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SciQuest Closes on $4.5 Million in Second Round Venture Financing


Cary-based SciQuest closed on $4.5 million in second round venture capital from Noro-Mosley Partners, the Wakefield Group and private investors.

SciQuest's Web site, which offers lists of supplies used by the scientific industry, enables scientists who go to the company's Web site to generate a list of vendors that sell the specific equipment they need, anything from pipettes to high-tech devices costing tens of thousands of dollars. More than 10,000 people use SciQuest each month to search for scientific equipment. The 2-year-old Web site provides information about more than 300,000 products from more than 2,000 companies.

SciQuest estimates that buyers for laboratories spend 4.4 hours each week searching for equipment that exactly meets their specifications.

The company will use a portion of the money to put its 16 full-time employees in new offices off Page Road in Durham. The company now has a small office in Cary.

Novartis Plans $20 Million Expansion of Triangle Facilities


Novartis plans to make $20 million in expansions in its Research Triangle Park facility, as well as and hire as many as 100 workers in the next two years.

The expansion plans include a new building of up to 40,000 square feet with a library, lunchroom, conference rooms and administrative areas. Novartis will also add 20,000 square feet to its existing laboratories and 15,000 square feet to its greenhouse. The laboratories, built in 1984, also are being remodeled.

The company's RTP facility currently employs 210 people, including scientists who do research and develop commercial products for all three of Novartis' divisions: crop protection, seeds and animal health.

Novartis is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, and employs about 87,000 people worldwide.

SECANT to Open Regional Offices in New Jersey and California


Research Triangle-based SECANT Network Technologies, developer of the Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network security and encryption, has established regional sales offices in the Silicon Valley area of California and in New Jersey.

The offices will allow SECANT to have a greater national presence. SECANT manufactures and markets high-performance information security systems to government and industry worldwide.

Register Now for Software '98!


Come test-drive the latest technology generated by North Carolina information technology companies at Software '98, the Southeast's premier software industry conference. Register now! The eighth annual conference, a showcase the best of North Carolina's $3-billion information technology industry, will be held on October 16, 1998, at the Kenan Flagler Business School's McColl Building on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The conference brings together software entrepreneurs, CEOs and executives primarily from the Research Triangle area and other Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states to learn about business and technology trends and software/Internet business "how to's." Last year, 450 people attended the conference. For more information, contact Evelyn Hughes.

Check Out Upcoming CED Programs and Events!


Apply Early for Fall FastTrac-Early Application Deadline August 14th!

Do you have an idea for a new business but need to develop a plan?
Do you want to increase your business revenues and profitability?
Do you need to develop a business plan to seek funding or for strategic purposes?

Apply for the fall session of the FastTrac entrepreneurial training program!

  • More than 16,000 people have taken FastTrac since its inception in 1986. FastTrac graduates outperform non-graduates in all business measurements.

  • The SBA reports that only 40% of new businesses are still in existence 5 years after start-up, but 74% of FastTrac businesses are still operating successfully.

  • 40-55% of FastTrac graduates more than double their sales within two years of graduation.

August CED Member Meeting: War Stories of Arrived Entrepreneurs
Date: August 19, 1998
Time: 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Location: MCNC, Research Triangle Park
Contact: Bill Spruill
Learn firsthand from seasoned entrepreneur Mike Shook, founder and president of Strategic Technologies, at War Stories of the Arrived Entrepreneur, the CED Member Meeting. One of the area's premiere entrepreneurs, Shook will share some personal ups and downs as an entrepreneur.

North Carolina Technology 50 Awards Dinner
Date: August 20, 1998
Time: 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Location: Sheraton Imperial, RTP
Contact: Deloitte & Touche

North Carolina's 50 fastest growing technology companies will be recognized at the North Carolina Technology 50 Awards Dinner. The dinner is sponsored by Deloitte & Touche, CED, J&H Marsh McLennan, Triangle Business Journal and Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice with associate sponsors NCEITA, NCBIO and MEC. The North Carolina Technology 50 is an annual ranking of the 50 fastest growing technology companies based in North Carolina. The rankings are based on percentage of revenue growth.

Seeking Early Stage Financing? Apply Now For STREAK, CED's Venture Forum
Are you seeking early stage capital for your growing company? Apply now for STREAK, CED's venture forum that provides young potential high-growth companies with access to mentors, potential investors and increased visibility. Application deadline is August 25, 1998.

STREAK is designed for entrepreneurs with exciting ideas who will be seeking an early round of capital in the next six months and who can demonstrate equity investment potential. Prospective candidates must submit an application and executive summary to be considered for the program. Two companies will be selected each month to submit their business plan to a four person mentoring team consisting of investors, legal advisors, CPA's, experienced entrepreneurs and marketing experts.

The team will study the business plan, and the entrepreneurs will give a "behind closed doors" presentation to the team. The team will then candidly critique the business plan and presentation, make recommendations, and provide ongoing mentoring for the company. Two companies per quarter will be selected to present at a large quarterly event attended by potential investors and partners, financiers and others involved in the entrepreneurial funding process. For more information, contact Suzanne Cantando at CED.