Larta Institute's Global Bridge program extends our business and commercialization services and capital-raising expertise to the rest of the world. Global Bridge helps foreign governments by partnering their best innovative companies with key players in the U.S. market. Our international projects include work with government organizations in Israel, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Sweden, Canada, and other countries.

Overview

Global Bridge is a family of comprehensive, high-quality management training and networking programs designed to help foreign agencies and organizations spur the growth of technology businesses. The fully customized programs are tailored to the particular companies, needs, industry sectors, and economic conditions in regions around the world.

Global Bridge helps regions cultivate valuable partnerships by connecting companies, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations to relevant industry and investment professionals from the United States and other countries. The program is designed to foster scientific, technological and economic cooperation between foreign regions and the United States by facilitating relationships among innovative businesses, scientists, investors, and economic development professionals.

Benefits for Foreign Governments and Organizations

Technology businesses produce significant revenues with relatively little impact on regional infrastructures or demands for government services. Regional governments can significantly benefit through an increase in corporate and individual tax revenues. Unlike manufacturing, technology businesses produce relatively little pollution. Unlike tourism and other service-based businesses, technology companies attract significant foreign investment, and help foster a "knowledge economy" that produces high-paying jobs, enhances and utilizes scientific research at regional universities, and draws highly educated and skilled professionals to the area, which in turn benefits real estate development as well as restaurants and other service-based businesses.

Global Bridge program complements the efforts of foreign business development and technology transfer support organizations. Larta Institute works side-by-side with foreign government and non-governmental organizations and policy makers. Our program is custom-designed to enhance and extend existing development efforts.

Benefits For Foreign Entrepreneurs and Innovators

Global Bridge promotes concrete transactional relationships between foreign companies and the U.S. investment and corporate communities. The program entails much more than a training process. Larta Institute helps prepare companies to understand the U.S. market, assists companies to identify the right contacts, and provides the means for those companies to form relationships with potential investors and partners.

Larta Institute doesn't simply deliver educational materials and training. We individually mentor each company, customizing the program to fit each company's needs, and finding the right partners to help the company grow.

Global Bridge helps foreign companies develop effective management strategies and practices through a comprehensive and intensive entrepreneurial training and incubation program. Topics include: Intellectual Property Management, Market Opportunity Research, Management and Board Development, Global Strategic Alliances, Business Model Development, Marketing and Selling, Pitching and Presenting, and Financing.

Case Studies

Australia

Canberra-California Bridge Program was created to develop better channels for Australia Capital Territory (ACT) companies to enter the U.S. market. The Canberra-California Bridge Program was designed to help improve the success of U.S. and ACT exporters, and enhance business connections between Los Angeles and Canberra through small and medium enterprises. Larta Institute delivered remote training to 8 Australian companies. The three most promising ACT companies were awarded a visit to Los Angeles for live mentoring, networking and a final presentation event at a venture salon.

Israel

Israel-U.S. Venture Bridge Program provided executive training and incubation services to venture-ready Israeli life science companies. The program was designed to prepare the companies to receive potential U.S. investment. The Israel-U.S. Venture Bridge Program is underwritten by a grant from the U.S.-Israel Science and Technology Foundation (USISTF), based in Washington, D.C. 17 executives received training and mentoring in the first two years of the program. The two most promising companies from the first year of the program received live mentoring in Los Angeles and later presented before corporate leaders and investors at a final venture salon. The three most promising companies from the second year received further mentoring in Los Angeles and presented at the 2005 Venture Forum.

Taiwan

U.S. Bridge to Taiwan was an exclusive event held in 2004 to inform selected U.S. companies of the potential for building relationships with Taiwanese companies and organizations in the areas of information technology and biotechnology. The invitation-only event provided U.S. businesses with the insider information necessary to access partners, strategic alliances, and clients in the Taiwanese technology industry. The program was funded by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO).

Japan

Jetro Bridge Program was funded through the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The program's purpose was to provide business training and investment opportunities to Japanese companies. Larta Institute developed workshops and internships to familiarized Japanese businesspeople with American business practices, arranged mentorships and site tours for the visiting executives, and hosted an event where the Japanese corporate representatives presented their companies to leading U.S. business executives and investors. 12 Japanese entrepreneurs were brought to Los Angeles to received live, customized training and mentoring for 14 weeks. The Japanese entrepreneurs were placed with Los Angeles-based companies for three-month internships. The participants presented their business plans at a final venture salon.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Your Risk Manager to China, an invitation-only luncheon in June, 2005, was produced by Larta Institute for Invest HK. The Assistant Director of Invest HK presented information about the region and its business and technology climate to about 80 high-level attendees. The project's goal was to connect the Invest HK office with executives from technology companies interested in exploring business opportunities in Hong Kong and China, and to showcase the advantages of entering the Chinese Market using Hong Kong as a platform.

Canada

Canada-U.S. Tech Transfer Bridge program showcased selected technologies spinning out of Canadian universities at the Project T2 Conference in 2005. The purpose was to generate interest in Canadian tech transfer efforts from U.S. corporate venturing arms. 15 technologies from 5 Canadian universities were admitted to the program. 7 of the most promising companies were awarded remote mentoring and a final venture showcase at the 2005 Project T2. Canada-U.S. Tech Transfer Bridge program was funded by the Canadian Consulate General, Los Angeles.

Sweden & Finland

Larta Institute created a program to encourage information exchange and the development of strategic alliances, joint ventures and cooperative agreements between American companies and companies in Sweden and Finland. The project was funded by the Swedish Office of Science & Technology (ITPS) and The National Technology Agency of Finland (Tekes). Larta produced two final conferences, "How Swede IT is" and "Scandinavia Goes Digital", which featured presentations from the 7 participating companies.

Testimonials

"During the Larta sessions, we got the chance to review the challenges facing us as well as opportunities for our growth."

"Larta mentors have helps us focus and define methods to meet our goals."

"Due to the extensive seminar sessions, organized well by Larta, we have reorganized our thinking, and prepared our materials and presentations in a manner acceptable by the U.S. business community."

"The program has strengthened our belief and understanding of our ability to penetrate the U.S. market, as well as the importance of doing so. Without the program exposing us to the way business is done here, we could not have prepared our presentations adequately."

"The mentoring, as well as the contacts with the leading forces in the biomedical industry here, would have been almost impossible to attain from the far distance of Israel."

"During the Larta sessions, we got the chance to review the challenges facing us as well as opportunities for our growth. We understood more thoroughly what we need to do while approaching the potential strategic alliance and what we lack now in this effort. Larta mentors have helped us focus and define methods to meet our goals."

For more information, contact Larta Institute's Constanza Pachon at (213)765-4831 or cpachon@larta.org; or Carlos Gutierrez at (213) 765-4833 or cgutierrez@larta.org.

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