Investor News

Froehlich, group invest in companies, region

By Alica P. Thiele apthiele@argusleader.com

PUBLISHED: October 5, 2007 - Argusleader

Dale Froehlich grew up on a farm, planting seeds and cultivating the fruits of his labor.  He still enjoys helping things grow and, as president of Prairie Winds Capital, he helps invest in start-up companies.

Froehlich and other investors formed Prairie Winds in 2006.  It is one of 24 investment fund members of Regional Angel Investment Network.

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2007 Angel Group Predictions are "On The Money"

ACA angel groups report improvements in deal flow and better relationships with venture capitalists in 2007

Washington, DC, September 18, 2007 -Angel groups are on track to meet their predictions for increased investment activity in 2007, based on a mid-year survey by the Angel Capital Association.  The new survey followed another survey completed in early 2007 in which angel group leaders expressed optimism about the climate for investments in early-stage businesses in 2007, forecasting gains over 2006 in number of investments made, the quality of business opportunities presented by entrepreneurs, and co-investment activity with other investors.

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Entreprenuership: Becoming Your Own Boss Becomes a National Obsession
Once upon a time, small business was seen solely as the domain of idiosyncratic, iconoclastic outsiders, willing to forgo the security of corporate life to venture out on their own. But today entrepreneurs are America's role models. Almost everyone wants to own a business - from college students, who are signing up for entrepreneurial courses in record numbers; to those over age 65, who are forming more companies every year; to recent immigrants, who in 2005 started 25% more companies per capita than native-born citizens did:
Fortune List of Best Grad Schools for Entreprenuership

The Professional Emtreprenuer
Academics are charged with two responsibilities: creating new knowledge and transferring existing knowledge. Most of us would regard those lofty, idealized goals as something quite distinct from the mundane, profit-driven pursuits of the business world. But in fact, the realities of a faculty career bear many similarities to the business world, and, in particular, to the world of the entrepreneur. After all, one of the principle attractions of both is the chance to be your own boss, at least intellectually. So what exactly is a "professorial entrepreneur?"
The Chronicle of Highed Education

But Visa Limits Are Creating a U.S. 'Brain-Drain'
The United States faces a "reverse brain-drain" as workers with special skills return to their home countries because of strict limits on visas, researchers at Duke and other universities say. More than a million engineers, scientists, other skilled workers and their family members are competing for 120,000 permanent U.S. resident visas every year, the researchers at Duke, New York University and Harvard University found:
Raleigh News & Observer

While towns throughout the US are doing everything they can to keep bright young minds home, it seems the country as a whole is sending them away in droves. More than one million skilled immigrant workers are competing for 120,000 permanent US resident visas each year, creating a sizeable imbalance likely to fuel a “reverse brain-drain” with skilled workers returning to their home country, according to the new report released by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation:
The Kauffman Foundation


Biggest Needs for UNC System; Many More Grads Wanted in-State
The need for highly educated, skilled workers is much greater than North Carolina's higher education system can produce, according to a report to the group setting a future course for the UNC system. The UNC Tomorrow Commission heard a flurry of daunting statistics last week about the state's economic and demographic changes:
Greater Triad Business Journal


Report Shows Oklahoma High-tech Jobs on the Rise
High-tech jobs in Oklahoma have grown by 15 percent in the last two years and pay almost twice as much as the state's average salary, according to a new report. The 129,700 jobs — which include everything from scientists and engineers to computer technicians — account for 8.7 percent of the state's total employment, the state Commerce Department said. High-tech jobs stood at more than 112,000 in 2005. The report's author, Jon Chiappe, says Oklahoma compares favorably to almost all surrounding states, except Texas, in the proportion of employment in high-tech jobs:
The Oklahoman


Engineering a Tech Center for New York City
NYU’s proposed merger with Polytechnic University would give it an engineering program for the first time in decades. It could also help New York City develop a more robust high-tech sector. While New York City has an array of top-flight scientific research institutions, the city lacks an equally robust engineering presence. This paper argues that the absence of a large, first-rate engineering school is a big reason why New York City gets so little return in business development terms from federal R&D funding that the city’s major universities capture:
NYC Future Organization

Arkansas Economic Development Agency Reports its 2006 Progress

To better recruit industry to the state, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission will consider, among other things, pursuing a constitutional amendment to remove the restriction on the state investing in private companies. Details of the agency's economic development efforts in 2006, as well as possible strategies in coming years, were revealed last week in an annual report to legislators that has been required by law since 2002:
Arkansas News Bureau

Arkansas' two-year colleges hold the key to economic development in the state, and they're mobilizing their resources to meet the work force needs of business and industry. That's according to several leaders in the trenches, who are working to ensure that if large companies come knocking, Arkansas will have workers waiting at the door:
Arkansas Business Journal


Missouri Stem-Cell Disputes Have Big Implications for Kansas City
The pursuit of cures from embryonic stem cells requires a focus that goes far beyond biology. Researchers, entrepreneurs and others working with this technology must attempt to master a tricky task of juggling science and politics. Whether they succeed may have profound consequences for biosciences in the Kansas City area and Missouri. It also may be a key factor in the development of a U.S. industry that many are looking to for cures and important tools for discovering powerful new drugs:
Kansas City Star

The possibility of a truce in the stem-cell wars started the summer with quite a stir. Scientists, including one with Kansas City connections, published reports in prestigious journals about successes with alternatives to traditional approaches for producing embryonic stem cells:
Kansas City Star

Next door, Governor Rod Blagojevich. in an effort to woo researchers and investors to Illinois, signed a bill that allows public funding of research on all types of stem cells, including controversial embryonic stem cells:
Chicago Tribune


Paul Graham on His Y-Combinator - Startup Incubator
Y Combinator provides seed stage capital and a 10 week startup boot camp for budding entrepreneurs. At the end of the 10 week session Y Combinator invites VCs and angels to an investor day / demo day:
The Next Big Thing

Y Combinator is a seed stage investor with a large network of entrepreneurs, VCs, and all the people you need to start a company. It is hard to explain but it is a cross between a startup boot camp and a traditional startup incubator. The best description of Y Combinator is on its application page:
The Next Big Thing

University of Nebraska MC Program Waives Research Licensing Fees
The University of Nebraska Medical Center will waive its licensing fees for new or expanding Nebraska businesses that want to develop its research findings:
Omaha World Herald


Coporate VC Spendng up 30% in First Half; Subprime Fallout May Help VCs
Corporate venture capitalists invested $1.3 billion nationally during the first half of 2007, up 30 percent from the same period the year before. Corporate investments represented of 21.4 percent of all venture deals during the first six months of the year, while their contributions represented 9.2 percent of total venture money invested. It is the highest percentage of corporate venture deals and dollars in 6 years, according to the MoneyTree Report.
National Venture Capital Association

The sky is falling. The sky is falling. The ground is rising.Could the subprime problems that have fouled the public market be a mixed blessing for Silicon Valley’s high-technology investors? Highly out of favor in recent years, public offerings of technology start-ups are enjoying a mild resurgence. And some venture capitalists are arguing that the fragile momentum could be bolstered by the problems that mortgage-related securities have caused in the stock and credit markets. The rationale is that technology investments, because they are far removed from credit-centric securities, could look relatively enticing:
New York Times

Summer, especially July and August, is a very challenging time to get deals done (or put another way, to get an entire venture firm focused on making an affirmative investment decision). Mid-December through mid-January is also tough, and in fact, you can back up to just before Thanksgiving, as the year starts to wind down by then. Throw in the "spring break" vacation cycle from March through April and you have your temporal obstacle course:
Mass High Tech


Colorado's Bioscience Sector Eyes New Funding Source
Colorado's higher-education institutions can no longer solely rely on the state for funding if they want to continue to churn out graduates and researchers qualified to grow Colorado's bioscience sector:
Denver Post

The family culture of Berkeley's Hernandez clan is a cool blend of Mexican roots and Bay area savvy - jumpy banda music, quinceanera parties, spicy pico de gallo and genetic engineering experiments:
San Francisco Chronicle

VC Funding Falls Short of Alabama's Need; Call for More Incentives
Alabama lags behind competing Southeastern states - and most of the country - when it comes to venture capital funds invested in start-up businesses. According to the 2007 Kauffman Foundation New Economy Index, the state ranked 41st in the number of venture capital-backed companies in its economy:
Birmingham Business Journal

Venture Firm's Strategy Puts it at Odds with SBA's Ethics Code
A San Mareo venture firm has asked the federal government for an exemption from a conflict of interest rule that bars it from using taxpayer dollars to invest in "associates."
San Jose Business Journal

Just seven of 24 federal agencies met their small-business contracting goals last year, according to the Small Business Administration, the first time that agency has ever released a tally. The results were released as part of the SBA's Small Business Procurement Scorecard, designed to mark the agencies' progress in making contracting opportunities available to small business:
Sacramento Bee


Creating an Innovation-Based Economy in Hawaii
On The Honolulu Advertiser's 'Hot Seat' Hawaii Science & Technology Council President Lisa Gibson answers the how and why of bulding and innovation based economy for the Islands:
Honolulu Advertiser

$40 Billion North Carolina Goodyear Aid Could Be Vetoed
Gov. Mike Easley is considering vetoing legislation that gives up to $40 million in incentives to Goodyear Tire & Rubber to modernize its Fayetteville plant and keep it running, according to the company's lobbyist and lawmakers involved in the legislation. The move would be a sharp reversal by the Easley administration, which has used incentives to lure technology giants Google and Dell. But critics in the General Assembly emphasize that those earlier handouts were used to lure new jobs, not keep existing companies happy:
Raleigh News & Observer

In the past, in order to get tax breaks, grants and other economic incentives in North Carolina had to create jobs. Under a plan being proposed by Governor Mike Easley, they won't have to add a single one. Easley proposes an incentives program aimed at keeping manufacturing facilities that employ a lot of people and pay well in the state's poorest counties. They could qualify for aid if they agree to "invest substantial amounts" to modernize existing plants:
Raleigh News & Observer


Successful San Antonio Entrepreneur Picks Houston for Next Try
After cashing in on the company he dropped out of college to start, technology entrepreneur Richard Yoo settled in Houston because it felt like a place where people take chances on new ideas:
Houston Chronicle


Search Engine Startups - IPO, M&A, or Flameout?
The success of Google has spawned over 1,000 search related startups. Search market share is dominated (94%) by the big five; Google 53%, Yahoo 20%, Microsoft Live 14%, AOL 5%, and Ask 2%. That leaves 6% for everyone else. However, remember that "1% of search marketshare is worth $1 Billion". Will any of the 1,000 alternative search engines ever gain 1% market share?
The Next Best Thing


Investors Pouring Billions into Green Stocks
Green is good. At least that's the bet of an increasing number of investment fund managers, retirees and armchair stock pickers who are pouring billions into so-called green stocks, and not necessarily for the love of nature. They're chasing lucrative returns from companies that promise new ways to recycle, power automobiles and harness the wind and sun. Many have had success:
Newsday

The “green” energy business is growing so quickly in Massachusetts that it will soon leapfrog textiles to become Massachusetts’ 10th-largest industry, according to a survey released earlier this month. In the latest sign of the ferment, the leader of the New England Energy Innovation Collaborative (NEEIC)— a non-profit group launched by the venture-capital community last year to aid in the growth of a regional cluster of clean-energy technology companies—says it’s likely his group will join forces with the Massachusetts Clean Energy Council, a still-embryonic industry group charged with a similar mission by Governor Deval Patrick:
Xconomy

Dot-Com Names Get Dottier
Even if you could say Abazab or Eefoof without snickering, would you want to do business with them? Would you feel OK owning Wakoopa shares in your 401(k)? Telling potential in-laws you met on Frengo? Relying on Ooma to call Grandma? Silicon Valley is in the midst of a great corporate baby boom. Venture capitalists have pumped $2.5 billion into 400 young Internet companies since the beginning of 2006, compared with $1.3 billion into 236 companies during the previous two years, according to research firm Dow Jones VentureOne:
Los Angeles Times


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