Executives - in- residencesPresenter

Troy D’Ambrosiowww.troy.dambrosio@business.utah.edu

DirectorLassonde New Venture Development Center

www.lassonde.utah.edu

Students develop commercialization plans for U of U technologies

Unique experiential education

20 graduate students

Job market springboard

2-3 new companies/yr• Management gap

Lassonde Center teams helped start 28 University of Utah spinoff companies!

Lassonde Center 08-09

Pierre & Claudette McKay LassondeNew Venture Development Center

U of U startups from the Lassonde Center include:

Entrepreneur-in-residence v1.0

Lineagen, Inc. – Molecular diagnostic company

• Started as a non-profit ($3.4M funding from state)o CEO and staff

• Lassonde Center developed non-profit plano Commercial sponsored research $$

• Commercial opportunity identified and plan put togethero Spun out into for profito Additional University support $250Ko Active involvement in company

Successful Series A - $5.4 M

Technology Venture Development Office created 2005

Commercialization function moved

Dean of Business School

Focus on commercialization – out of the shadow of research

More of everything including start ups

Startup Companies

100+ in 5 years

Entrepreneur-in-residence v 2.0

Victims of our own success• Lack of management becomes a rate limiting step

Expanded executive-in-residence program to meet need• Non-paid entrepreneurs/business community members

o Started with 30 grows to over 100

• 3 - 4 meetings per year

• Match making processo Preview 2 – 3 start up companies o Ask for expressions of interest – Do you want to be the CEO?

• Part-time program manager brought in

Other support needed

Funding support • Direct grants, SBIR grant support• Seed fund(s) • Close ties to VCs

Licensing managers

Venture Bench• Incorporation, websites, logos, insurance, CFO, Corp. Secretary

Faculty out reach

Faculty mentors

Entrepreneur-in-residence v 2.0

Some successes New lie detection technology

• Presented to EIR

• EIR member sponsored presentation to Angel groupo No managemento No funding

• Two Angels express interesto Multiple meetingso License negotiationso Venture Bencho Grant funding

Entrepreneur-in-residence v 2.0

Some failures Educational software (math tutorial)

• Presented to EIR

• EIR member that knew that space o Grant support o Institutional support and use

• Oil and water don’t mixo Quirky PIo Blunt entrepreneur

• Start over – same result - too much time

Entrepreneur-in-residence v 2.0

Many just stall – no takers

Did not fill our management “gap• Unforeseen benefits - great point of contact

Impediments to success• Difficulty of task – early stage company, money, time etc.• Unaligned expectations – looking for a job, want to dabble, etc.• University environment - slow• Lack of true start-up experience• Diversity of technology – lack expertise in some areas• Quirky PI’s

We also learned –

Active support and direct involvement does work

• CO2 storage site for multiple power plants

• Lassonde Associates – Market research– Business model– Identified Headwaters as the strategic

partner

• Joint venture between the University of Utah and Headwaters Incorporated

• First USTAR company

The carbon sequestration intellectual property developed at the U of U allows greenhouse gasses to be permanently stored and monitored deep under the earth’s surface.

40,000 misplaced feeding tubes

6,000 deaths

Real-time vision, full articulation, tube steering and a fluid pathway

Lassonde Associates market research, business plan, management

Company form & funding

Properly placed feeding tube.

Misplacement of feeding tube into

the lung.

Entrepreneur-in-residence v 3.0

Embedded entrepreneurs

• 2-3 fulltime university employees

• Portfolio of 2-4 companies

• Act as CEO – raise money, product development, hire management

• Go with company or stay at university?

Accelerator/ Software Development Center

The Software Development Center manages • Commercializes software and digital media

technologies• Resource - medical imaging, gaming, energy

exploration, modeling, healthcare, bioinformatics

The Medical and Biotechnology Accelerator• 10,000 square feet of office and lab space• Rapid prototypes

Thank you