The Venture Fair/Faculty Pitch Forum, hosted by Rutgers BEST Institute and the Office of Technology Commercialization, held on November 19, 2009 at Rutgers University was part of the Global Entrepreneurship Week (16-22 November 2009). The event reflected the growing “ecosystem of innovation” in New Jersey by shedding light on faculties’ innovations for potential funding and highlighting investors’ views on the investment world.

The event was kicked off by Dr. Richard Mammone, Associate Vice President for Corporate Liaison, Rutgers, followed by Dr. Richard L. McCormick, President of Rutgers, who spoke briefly on the ecosystem of innovation, and then introduced the first keynote speaker, Mir Imran, Chairman and CEO of InCube Labs and Modulus Inc.  Mir is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor. In the journey “From Bench to Bedside,” he has founded 20 medical device companies and faced only 2 failures so far, which is an accomplishment in itself. This feat also justifies his saying that “entrepreneurship can be addicting.” His mantra to success is to let the problem define how it needs to be solved.

Mir follows a couple of basic, yet crucial, steps before starting up or investing in a venture. He starts off by identifying a problem, and then assesses it for commercial viability. At this, point he conducts a very thorough risk analysis, which reduces the chances of failure.  Lastly, he evaluates the problem and the solution and makes investment decisions.

Mir’s entrepreneurial insight was followed by a panel of five investors, who revealed “What Do Investors Really Want?” Panelists were: Ilan Kaufthal, Senior Advisor at Irving Place Capital, a private equity firm, Larry Chaityn, President of the NY Chapter at Keiretsu Forum & CEO of True North Global Partners, Shahram Hejazi, PhD, Venture Partner at BioAdvance, Gregory G. Mario – Partner, MFP; CEO, TAXIS Pharmaceuticals, and Karen Kerr, PhD, US Head of Business Development, Invention Development Fund, Intellectual Ventures.  Moderator Nick Leiber, Small Business Channel Editor at BusinessWeek.com, posed a few questions on the current investment environment and investors’ expectations. When it comes to financing projects undertaken by faculty members, investors prefer building relationships with the university as well as the corresponding faculty. Their relationship with university provides them a leeway to communicate with researchers, while interaction with scientists enhances their understanding of the problem and its solution. It was suggested that researchers and faculty members might enhance their success by learning business skills. With little support, these researchers can bring their applications to commercialization.

Given the difficulty of raising funds in this economy, the panelists suggest that entrepreneurs need to dedicate their heart and soul to their ventures, and develop a strong execution strategy. Investors tend to invest in a company with focus on one problem, rather than a company dealing with multiple problems at a time. The quality of the person/management team looking for funding is a prime criterion. People/teams with intense passion, focus, efficacy, and efficiency are favored. Investors appreciate business plans where they can visualize various millstones, the end of the game, and the amount of money required.  Avoid underestimation or overestimation as it could be a big turn off for investors.

Following the panel, the second keynote speaker, Errol Arkilic, Ph.D., Program Director, Industrial Innovation and Partnerships, National Science Foundation introduced the audience to Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants, another source for obtaining funding.

One of the key parts of the agenda was the “Fast Pitch” where thirty academic entrepreneurs from NJIT, Princeton, Rutgers and the University of Medicine and Dentistry gave a two minute pitch of their technology or start-up company, in an effort to gain early stage funding.  Innovations ranged from diagnosis/treatment of disorders and energy sources to texture camera and detection of concealed weapons/explosives. On the basis of developmental stages, technologies and products varied from being in their discovery and developmental stages to commercialization stage. With reference to the presentations, some presenters talked about the problem and its solution, while others stressed more on the value proposition and business plan.