Get the Anti-Startup and Anti-Angel Provisions Struck From Senator Dodd's Banking Bill

This is part of my Series on Angel Investing.

There is a rather large missile rapidly approaching America's innovation culture. Predictably, it has been hurled in the most careless of manner by a group of uninformed politicians and their staffers in the form of Senator Dodd's sweeping Banking Bill. Putting aside the merits and thrust of the Bill itself, (which ostensibly seeks to regulate the banking industry), there are two provisions in it which, if not removed ASAP, will essentially wipe out a large chunk of one of America's engines of innovation- namely angel investing. These provisions will raise the bar on the definition of an 'accredited investor' from $1M in net worth or $250K in annual income to $2.3M in net worth or annual income of $450K! It will also hamstring angel investing by slapping any such investment with a 120 day SEC review.

If this concerns you, you may want to call your congressmen and educate them on this issue. 

For more in depth condemnation of these stupendously destructive provisions, I refer you to the following cacaphony of frustrated voices emanating from the startup and investment community:

Venture Beat: Angels Sing: Frankly Ridiculous Restrictions Might Destroy Silicon Valley

NY Times: Angels Rebel Against Dodd Bill

Kopelman: Dodd Isn't on the Side of Angels... or Startups.... It Proposes a 120 Day SEC Review Period

Litan: Proposed 'Protections' for Angel Investors are Unecessary and Will Hurt America's Job Creators

Xconomy: Dodd Bill Could Render Startups Too Small to Succeed

TechDirt: Why Does Financial Reform Punish Startups and Angel Investors?

Wilson: Startups Get Hit by Shrapnel in the Banking Bill

Shane: How Dodd's Reform Plan Hurts Startup Finance

For the next post in this Series, click here.

Help Repeal NY State's Antiquated LLC Publication Requirement

This is part of my Series on Entrepreneurial Culture.

Those of us who have set-up LLC's in NY State know well of the antiquated 'publication requirement' the State still imposes on so many of its entrepreneurs. (In 2007 alone, 50,000 LLC's were formed in NY State!).

Along with standard incorporation fees, having to publish the "existence of your LLC" in these obscure journals can easily run up an entrepreneur's total expenditures to $2,000 even though any company formed in NY State can easily be found online at the NY Department of State website. This anachronism achieves only one result: it penalizes those same entrepreneurs that the State and the City have spent so much time, effort, lip-service and money trying to empower.

The good news is that there is an effort underway to repeal this legislation in the form of Assembly Bill A04496/Senate Bill S1667.

You can do your part by familiarizing yourself with this issue and if so inclined, by signing this petition.

NYC Seed Announces SeedStart 2010 Summer Program

 
I was speaking with Owen Davis last night and he mentioned that no one in the Columbia entrepreneurship community had yet applied for this new summer program. The deadline is approaching so if you didn't know about it yet, there's still time to throw your hat in the ring. Here are the details:

NYC Seed Announces SeedStart 2010 Summer Program-$20k for up to 10 startups for the summer

SeedStart will offer promising teams the chance to build a technology product and launch a company with the assistance of seed investment capital, mentorship and other resources.  Companies will be selected through a competitive application process and each company will receive a $20,000 investment. Throughout the summer, companies will also receive mentorship from experienced New York City based venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, legal and business guidance, administrative help and technical assistance.  At the end of the summer venture capitalists and angel investors will be invited to an Investor Day where each team will present their product and launch their company.  SeedStart will run for 8 weeks beginning in June of 2010.

SeedStart is a joint effort among Contour Venture Partners, IA Ventures, NYC Seed, RRE Ventures and Polaris Venture Partners, and also includes Fish & Richardson, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and Silicon Valley Bank.  The program has begun accepting applications and teams of at least two founders can apply here:

http://www.nycseed.com/seedstart.html by February 28, 2010 to be considered. 

For information, contact Owen Davis at owen@nycseed.com.

Some Thoughts and Best Wishes for the New Year: Here Comes 2010!

As 2010 approaches, a few wishes and thoughts come to mind:

1)     First, I want to thank you, the readers of this blog for all your encouragement, thoughtful comments and words of wisdom throughout the year. I wish you all much success and happiness in 2010 and look forward to our continuing dialogue.

2)    I also want to wish the entrepreneurs and investors I work with on a daily basis all the best for the coming year. It is truly a privilege to work with so many enthusiastic and dynamic individuals in a city with such a close-knit start-up community and so many great companies. The New York tech scene is on a huge roll. Let’s continue to make it happen!

3)    2009 was certainly a tough year and the difficult economic climate may well persist.  The keys for fledgling start-up companies will no doubt be to stay focused, flexible and ultra-determined. Stick to the basics of “getting from zero-to-one” at all costs so as to survive and thrive.  Surround yourself with high-quality missionaries who are all about “making it happen” and run like Usain Bolt from everyone else. In this environment there is literally no time for mercenaries, negativity, complainers and/or bureaucrats any more. The stakes are simply too high.

4)    Lastly, as good old Mark Suster says, JFDI and take the plunge!

New York City’s Academic Institutions: A Stunning Engine of Innovation

Many of us who have the distinct pleasure to live and work in New York’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and/or Silicon Alley have no inkling of the staggering role its local academic institutions play in the realm of innovation, licensing, and start-up formation. I can tell you that until approximately six years ago I had no idea of the sheer scale of it all.  It  is certainly true that the majority of this output is in the realm of health sciences/biotech, but much is being done to stimulate entrepreneurship from engineering, computer science departments, the undergraduate ranks and the business schools.  (More on this in subsequent posts).

Just look at these hard numbers:

Annual Research Funds:                                       $1872 million

Annual  Inventions:                                                 643

Annual New Licenses and Options:                      193

Total Active Revenue Generating Agreements: 566

Annual Gross Licensing Revenue:                       $509 million

Annual Number of Start-up Companies:             20

Number of Start-up Companies to Date:             188

Source: New York Academic Consortium (NYAC)

For Part Twenty in in this Series, click here

Hosting Entrepreneur Office Hours at CTV's Venture Lab for the Columbia Community

This is part of my Series on University Entrepreneurship.

 Those of you in the Columbia community may want to take advantage of the Entrepreneur Office Hours I am hosting with my colleague Andres Soto at Columbia Tech Ventures' (CTV's) Venture Lab. This is the announcement that was sent out a few days ago:

Thinking seriously about a start-up or wondering if an entrepreneurial path is right for you?  Come to our Entrepreneur Office Hours!

Columbia Technology Ventures invites you to our popular Entrepreneur Office Hours, open to all faculty, students and staff, including Columbia graduate students and post-docs.  Entrepreneur Office Hours offers you the opportunity to tap the advice and guidance of our Venture Lab team, comprised of experienced entrepreneurs-in-residence, angel investors, and seasoned mentors .

We are here to help you brainstorm, provide guidance and perspective as you consider the following issues:

·       To launch or not to launch

·       How to develop and protect intellectual property

·       How to finance your company

·       Understanding the technology transfer process

·       Understanding the market you are entering

·       What resources are available to you

Entrepreneur Office Hours are offered by on a rolling basis, by appointment.  To schedule an appointment, email Andres Soto: andres.soto at columbia dot edu

ABOUT COLUMBIA TECHNOLOGY VENTURES – Columbia Technology Ventures is the technology transfer office of Columbia University.  With Columbia inventors and entrepreneurs, we partner with industry and investors to develop new technologies, products, and services, for the benefit of society.  We also serve as a resource for the Columbia community on matters relating to entrepreneurship, intellectual property, and technology commercialization.  For more information, please visit our website at www.techventures.columbia.edu

For Part Nineteen in this Series, click here

A Sampling of Commercial Products Using Columbia University Technology

This is part of my Series on University Entrepreneurship.

 Above I’ve posted a graphic showing some of the many products that have been developed in whole or in part from the intellectual property emerging from Columbia University’s many labs. Almost all of these represent IP licensed directly to industry by my colleagues at Tech Ventures, Columbia’s Technology Transfer Office. One can see everything here from life-improving and sustaining drugs to BluRay technology to the technology behind the Iphone’s screens.  With an average of 50 industry licenses, 100 sponsored research agreements, and 12+ spinoffs per year coming from Columbia alone, one can see that university tech transfer across the country has had an enormous benefit to society. The original vision behind the Bayh-Dole Act is definitely working.

For Part Eighteen in this Series, click here