Israel, more fondly nicknamed as the “Silicon Valley of the East”, is the largest recipient of United States venture capital, absorbing 7.7% of outbound investment dollars. For a small and relatively new country, Israel has jumped into the limelight as one of the largest producers of new technologies. The country is responsible for some of the most prominent inventions over the past several decades, including drip irrigation, instant messaging (ICQ), Intel’s Centrino computer chip, and voicemail technology.

Israel also holds the second greatest number of foreign companies on the NASDAQ, second only to Canada. Some of the more prominent multi-billion dollar corporations listed on the exchange include TEVA Pharmaceuticals (market cap: $41 billion), the world’s largest generic drug manufacturer, and Gilead Sciences (market cap: $43 billion), which develops therapies for viral diseases, infectious diseases, and cancer.

In 2008, over $2 billion was invested in 480+ Israeli high-tech companies, an increase of 18% over the prior year. Roughly 50% of funds came from outside of Israel, primarily from the United States, which has also shown significant investment in Israel by building Israeli satellite offices for American companies. In 1974, Intel chose Israel as the location for its first design and development center outside the United States, and thereafter opened 8 locations, employing over 5,300 employees. International companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Nokia, and Motorola have also followed in the footsteps of Intel Corporation by opening offices in Israel.

So why has Israel drawn so much VC funding and attention from the international business community?

Israel has the highest number of university degrees relative to the population and the largest number of scientists per capita in the world, with 145 scientists per 10,000 citizens, in comparison with the United States at 85 per 10,000. Additionally, Israel has the highest number of start-up companies in the world outside of the United States.

Israelis also receive extensive technical training through their compulsory military service and have adapted several advanced military technologies to other applications. For example, Given Imaging, which in 1998 came out with the first ingestible disposable video camera for viewing and diagnosing the small intestine, developed and adapted their product from an electro-optical device for military missiles.

The enormous pool of talented workers in Israel is also much more affordable for technology companies than those in Silicon Valley, and the government has been a strong supporter of growth in the hi-tech sector. The Israeli government provides incentives and grants to encourage capital investment and scientific research within the country.

Growthink has worked with dozens of Israeli entrepreneurs throughout its ten years of operations and has several strategic alliances with individuals within the Israeli Venture Capital community.

Many entrepreneurs and investors have been capitalizing on developing internet capabilities and the increased usage of social networks around the world by creating a new wave of social networks and Web 2.0 websites. Over the last few years, the Web 2.0 sector has seen a number of acquisitions for companies including Bebo, Blogger, Cork’d, Del.icio.us, Flickr, Jaiku, Last.fm, Picasa, Rojo, Skype, Sphere, StumbleUpon, and Webshots. Entrepreneurs have been encouraged by large scale transactions including YouTube selling for $1.7 billion, Facebook’s valuation at $15 billion based on Microsoft’s recent investment, and MySpace’s sale for $580 million.

A great Web 2.0 website can be built on a shoestring budget with a few smart developers and an innovative concept driving the growth of the business. Web 2.0 companies have the potential to experience overnight notoriety through a few press mentions and can grow exponentially thereafter.  Thus, venture capital firms do expect to see a great deal of traction in the marketplace before seriously considering funding your social network. Due to market conditions, VCs today are seeking to fund companies that are already well on their way to success, rather than higher risk and earlier stage deals that they might have previously considered.  As a social network, the right time to contact a VC is when your site has a solid user base and viral growth through an innovative guerilla marketing strategy, not at the idea stage. For example, just today Glubble BV (www.glubble.com), a niche Amsterdam based social networking website for families with children under the age of 12, announced that they raised $1 million in Series B funding. Glubble was launched in 2007 and counts 300,000 family pages on its service to-date.

Due to the large number of social networking sites that were funded in the last three years, VCs are getting increasingly skeptical of these concepts. Kleiner Perkins, one of the largest VCs, has publicly stated that they are no longer investing or even looking at Web 2.0 companies. I’m not suggesting that you get discouraged by this or that the opportunities for new web 2.0 or social networks have passed, but realize that the competition is great and you must differentiate yourself both in your market and when pitching to venture capital firms. Stand out by targeting niche users, such as senior citizens, travelers, specific cultures, or countries. Find a niche that has not been already conquered, but that has enormous value, and do not promote your business as the next MySpace or Facebook. These networks have generated enormous and loyal user bases and it will be extremely challenging if not impossible to replace them.

Growthink has worked with nearly 100 web 2.0 businesses over the last few years and has developed strong expertise in the sector. We can help you to strategically think through your business model and create a compelling business plan that will help your Web 2.0 company stand out among the throngs of competitors. We can also advise you on how to improve your viral marketing strategy to optimize your valuation before bringing your company to a VC firm.

If you are an existing website, we can also help provide you with strategic recommendations based on a complimentary website audit. Please follow this link for more information:

http://www.growthink.com/internet-marketing/website-audit#auditform

When entrepreneurs ask me what sources of capital to tap to fund their businesses, my answer is generally "as many as you can."

I often point to companies like Google, who relied on credit cards, angels and venture capitalists in its early days.

Recently Animoto heeded my advice. In it's most recent round of funding, Animoto raised $4.4 million from a venture capitalist (Madrona Venture Group), a corporate/strategic investor (Amazon.com), and two angel investors: iStockphoto founder Bruce Livingstone and angel investor Jeff Clavier (Clavier is also the founder and managing partner of SoftTech VC, a seed-stage venture capital firm).

What's even more interesting is what Animoto is. Animoto is a website where you can quickly and easily turn photos into videos. Why is this interesting? Because you can use Animoto to create a video about your company to market it to investors.

So not only is Animoto teaching each of us about how to best raise capital to fund our growth, but is offering a tool to help us market ourselves to investors.

To see how it worked, I created an Animoto account (doesn't cost anything and is quick to do) and created a quick video. I was home at the time with my daughter, so we did it together and created one with a few of her recent horseback riding pictures.

The good news is that it was really simple to create the video. The negatives were that 1) rendering time was slow (plan to wait at least 5 minutes before the video is ready to be viewed for a 30-second clip), and 2) the non-paid version only allows your video to last 30 seconds. Fortunately for $3 per video, or $30 for a year, you can create full-length videos.

Overall, Animoto is a great lesson in capital raising and a great tool to use when raising capital for your business!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to interview Brad Feld, who is considered among the elite investors in privately held companies.

For those of you who are not familiar with Brad, his background includes starting and selling his own software company, investing as an angel in 40 to 50 companies, and founding or co-founding three venture capital firms: Intensity Ventures, Mobius Venture Capital and Foundry Group, where he currently serves as Managing Director.

While there were several invaluable points for entrepreneurs seeking capital in the interview, I found the following to be most interesting:

1. Your VC firm is your partner.

Many first-time entrepreneurs view VCs simply as providers of capital. In actuality, VCs are partners. They exert control over your company. They have experience in product development or scaling companies, or both, and can provide significant value beyond the money they infuse in companies.

Because VCs are partners that exert control, you need to assess them much like you would other partners. Mainly, you need to make sure that there is a really good fit.

2. Angel investors are the friend of the first-time entrepreneur.

First time entrepreneurs should strongly consider angel investments prior to venture capital. Angel investors often have financing experience which can help entrepreneurs navigate the VC waters when they are ready (there are a ton of terms and issues involved with venture capital that most first-time entrepreneurs don't know about).

Angel investors also tend to have relationships with VCs. Also, angels often have the operational experience to help grow the entrepreneur's company. And finally, the angels' funding can help the company grow to a point where it is more suitable for venture capital.

However, when structuring angel deals, it is imperative to keep the pricing/valuation fair and the deal terms as simple as possible. If not, raising subsequent venture capital rounds becomes more challenging.

3. Don't look for investors who are not a good fit

Brad mentioned the 80/20 or even the 99/1 rule. Essentially, entrepreneurs should spend a ton of time on the 1% of investors who are a great fit. And not waste their effort on the other investors.

Two key aspects that Brad mentioned for ensuring a good fit are 1) geography (many VCs will only invest in certain geographic regions) and 2) sector (Foundry Group simply doesn't invest in Clean Tech; no matter how exciting the company looks). I would also add "stage" to this list as many VCs focus on companies at specific stages (e.g., some only want post-revenue companies, etc.)

You can listen to the full 30-minute interview by clicking the blue triangle on the audio player below:

While you probably have heard about the Stimulus Package and President Barack Obama’s push toward increased usage of renewable energies, you may not be aware of how this initiative can help your business and where the money is in fact going. The following information will explore the specific allocations of the Energy Stimulus and how you, as a business or as a consumer, can take advantage of this unique opportunity.

One of the most significant components of the $787.2 billion stimulus package signed into effect by President Obama in February 2009 is the initiative to spur development of “Clean, Efficient, American Energy”.  Of the total sum, more than $30 billion will be allocated to transforming the nation’s energy transmission, distribution, and production systems by improving grid design and investing in renewable energy and another $5 billion will be spent on home weatherization. The energy component of the initiative is aimed at reducing the country’s dependence on fossil fuels, spurring innovation, and creating jobs nationwide.

The following outlines the specific initiatives the energy stimulus money will be dispersed to:

• Improvement of Electricity Grid Design - $11 billion to build new power lines and deliver renewable energy
• Grants for Local Governments - $6.3 billion to state and local governments to reduce carbon emissions in their localities
• Renewable Energy Loans - $6 billion for funding renewable energy projects
• Home Weatherization – Weatherization is the process of protecting a structure’s interior from the exterior elements and improving interior energy consumption efficiency through highly effective insulation. The government has allotted $5 billion to lower income housing
• Eco-Friendly Government Buildings - $4.5 billion to make government buildings more energy efficient
• Fossil Energy Cleanup - $3.4 billion for carbon capture technology development
• Green Research – $2.5 billion in grants for universities, companies, and national laboratories that will demonstrate advancements in technology to foster energy independence
• Advanced Battery Grants - $2 billion to spur development of advanced vehicle and other battery systems
• Green Job Training - $500 million to train workers in the green energy sector
• Electric Transportation - $400 million in grants to develop electric vehicles
• Smart Appliances - $300 million in customer rebates for the purchase of energy efficient appliances
• Federal Vehicles - $300 million to replace or retrofit government vehicles to use renewable energies
• Department of Defense - $300 million to develop more energy efficient military equipment and bases
• Local Transportation - $300 million to local governments to purchase buses and trucks that use alternative fuels, and $300 million to replace or retrofit vehicles that use diesel fuels
• Energy Efficient Housing - $250 million to increase energy efficiency in homes, particularly low-income housing

Historically, companies have been reluctant to invest in renewable and clean energy technologies, because they require tremendous economies of scale to be profitable. Since these systems require large capital outlays upfront, it takes a long time to see return on investment. The Stimulus Package aims to combat these hesitations toward switching to renewable energy systems. The initiative will benefit various members of the energy sector from large utility companies upgrading energy grids to small businesses installing solar panels. It also benefits end consumers striving to make their homes more energy efficient through tax breaks and government subsidies.

Federal Involvement will Spur Investment, Growth, and Job Creation

The influence of government grants, loans, and tax breaks, will help encourage progress for both the supply and demand side of this sector. On the supply side, the government will provide research grants and funds for investing in promising existing and new technologies. On the demand side, the Stimulus Package will help companies and homeowners purchase new green energy systems by making them more affordable. The Stimulus Package will also create thousands of new jobs across the nation fulfilling these initiatives, helping to fuel unemployment and the overall status of the economy. According to Nancy Pelosi, investment in the green sector will create close to 500,000 jobs in 2009, 67,000 of which will be in the solar and wind power installation sector. Ultimately, the energy portion of the stimulus package will reduce American reliance on foreign nations for fossil fuels, generate domestic jobs, and promote innovation and adoption of new renewable energy technologies nationwide.

Access to the Allotted Funds

Whereas other areas of the stimulus package will be distributed through company applications and competitions to receive the funds, the money attributed to the energy sector will be primarily dispersed through tax credits and purchase incentives. For example, within solar and wind energy, the government is now offering a 30% tax credit to offset the cost of installing a solar energy system or wind farm, whereas previously the tax credits had a cap of $2,000 and $4,000, respectively. Some additional credits include up to $7,500 for buying a plug-in hybrid electric car or a 50% tax credit for gas stations or other businesses that install alternative fueling pumps. For more information on the specific types of grants or tax credits offered, please find more information at the following website: http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/obama-signs-stimulus-package-5736.html.

So What Does This Mean for You?

Energy Companies

If you are involved in the clean energy sector, Growthink recommends additional research into the specific provisions of the stimulus to see if your business will qualify for federal subsidies or research grants. Additionally, Growthink suggests putting together a strong marketing campaign that highlights government support and tax credits for purchasing your products. This will educate the many unaware businesses and consumers that believe switching to alternative energies is outside of their affordability. Additionally, it is a wonderful way to draw positive publicity for your business. Growthink is happy to provide you with complimentary feedback on your current marketing program. We can also assist you by utilizing our expert group of marketing professionals to work with you on creating a Marketing Plan to target your customers in the most effective way possible.

Contracting, Construction, Eco-Friendly Transportation, and Electrical Infrastructure Companies

If you own a contracting, construction, eco-friendly transportation, or electrical infrastructure company, Growthink recommends seeking additional information on how you may bid for funds allocated to electricity grid design, weatherization, environmentally friendly transportation development, energy efficient housing, and building renovations. Growthink can help you with conducting this research and help articulate how your business is the most suited to perform the specified work or receive a government grant.

Consumers

As a consumer, you can reap the benefits of the energy sector stimulus by utilizing the tax incentives to switch to renewable energy systems, such as installation of a solar or wind energy system in your home. The government is also offering customer rebates for those who purchase energy efficient appliances for their homes.

The Obama Stimulus Plan is an unprecedented program that has created unique opportunities for tremendous innovation and growth within energy efficiency. Please contact Growthink for more information on how we can help you position your company to benefit from the billions of dollars allocated to this sector and within your reach.

The world clearly has changed.  Long gone are the days of Rotary Club and Elks Lodge America, and of Tuesday afternoon tea.  Replacing them is the brave new world of social and virtual networking, of Linked-In, of Facebook, and of Twitter.  And from a standpoint of access to and diligence of great deal flow, this is an extremely good thing. 

Let's compare how deals can be and are identified and diligenced today to how it was done 20 years ago.   Back in the good old 20th century, opportunity flow was limited to that which could be introduced to you directly by people you knew, usually in your local community or in your immediate circle of family, friends, and business colleagues.   Oh what a simpler, more innocent time that was!   But it was also a parochial and limited one.  

There was first the limit of geography and introduction. If you were far from the major entrepreneurial and finance centers (New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and Los Angeles), the likelihood of crossing paths with the "special deals" was very, very limited.   Back then, opportunity flow really was limited to the "old boys club," and what you knew was far less important than who you knew.  

Compare that to today.  Sites such as Linked-In, Facebook, BizBuySell, RaiseCapital.com, The Funded, The Private Equity Exchange, Second Market and even Twitter are treasure troves of startup, small business, and emerging technology deals and ideas.  This is to say nothing of the World Wide Web itself, where all of the serious entrepreneurs and private companies (a number that runs into the millions) have websites that explain, in various degrees of succinctness, what they do, where, why they do it, and how they make money.  And if they can't, with a click of a button, you move on.

And there was enormous information friction 20 years ago.  Getting quality information back then was time-consuming, expensive, and prone to omission errors.  There were no websites, where you could quickly get that critical feel for the "realness" of a business' growth prospects.  There was no ability to "Google" someone and to find out about that bribery conviction 10 years ago – conveniently omitted from conversation and the business plan. There was no Linked-In and Facebook to identify the various "degrees of connection" that confirm resume and background representations. 

Now to this you may say, “But heck in a Norman Rockwell America this stuff wasn't needed,” because, back then, you did business like men:  face-to-face with guys you knew from the club. 

To this I say two words: Bernie Madoff. Mr. Ponzi himself could never have gotten away with what he did if he traveled amongst the modern "technocrati." His M.O. of secrecy and opaqueness would have screamed suspicion immediately to any one even basically versed in online networking. This brave new world is one that if you have nothing to hide, then you ain’t opaque.  And it is a better world for it.

Finally, you may say, “Well Jay, if this new world of ours is so abundant and so filled to the brim with such incredible money-making deals, why are we all getting killed in the markets?  Couldn't we all kind of go for some of those 1980's-esque returns about now?  If this new world of ours is so great, why is everything so bad?”

To this, I refer you to Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of the paradigm-changing treatise, "The Black Swan."  At the risk of over-simplyifying Taleb's big idea, the good old days were a world of "Mediocristan," or in the inimitable words of Garrison Keiller, one where “all of the children were above average.”  There were business successes and failures for sure, but they were of more of a gradual and tepid form.  The 21st century, in contrast, is a world of Extremistan - characterized at the macro level by outrageous bubbles and busts, and at the micro level by a quite small number of enterprises and business models that are responsible for the significant majority of an investment class's return.

Our contention is that, as we move into the 2nd decade of the 21st century, more and more investors will both be able, and prefer, to hunt for these future supernovae via online social networking and deal exchanges and the Internet itself.  From here, most but not all of the traditional deal diligence rules apply.  In future blog posts, we will explore which ones do, which ones don't, and how to assess and price private company deals in the current environment. 


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I received a quite bit of personal feedback for my open letter last Tuesday regarding my view that the twin pillars of the federal government's response to the economic crisis - namely "bailout" and "stimulus" - were fundamentally at odds with the interests of Entrepreneurial America.    The positive comments (which were the majority) were mostly of the "hear, hear" variety and those I appreciate very much.  The negative comments were mostly of the sort that I was grinding a political ax against the Obama administration.  To this critique, let me respond as follows:

President Obama, with his "only in America" life story, arguably is the most "entrepreneurial" American President ever.  Son of a Kenyan immigrant father and a teenage mother, raised and schooled in Hawaii and Indonesia, and attaining the highest pinnacle of American society, what is more entrepreneurial than that?  And as a student of political history, I don't know if I have ever heard a politician state the "entrepreneur's creed" more eloquently than President Obama did in his inaugural:

"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."

Having said this, President Obama also, like most federal officials, has a) never started or built a business b) is trained as a lawyer and c) in his approach tends to default to the "As go Washington and Wall Street, so goes America" view of things.  And this is where we part company.

From my perspective and that of my entrepreneurial brethren, the bailout and stimulus default mode that masquerades as economic policy in Washington makes me, quite simply, embarrassed for my country.  Why?

First of all, the size of these packages is simply way too big - by their very size dwarfing everything and are thereby de-motivating to the private sector.

Secondly, they are too arbitrary - why bailout Bear Stearns and Merrill and not Lehman?  Why bailout AIG and Citigroup and GM and Chrysler and not the literally thousands of other insurance, banking and manufacturing companies that are equally struggling?

And thirdly and most to the point - they are philosophically wrong.  Business and markets and entrepreneurship are dependent on and driven by the acceptance of risk and the corresponding consequences of failure.  Take away this fundamental market egalitarianism and fairness, and the whole system becomes skewed and corrupted.   How?  Well here at Growthink most of our client and investment inquiries are usually of the nature "How can I build this business?" or "How can I add value to the marketplace with this product or service?" or "Should I invest in this company?"  Now, their tenor is more and more of  "How can I get myself a piece of all of this federal money that is sloshing around?"  And I challenge anyone to argue that this is a good thing.

Let me offer two quotes to sum up my concern - one anonymous and one from Louis Brandeis, the great Supreme Court Justice and defender of privacy:

The anonymous one comes from my travels in India when an Indian friend there, explaining the hoops that Indian entrepreneurs must jump through, and the bribes they must pay, to secure the necessary permits and licenses to start and grow their businesses - "Doing business in India turns even an honest man bad," he said.

In this vein, Justice Brandeis famously once said, "The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding."

While I have a lot of respect for many aspects of Indian society and culture, the public - private "partnership" in their economy is certainly not one of them.  And while I certainly trust President Obama's fine intentions, it would be very wise for him and his Washington brethren - Republican and Democrat - to consider the the psychological and structural costs to a free and entrepreneurial economy of these unprecedented, gigantic governmental interventions.

Sometimes it feels like you’re just spinning your wheels. This is how I felt a few years ago when I was helping one of my clients raise VC (venture capital) funding. The client was an early-stage, Southern California-based networking company…

I started by creating what I felt was an awesome VC prospect list with 455 prospective investors.

The list looked like this (number of prospects in parentheses):

• Priority A: Strategic/Corporate Investors (24)
• Priority B: Most Active Southern California Investors (24)
• Priority C: Active Southern California Investors (25)
• Priority D: Most Active Networking Investors CA-based (72)
• Priority E: Active Networking Investors CA-based (88)
• Priority F: Most Active Networking Investors U.S.-based (46)
• Priority G: Active Networking Investors U.S.-based (176)

The list itself took me days (and a proprietary database) to compile. As any direct marketer knows (and raising capital is direct marketing), the quality of the list is everything. For example, if you’re trying to sell a franchise opportunity to folks at a nursing home, you’re not getting any buyers no matter how good the opportunity is!

Armed with my list and my teaser email (teaser email = solicits interest without giving away the farm), I started calling and emailing investors.

And I had lots of early success.

We had about 20 first meetings with strategic and venture capital investors. And the result... nothing.

We only got about 5 investors who explicitly said “no” but the others weren’t quite ready to write us a check.

So, naturally I started getting discouraged. As you can imagine, I had already invested over one hundred hours on this project and had no multi-million check to show for it.

But fortunately I remained persistent, and eventually one investor referred me to another investor (which, believe it or not, was not on my list of the top 455 prospective investors!!!!) who wrote us a $3 million check.

I bring up this story since I’ve been getting a lot of questions about whether or not there is VC funding out there right now.

The answer is an emphatic YES. It is out there. And like always, it takes great knowledge and persistence to get it (and probably now more than ever).

Here are the facts. According to the National Venture Capital Association, 3,808 ventures raised VC funding in 2008 totaling $28.3 billion. And, according to the Center for Venture Research, 70,000 ventures were funded by angel investors last year totaling $37.2 billion.

So lots of companies continue to receive funding from venture capitalists and angel investors.

It’s mostly a matter of REALLY wanting to receive capital for your business and making the investment to do it (i.e., the time/money to learn how to, and the time needed to execute on, a capital-raising campaign).

So, capital IS still out there, and YES, you can raise it!

The National Venture Capital Association recently released data for 2008 venture capital investments.  Venture capital firms invested $28.3 billion in 3,808 companies in 2008.  This represents an 8% decrease in dollars and a 4% decrease in deal volume from 2007.  

One big bright spot is clean tech.

Venture capital firms invested $4.1 billion into 277 clean tech startups in 2008, a 52% increase from 2007.  Popular investments include solar, biodiesel, nuclear energy, and battery start-ups.

When we step back and try to view these investments over the long-term, it becomes clear that only a handful of these start-up companies are going to become extremely successful.  Only a few of them will dominate their marketplaces and become the "Googles" of solar, wind, water, and biodiesel.

While the majority of individual investments into start-up companies will fail, the asset class as a whole has historically produced superior returns to most other alternatives.  Seed stage and early stage venture capital investing has achieved historical 20 year returns of over 20%.  The asset class as a whole is only able to achieve these returns by investing in a handful of "home runs" -- the startups that grow to be multi-million and billion dollar acquisitions and IPOs.

Despite what the admittedly brilliant minds on Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley would have us believe, it is nearly impossible to predict which of the hundreds of thousands of promising new companies launched every year will become the "next Google" of their industry.

That's why diversification is a critically important "best practice" for successful venture capital and private equity investing.  As such, the investor's goal should be to aggregate positions in several promising early stage companies in order to improve the chances of finding that "Black Swan."

And as the public stock markets take a beating, real estate continues its downward spiral, and cash is endangered by the long-term threat of inflation as a result of record U.S. government deficits, we at Growthink believe that the early stage private equity asset class is among the most attractive long-term investment alternatives available to qualified investors.

To learn more about our perspectives on this subject, we welcome you to attend our webinar:
How to Successfully Invest in Venture Capital and Private Equity

Earlier this week, Growthink's Co-Founder Dave Lavinsky spoke with Dave Humphrey, COO and Senior Investment Professional for Oklahoma Equity Partners, based in Tulsa OK. Humphrey has served as a principal at Davis Tuttle Venture Partners (the oldest VC firm in Oklahoma). Also, in over 10 years with Koch Industries, he led $300+ million of expansions and acquisitions, and served as the CEO of a $200 million business where he increased profitability by six-fold.

You can click here to listen to the entire interview: http://www.growthinkuniversity.com/public/248.cfm

In the interview Dave discussed how networking plays a role in both capital raising and bolstering a management team, as well as a way to approach financial projections that will show investors your true capacity to execute on a market opportunity.

Also discussed are the 3 key elements that Humphrey looks for in every business plan.

To listen to the interview, visit this link: http://www.growthinkuniversity.com/public/248.cfm