Week of December 5 - December 11, 2005 ~ v.7, n.28
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.

Larta CEO Shukla to Keynote Commercialization Conference
Rohit Shukla, Larta Institute Founder and CEO, will be the featured lunch and keynote speaker at “Commercializing R&D: Resources for Emerging Technology Companies,” December 8 at the University of Maryland.

Spin Doctor
Published in partnership with Red Herring's Innovation Pipeline newsletter
Why do some university spinoffs succeed and others fail? Entrepreneurism expert Scott Shane explains.

Life Science Deals Abound
Reprinted from The Business of Science, a periodic newsletter provided by MVS Solutions, Inc.
Dr. Louis M. Scarmoutzos recaps the latest VC, equity, M&A and IPO life science deals across the country and around the world.

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 #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.

Session #4: Understanding What IP Can Do For You: Building Effective Barriers Against Competition (West Los Angeles, Jan. 12)
Intellectual property, the primary asset of a technology company, can attract capital, create revenue, and contribute to a company's long-term success, if it is strategically managed. This workshop covers the most crucial legal and business strategies every company should know before exposing its technology to a competitive marketplace, including: licensing, patenting, as well as copyrights and trade secrets.

Larta University's Course Schedule

Tech Sector News
Sponsored by LATimes.com

Top Stories in Hot Technology Sectors

Venture-Capital Start-Ups Show Highest Valuations in Four Years (Wall Street Journal)
Valuations for companies backed by venture capitalists soared to the highest level in four years during the third quarter, another indication of the large amounts of capital flowing into the venture industry and the frothiness now marking some investment sectors.

Tech startups show signs of life (Contra Costa Times)
Once left for dead, Bay Area tech startups have engineered an industry resurrection.

Stem cell program wins key court ruling, poised to issue grants (San Francisco Chronicle)
California's embattled Proposition 71 stem cell program took a big step toward overcoming lawsuits that have blocked its first grants from being issued.

Upcoming Events

This calendar lists events endorsed by Larta Institute.

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 7: Digital Coast Holiday Reception

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 5-8: JETRO: Free Business Partner Matching at CES in Las Vegas

January 12: Entrepreneurship Series #4: Understanding What IP Can Do For You: Building Effective Barriers Against Competition (West Los Angeles)
Intellectual property, the primary asset of a technology company, can attract capital, create revenue, and contribute to a company's long-term success, if it is strategically managed. This workshop covers the most crucial legal and business strategies every company should know before exposing its technology to a competitive marketplace, including: licensing, patenting, as well as copyrights and trade secrets.

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

March 2-4: 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.

***** Tech Marketplace *****
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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

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Los Angeles, CA 90015
Tel: (213) 744-1314
Fax: (213) 744-1791

Washington DC Office:
Larta Institute
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Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 740-8330

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Larta Institute
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Chicago, IL 60611

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