Week of October 24 - October 30, 2005 ~ v.7, n.25
Top Stories

Larta Institute has partnered with Red Herring's Innovation Pipeline to deliver feature articles offering insight and news on the two forces shaping the technology transfer landscape today: labs and markets. On a bi-weekly basis, Larta VOX will feature selected Innovation Pipeline content to complement Larta's technology transfer and commercialization programs and events.

To Market, To Market
Project T2, Larta Institute’s “body contact sport,” is on display November 8 2005 at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, with 50 plus technology innovations developed at 25 research institutions.

The ABCs of IP
Published in partnership with Red Herring's Innovation Pipeline newsletter
Universities are good at innovating. They’re less good at getting their innovations to market. Kauffman Foundation vice president for advancing innovation Lesa Mitchell discusses how to improve the tech transfer process.

Casting a Wide Net
Published in partnership with Red Herring's Innovation Pipeline newsletter
USC spinoff Fetch Technologies has developed software to intelligently retrieve information from the internet--and access a market that could exceed $60 billion by 2010. USC is one of 25 universities and research centers participating in Larta Institute's Project T2 conference November 8, 2005.

Upcoming Conference
Project T2 - Technology Transfer Conference
Larta Institute presents the third annual Project T2 Conference, a global showcase of leading new university technologies. Discover the newest innovations spinning out of top universities. Connect with the talent in America's leading R&D center, Southern California. Network with world-class researchers, investors, and corporations. Learn creative new ways to finance spin-out ventures. Register Now!

Available from Larta Research
2005 Federal Technology Funding Guide
Larta Institute's annual guide to government technology funding is recognized as the nation's leading survey on Federal technology funding opportunities. Winning Government R&D Money: Federal Technology Funding Guide 2005 provides detailed information on Federal funding processes, programs, and ways to win government R&D money.
purchase report now for only $99

Send comments and submissions to James Klein, Larta VOX Editor, at voxeditor@larta.org

Larta University

SSTI, the State Science and Technology Institute, calls Larta University one of the "...best programs in the country," having "...helped hundreds of entrepreneurs, implemented innovative programs, and assisted client companies to raise hundreds of millions of dollars."


Find the Business Tools you Need Today
Register for the Entrepreneurship Series 2005-2006!

Plus: Opportunity to Present at Larta's Venture Forum 2006!
For the first time, Series enrollees who meet requirements may have the exclusive opportunity to present in front of hundreds of potential investors, customers, and/or partners at Larta's annual Venture Forum conference in June. Each workshop will build on each other to provide a comprehensive, step-by-step process to increase your business success by helping you develop a well-rounded business case presentation by the end of the Series. Call Joe Escamilla for eligibility requirements and details at 213-765-4829.

Series attendees can expect:

  • Expert mentoring and instruction from Larta's network of seasoned business professionals
  • Guidance on developing a well-rounded business case presentation
  • To learn practical and relevant steps to build a successful business operation
  • Interactive discussions, activities, and stories from successful entrepreneurs
  • Networking opportunities into the business community

Upcoming Courses:

Session #2: Making a Product Work for You: Developing Your Marketing and Sales Plan (West Los Angeles, Nov. 17)
A strategy for effective marketing, pricing, sales planning and managing competition is an essential element of any business plan. This workshop covers issues such as: defining and segmenting the total target market, customer and competitive analysis, branding, and other marketing and sales planning fundamentals critical to sustaining your business. The workshop will also lead you through an exercise on how to think about pricing.

Session #3: Sell! Sell! Sell! Executing Your Sales and Distribution Strategy (West Los Angeles, Dec. 8)
Sales and distribution strategies are essential for taking a new product beyond its initial test phase, or increasing the market share of existing companies. Understanding the basics of selling your product or service is the first step as well as knowing how to recruit and effectively manage a sales force appropriate at your level of growth. Topics covered in this course include: how to sell, recruit and build a sales force, getting the most out of distribution networks, and forming valuable strategic alliances.

Larta University's Course Schedule

Tech Sector News
Sponsored by LATimes.com

Top Stories in Hot Technology Sectors

Venture capital activity up in third quarter (San Francisco Chronicle)
Venture capital activity picked up in the third quarter, driven by increased investments in information technology.

Changes in tech world almost too fast to follow (Seattle Times)
It's not another bubble, but wild times are back in the technology industry.

Angels Fund More Deals in '05 (Red Herring)
Earliest of early-stage investors increasingly fund startups while venture capitalists look toward later-stage deals.

Upcoming Events

This calendar lists events endorsed by Larta Institute.

October 25: JETRO 4th Tuesday Tech Exchange
Discover new business and technical opportunities arising from the Cell Processor and how it will change the entire computer industry.

November 3: High Tech = High OCTANe
Join OCTANe on November 3 as we host OC’s robust technology community for an in-depth look at local industry innovation.

November 8: Project T2 - Technology Transfer Conference
Larta Institute presents the third annual Project T2 Conference, a global showcase of leading new university technologies. Discover the newest innovations spinning out of top universities. Connect with the talent in America's leading R&D center, Southern California. Network with world-class researchers, investors, and corporations. Learn creative new ways to finance spin-out ventures. Register Now!

November 10 (tentatively scheduled): Corporate Investment & Strategic Alliance (CISA) Conference, Fall, 2005
Experience a unique opportunity to meet 25+ Fortune 1000 corporations looking to invest in growing companies by participating in our company's showcase.

November 15: 2005 China Global Conference
Going beyond understanding China's opportunities, including tools of implementation for your business in the dynamic Chinese Market.

November 17: Entrepreneurship Series #2: Making a Product Work for You: Developing Your Marketing and Sales Plan (West Los Angeles)
A strategy for effective marketing, pricing, sales planning and managing competition is an essential element of any business plan. This workshop covers issues such as: defining and segmenting the total target market, customer and competitive analysis, branding, and other marketing and sales planning fundamentals critical to sustaining your business. The workshop will also lead you through an exercise on how to think about pricing.

November 17: California Healthcare Policy Forum
For the third year in a row, the California Healthcare Institute will convene an extraordinary group of biomedical industry leaders and influential policy makers for focused discussion on sustaining California's leadership in medical innovation.

December 1: JETRO Investment Mission 2005
This is a program that invites business people from around the world to participate in a weeklong study tour of Japan’s investment environment and regional markets and industries.

December 7: Global CONNECT Partnering Forum
The Forum serves a matchmaking function by facilitating effective partnerships between qualified companies associated with Global CONNECT member-organizations, and Taiwan-based investors, manufacturers, or other resources.

December 8: Entrepreneurship Series #3: Sell! Sell! Sell! Executing Your Sales and Distribution Strategy (West Los Angeles)
Sales and distribution strategies are essential for taking a new product beyond its initial test phase, or increasing the market share of existing companies. Understanding the basics of selling your product or service is the first step as well as knowing how to recruit and effectively manage a sales force appropriate at your level of growth. Topics covered in this course include: how to sell, recruit and build a sales force, getting the most out of distribution networks, and forming valuable strategic alliances.

January 21-25, 2006: LabAutomation2006
LabAutomation2006 is the place where laboratory technologies emerge and merge.

March 2-4, 2006: 2006 AUTM Annual Meeting
The AUTM Annual Meeting gathers between 1,500 and 2,000 technology transfer and intellectual property professionals from across the globe.

Larta Institute's Full Events Calendar

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Larta Institute
connecting people to drive innovation

We bring people together to move technologies into the marketplace. Our client solutions include: conferences, training workshops, technology transfer, advisory services, and research and analysis.

Since 1993, companies helped by Larta Institute have raised over $1.5 billion in capital. Larta Institute's conferences and seminars provide insights to thousands of businesspeople each year. Larta Institute's weekly electronic magazine on business innovation is read by over 20,000 people.

www.Larta.org

Los Angeles Office:
Larta Institute

714 W. Olympic Blvd.
Suite 750
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Tel: (213) 744-1314
Fax: (213) 744-1791

Washington DC Office:
Larta Institute
c/o Kelly, Anderson & Associates
424 North Washington Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 740-8330

Chicago, IL Office:
Larta Institute
474 N. Lake Shore Drive
Suite 4208
Chicago, IL 60611

Sponsorship: To sponsor VOX, Larta events or publications, contact Constanza Pachon.