Larta to collaborate with Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership
Larta is pleased to announce the commencement of a collaboration with the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Larta will be working with the Kauffman Center on two projects: an expanded, in-depth update to Larta's Federal Technology Funding Guide, to be distributed by the Kauffman Center and Larta, and the production of a comprehensive, multi-sector manual and a video based on Larta University's classes on Business Presentation: From Investor to Customer.
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Larta Opens New OC Office
Larta has now officially opened its Orange County field office. Here is the contact information:

7545 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 100
Irvine, CA 92618-2934
(949) 789-1110

Larta Open House August 15
Larta will be celebrating its new home in historic downtown LA with an afternoon reception and open house. This event is open to all friends and associates of Larta, and is free of charge. Please RSVP.
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Applications for Larta's September Venture Salon Due this Week!
Apply to present at Larta's next Venture Salon. Chaired by Randy Lunn of Palomar Ventures, this Salon will showcase half a dozen technology companies in a private event for accredited investors only. If you are a technology company looking for funding, whether startup or later-stage, you may apply to present at the Venture Salon. Applications are due by August 15.
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FREE Sand Dollar Report 2002
Help us learn more about you by answering 4 quick and easy questions for us. For 30 seconds of your time we'll send you a free copy of our 2002 Sand Dollar Report: Analysis of Venture Investing in Southern California. Not a bad deal, huh?
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Learn more about Larta's Sand Dollar Report 2002: Analysis of Venture Investing in Southern California >

Larta University September Session: Intellectual Property
Intellectual property can be the primary asset of a technology company, and strategic management of IP can attract capital and monetize revenue, and impact the long-term results of a company's success. This workshop covers the most crucial legal and business strategies any company should know before exposing its technology to a competitive marketplace, including: copyrighting and trade secrets, working with an independent contractor to develop a product, and licensing.
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~Other Announcements

VentureNet 2002 Applications Now Being Accepted
If you are an entrepreneur looking for investors, submit your application today to make a capital presentation at VentureNet 2002. VentureNet brings together Southern California's most promising companies with prospective investors and strategic partners from around the country, including all venture capital firms in Southern California, numerous venture capital firms from Northern California and elsewhere in the country, angel groups, individual angel investors, and investment bankers. Now in our seventh year, VentureNet 2002 will showcase 12 of the best and hottest software and information technology companies. Prior to the conference, the 12 presenting companies will be intensely coached by the selection committee and other professionals.
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DARPA-like Office Proposed for Homeland Security
A draft report from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) recommends the Department for Homeland Security include a centralized office for research and technology development and the senior-level position of undersecretary for science and technology, according to several published reports. The final version of Maximizing the Contribution of Science and Technology Within the New Department of Homeland Security, which was available on the PCAST website temporarily, is to be given to the President next week.
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~Larta in the News
Sponsored by:

Shellshocked Web Survivors Lie Low (Los Angeles Business Journal)
Following the demise of so many online entertainment providers, the survivors are lying low. The dot-com implosion has revealed an underlying truth: being innovative doesn’t guarantee success.
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Digital Media:
Filming Without the Film (Los Angeles Times)
High-definition digital cameras, feared by some directors, could end the careers of those unable to make the transition.
full article >

Nanotech and Bioscience:
New building to house nanotechnology research at UCLA (Small Times)
The University of California, Los Angeles, is getting a new state-of-the-art 180,000-square-foot Nanosystems building in the heart of the Court of Sciences. The building, which will be built next to Boelter Hall, will house the California Nanosystems Institute. The institute is one of four California Institutes for Science and Innovation first announced by Gov. Gray Davis in December 2000.
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A Floral Anomaly Prompts Major Advances in Science (Wall Street Journal)
Richard Jorgensen's idea was simple enough: make bright purple petunias by splicing into the plants an extra copy of the gene that makes purple pigment. To his astonishment, the flowers bloomed white. That curious outcome defied genetic logic. After appearing on the cover of a prominent plant journal, the puzzling result prompted a wave of scientific inquiry. Now, more than a decade later, biologists are starting to get a handle on what went wrong in Dr. Jorgensen's lab and are calling the findings an important breakthrough.
full article >

A Marriage of Nanotech and Biotech (Business Week)
Harvard chemistry professor George Whitesides' latest quest is getting tiny nonliving structures to assemble themselves
full article >

Big Pharma, Bad Science (The Nation)
Biomedical research has been compromised by cozy relations with the pharmaceutical industry.
full article >

Security and Investment:
The perils of penny stocks (Red Herring)
Why investing in security technology isn't necessarily secure.
full article >

~Research

Larta to release Orange County Report this August
This latest research report from Larta, due out this month, will feature economic data and interviews with leaders from Orange County's high tech industry. In an effort to examine the current state of the region's health and stability, the report, Raising the Curtain: The Technology Economy of Orange County, will examine the obstacles that curtail its growth, and the strengths which will help move it forward as a leading economic and technology destination.
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This events calendar is provided as a service by Larta about events vetted and endorsed by Larta.

August 15: Larta Open House
This afternoon reception and networking event will celebrate the opening of Larta's new offices in historic downtown LA.
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August 24: Southern California Monte Jade Seminar
This conference is for entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs-to-be and the venture capital community. The event will take place at the Arcadia Community Center. For RSVPs or more information, Email to RSVP >
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August 26: Town Hall Tech Talk Live presents, John T. Chambers President and Chief Executive Officer Cisco Systems, Back to the Basics in the New Internet Economy
In today's volatile economic climate, companies and countries are getting "back to the basics" of focusing on profits, cash and productivity. Cisco System's CEO John Chambers will discuss how the most successful organizations integrate business and technology solutions and streamline them across their entire value chain or ecosystem of partners. These "networked virtual organizations" leverage a much broader network of networks to increase flexibility and drive operational efficiency for dramatically better competitive performance.
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August 27-29: International Satellite and Communications Exchang Conference and Expo
The ISCe Conference offers a pre-conference program and two days of comprehensive presentations and candid discussions from industry and government leaders focusing on the use of satellite policy, emerging technologies and dual-use capabilities.
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August 29: TiE Southern California presents The Future of Telecom, and Issues of Raising Capital
Tie Southern California will have their Networking and Monthly Meeting on “the Future of Telecom” and “Issues of Raising Capital” on Thursday, August 29, 2002 at the Executive Dining Room in the Anderson School at UCLA, Westwood at 6 pm. Keynote speakers are Alex Naqvi, Founder of Luminous Networks, and Mohan Ananda, Founder of Stamps.
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September 10th: Tech Coast Life Science Innovation Conference
This premiere and unique conference, presented by Venture Point Tech Coast SBDC, provides essential information, strategies, and contacts enabling life science companies and start-ups to maintain fast growth, while minimizing the sacrifice of precious equity. The conference's mission is to help local companies successfully access capital for R&D from the NIH, Homeland Security, and US DoD's SBIR Programs. This conference also connects California companies to many other crucial technology, financial, and strategic resources available. The conference will bring answers, tools, and resources to capitalize on the new intellect, advances and markets that are emerging.
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Larta's full event calendar >

Copyright © 2002 Larta. All rights reserved. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to those who may be interested. Permission to quote any proprietary part of this material is granted given proper credit. Distribution is allowed provided that no modifications are made to the original content.