc. (Durham, NC) Pharmaceutical drug delivery and protein purification company.
  • MaxCyte, Inc. (Gaithersburg, MD) MaxCyte creates cell therapeutics that cannot otherwise be developed.
  • Chimerix, Inc. (Durham, NC) Antiviral drug discovery and development.
  • Optimal Readings (Birmingham, AL) Optimizing patient care through faster, higher quality radiology interpretation processes and results.
  • Proventys (Durham, NC) Personalized medicine knowledge service provider focused on delivering cutting-edge risk prediction technology.
  • Integrated Oncology Solutions, Inc. (Raleigh, NC) Oncology nuclear receptor drug discovery and development company.
  • SCYNEXIS, Inc. (Durham, NC) Drug Discovery and Development Company.
  • Argos Therapeutics, Inc. (Durham, NC) Developing breakthrough immunotherapies that target the unique features of a patient's disease.

EARLY STAGE PRESENTERS (Technology Track: IT, Telecom & Alternative Energy)
  • Spectrum Bridge, Inc. (Lake Mary, FL) Real time, dynamic spectrum exchange.
  • Intercede (Charlotte, NC) Global provider of intelligent incident and allegation management solutions.
  • Blue Square Energy (Northeast, MD) High-performance, low-cost solar cell manufacturer.
  • Qualtré, Inc. (Atlanta, GA) Supplier of MEMS inertial sensor components.
  • NexGenVS LLC (Blacksburg, VA) Peer-to-peer live streaming video over mobile devices.
  • Chaologix, Inc. (Gainesville, FL) Morphing logic based semiconductor company.
  • BLUERIDGE Analytics, Inc. (Charlotte, NC) Land optimization Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform.
  • Innegrity LLC (Greer, SC) Maker of a high-modulus thermoplastic fiber to enhance fiberglass and carbon in performance composite applications
  • Escape Media Group d/b/a Grooveshark (Gainesville, FL) P2P Music Sharing Community.

EARLY STAGE PRESENTERS (Life Science Track: Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices)
  • Amulet Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Rockville, MD) A novel treatment for idiopathic and diabetic gastroparesis.
  • OcuCure Therapeutics, Inc. (Roanoke, VA) Ophthalmic drug development company.
  • Abeome Corporation (Atlanta, GA) Monoclonal antibody therapeutics and diagnostics.
  • FirstString Research (RTP, NC) A developer of a wound-healing peptide gel.
  • ADial Corporation (Keswick, VA) Pharmaceutical drug development company.
  • NextRay (Chapel Hill, NC) Medical device manufacturer.
  • SoloHealth (Duluth, GA) Self-service health screening and digital media.
  • Precision BioSciences, Inc. (RTP, NC) Genomic molecular biology.

ANGEL INVESTOR RETREAT PRESENTERS
  • Arbovax, Inc. (Raleigh, NC) A vaccine technology platform that modifies arthropod-borne viruses.
  • Countervail Corporation (Charlotte, NC) Commercialization of antidotes for nerve gas and pesticide.
  • Galaxy Diagnostics, Inc. (Chapel Hill, NC) Infectious disease diagnostics.
  • Maestro Music, Inc. (Atlanta, GA) Social and interactive music portal.
  • Nomad Innovations, LLC (Louisville, KY) Broadcast-quality connectivity solutions utilizing wireless broadband networks.
  • TerraBuilt Corporation International (Middleburg, VA) Patented new sustainable building technology.
  • NanoVector, Inc. (Raleigh, NC) Commercializing a patent pending nanoparticle drug delivery system.
  • Floorazzo Tile (Siler City, NC) A tile manufacturing company.

CED's Venture Conference Turns 25

CED's Venture conference, where great minds meet smart money, turns 25 this year. The Venture conference started in 1984 and has grown to be the largest and longest running financing event of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. As CED reflects on 25 years of hosting this annual conference, a list of 25 facts has been compiled to represent its diversity and growth.

25 Fun Facts about CED's Venture Conference:

  1. 161 people attended CED's first Venture conference in 1984. Of those 161 attendees, 34 represented venture capital firms, of which 76% were from outside North Carolina.
  2. One of the presenters from the first Venture conference in 1984 was Bionexus, which later merged with Closure Medical Corporation which developed a liquid wound closure product and went public in 1996. Closure Medical Corporation was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2005 for $370 million.
  3. The first Venture conference book was created using a typewriter. Today, the book is electronically produced and supplemented with a rich media Web 2.0 site chock full of audio interviews, streaming presentations and other interactive content.
  4. 1984 presenter Mycosearch provided fungal organisms used in drug discovery. The company has collected over 80,000 fungal organisms from around the world into a collection that probably will never be duplicated. Mycosearch never raised venture capital but was acquired by Oncogene in 1996 and still has employees in the Triangle.
  5. Dennis J. Dougherty, a partner at Touche Ross & Company, co-chaired CED's first Venture conference while still an audit. He founded Intersouth Partners in late 1984 and has sponsored CED's Venture conference for all 25 years.
  6. Clinical Research and Development presented in 1984 and was one of the first CROs in the Triangle, right behind Quintiles Transnational Corp. It was the first CED Venture presenter to receive venture funding. The company eventually moved to Pittsburgh.
  7. Chris Hegele, former general partner of Kitty Hawk Capital, now with Intersouth Partners, has attended every Venture conference, including the first one in 1984. Hegele co-chaired the Venture Selection Committee in 2000. Hegele's daughter, Jessica Hegele, is CED's conference director for the 25th annual Venture conference.
  8. ISS (formerly known as Integrated Silicon Systems) presented at the 2nd annual Venture conference in 1985. In 1995, ISS was acquired by ArcSys for approximately $280 million – about $500 million in today's dollars.
  9. Also presenting in 1985 was Vanguard Cellular Systems, Inc. who was acquired by AT&T for $1.7 billion in 1999.
  10. Trimeris, Inc. presented at the 1993 Venture conference and has gone public.
  11. In 1997, Accipiter was a presenting company trying to raise $2.5 million. In 1998, Accipiter was acquired by CMGI for $35 million of CMGI stock. When that stock was released from lock-up a year later, it was worth over $1 billion.
  12. In 1998, Sphinx Pharmaceuticals was the first biotech company spun out of Duke University through the efforts of Founder Bob Bell, Carson Loomis and then tech transfer officer, Max Wallace. Sphinx was North Carolina's first biotech IPO in 1992 and at least 29 other NC companies have traced their roots to Sphinx relationships.
  13. On April 29, 1999, Bob Young, then chairman and chief executive officer of Red Hat Software, was the keynote speaker at CED's Venture conference. Red Hat went public on August 4, 1999 at $14 per share, and tripled by the end of the day for an equital value of $3 billion. On January 5 2000, Red Hat stock traded at $272 per share.
  14. In 1999, Albert Lauritano presented as vice president of business development for ICAgen, Inc. At that time, the company had 8 issued patents and over 30 pending patents. Currently, ICAgen, Inc. has more than 50 issued US and foreign patents (owned or licensed) and approximately 150 US and foreign pending patent applications.
  15. Both Biolex, Inc. (1999, 2001, 2003, 2005) and Overture Networks (2001, 2002, 2004, 2006) have presented 4 times at CED's Venture conference.
  16. Of the companies that presented at Venture 2005, 72% have since raised institutional funding on averaging $14.40 million per year since the conference.
  17. Of all the companies that have presented since 2005, 47% have raised institutional funding on an average of $12.75 million per company.
  18. During the 2006 Venture conference, CED introduced the wiki as an interactive forum for pre-registered investors to interact with presenting companies before, during and after the conference.
  19. In 2007, 824 people participated CED's 24th annual Venture conference. Of those attendees, 229 were accredited investors of which 27% were from outside North Carolina.
  20. 25% of Venture 2007's 69 presenting companies (from pre-seed to mezzanine) have since raised institutional funding.
  21. In the last three years, Venture presenting companies have raised $624.68 million.
  22. Over the past 8 years, Venture registration has grown an average of 9.58% annually. Following this trend, registration in 2008 is forecasted to be near 900 attendees.
  23. CED's founding President Fred D. Hutchison, who went from Moore & Van Allen in 1986 to Petree Stockton, and then onto founding Hutchison Law Group in 1996, has been a sponsor of CED's Venture conference for all 25 years.
  24. 513 distinct companies have presented at CED's annual Venture conference over that past 25 years.
  25. There have been an estimated 95,990 handshakes over 25 years of CED's Venture conference.

“The Art of the Deal” featuring Jeff Clark, Managing General Partner with The Aurora Funds

The Aurora Funds is a venture capital firm that provides capital, connections and strategic guidance to entrepreneurs with early-stage healthcare and information technology companies. Aurora manages over $234 million in five venture funds. Jeff Clark co-founded Aurora with Scott Albert in 1994. Clark currently serves on the boards of several of Aurora's life science portfolio companies, including Aldagen, Argos Therapeutics, Hyperbranch Medical Technology, Metabolon and Regado Biosciences assisting in the strategic direction of each.

CED: What is the most important factor you consider before investing?

Clark: It is all about the people, we must develop trust and the ability to communicate with the team and the leader of the team. We also consider the market validation of the idea- is the product something that a customer has to have or is it something that is nice to have.

CED: What is the most unusual approach an entrepreneur has made to you for investment?

Clark: In the late 90s, there was a guy who sent a full box of cigars, a nice cutter and a lighter and asked if I would give him a 30 minute meeting, so that's what I did. Unfortunately, the deal ended up not being a match for our investment strategy. I felt bad telling him that I would have been happy to take a meeting without the cigars, but I thanked him!

CED: What is the most important characteristic you look for in an entrepreneur you are considering investing in?

Clark: We look for entrepreneurs that know their strengths and weaknesses, understand that they can't do it all and have the ability to recruit a world-class team. The greatest asset for a successful entrepreneur is to have the ability to listen.

CED: What advice or tips do you have for entrepreneurs looking for money?

Clark: Persistence is the name of the game. You also need to think about your company's strengths and weaknesses, and what your unfair competitive advantage is. Practicing your pitch and gathering feedback before a formal pitch is also very important.

CED: What are a few of the top items that have got in the way of a deal?

Clark: Lack of flexibility, lack of chemistry and the lack of an ability to listen.

Upcoming Deadlines

Not a CED Member? Join today to save on your next CED program or conference, visit www.cednc.org/membership

Co-Chairs

Linda Markus Daniels
Ward and Smith P.A.
Eric Linsley
Pappas Ventures

Upcoming CED Events

9/09 Entrepreneurs Only Workshop™: Doing Your Due Diligence
9/22 Biotech Forum: Clinical Trials
9/23 Entrepreneurs Only Workshop™: Valuation of Intellectual Property

 

What Members are Saying

"CED is a premiere catalyst for networking and access. CED offers one of the best available common grounds for bringing entrepreneurs of all backgrounds together." - Clay Dunnagan, VP of Business Development, Vital Source Technologies (also a FastTrac Tech instructor)