VC TaskForce - Early Stage Funding: Are We in for a Global Cooling? July 18, 2006

http://www.vctaskforce.com

The growth and success of venture capital over the past decade is presenting new challenges for the industry.

Ten years ago, a great deal of money was invested in early stage companies ranging from IT to biotech and clean tech. But early stage investment has slowed.

The big question among investors and entrepreneurs is who besides angels will help bridge this funding gap?

There are plenty of different perspectives about this topic and its urgency. And new efforts are emerging with small, experimental incubator-like funds to help address this gap. The long-term prospects of emerging technology start ups five years from commercialization is critical to the overall health of the venture capital industry. Nowhere are these issues more important than with entrepreneurs who must know where to look for seed and understand the field of investment plays available and the risks.

This emerging technology forum panel will explore the problem and prospects ahead. We'll address whether or not a funding gap exists and what are the short and long term implications to the market? What are the risks and rewards for early stage investors? We'll sort through some of the typical capital requirements for early stage starts up from also probe the broader economic trends of the industry and how early stage investing is a barometer for determining the overall long term health of the industry.

Panel
Moderator: Michael Copeland, senior writer, Business 2.0

Alexei Andrev, PhD, Managing Director, Harris & Harris Group

David Aslin, Partner, 3i

Deborah Magid, Director, strategic alliances, software group, IBM Venture Capital Group

Ikhlaq Sidhu, Executive Director, Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology, College of Engineering, UC Berkeley

Doors open: 6 pm for informal networking Panel Discussion: 7 pm - 8 pm

Q&A: 8 pm - 9 pm
General Hors d'oeuvres, wine and soft drinks will be served

COST & REGISTRATION:
$55 VC TaskForce members, $65 Affiliate members, $87 General.
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=114146

Official Website: http://www.vctaskforce.com