Week of May 24 - May 30, 2004 ~ v.6, n.21
Top Stories

Industrial R&D Posts Largest Single-Year Decline
The National Science Foundation reports a 3.9% drop in U.S. industrial R&D expenditure between 2001 and 2002, the largest single-year decline since the survey's inception in 1953.

California Life Sciences Industry Presents Action Plan to Governor
Spearheaded in part by Larta Institute, the plan marks the first time four California regional Life Sciences clusters speak with one voice to call for an integrated discipline of public policy and private initiatives.

California Leads the Nation in Nanotech
According to SmallTimes magazine, which annually ranks the "top ten" states for tiny tech, California is far and away the state leader for nanotechnology. California received perfect scores in four areas: research, industry, venture capital and innovation.

Now Available from Larta Institute
Technology Transfer and the Life Sciences
Universities, federal labs, corporations and research organizations need help commercializing new technologies in the life sciences. Larta Institute provides a new resource guide to help companies, researchers and policy makers encourage biotechnology transfer.

The Sand Dollar Report 2004: An Analysis of Venture Investing in Southern California
The Sand Dollar Report 2004 features a historical analysis as well as the latest information and data on the venture capital industry in Southern California, and includes interviews with leading venture capitalists in the region. Available with the purchase of Larta Institute's Sand Dollar Report 2004 is PricewaterhouseCoopers/Venture Economics/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree Survey.

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.

May 26: Mergers & Acquisitions
It is virtually every entrepreneur’s dream to build a business that eventually provides a significant monetary return to the company’s shareholders through a liquidity event. The two primary ways for a company to enact a liquidity event are through an IPO or through a partial or complete sale of the business. In 2001 and the first half of 2002, there were approximately 140 IPOs versus approximately 15,000 M&A transactions. This session will provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn about the “path to liquidity”. The course will discuss what makes a successful acquisition candidate and what a business can do to maximize value before the sale process and how the M&A process works and how to maximize value during the sale process.
Location: Los Angeles

June 8: How to Write a Winning SBIR Proposal
Winning federal money begins with a winning SBIR proposal. Get access to the millions of dollars that are set aside by the United States Government and private organizations to fund technology research and development activity. This session will cover the search process to find SBIR/STTR grants appropriate for your technology, general information about the culture and requirements of each agency offering these types of grants, and the business structures/collaborations/research plans found in winning proposals.
Location: Los Angeles

Larta University's Course Schedule

Tech Sector News
Sponsored by LATimes.com

Top Stories in Hot Technology Sectors

Biotechnology
Heart Disease Vs. Cancer (Forbes)
Drug firms put more money into fighting cancer, even though heart disease kills more people.

more Biotech news

Communications
Ex-WorldCom CEO Ebbers Faces New Federal Charges (Washington Post)
The government brought new charges against former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers, accusing him of falsifying six regulatory filings just before the company's spectacular collapse.
more Communications news

Consumer Electronics
Handheld gaming: Option overload (Red Herring)
With new devices that let you listen to music, take calls, schedule a meeting, and skate as Tony Hawk, some say the next generation of products may be too much of a good thing.

more Consumer Electronics news

Hardware
Cisco bets on new high-end router (CNet News)
Cisco Systems is expected to launch a new high-end router for large telecommunications carriers, in a major bid to outmatch rivals in a key market.
more Hardware news

Internet
Toys "R" Us online unit sues Amazon (CNet News)
Toys "R" Us said its online arm, Toysrus.com, filed a lawsuit charging that Amazon.com violated the toy seller's exclusive rights to sell toys, games and baby products on the Amazon Web site.
more Internet news

Investments
IPO Watch: The cost of going public (Red Herring)
A company with IPO dreams has to put a lot of money where its mouth is.

more Investment news

Security
RIAA Bags 493 More Swappers (Wired)
A US music industry group says it has sued 493 more people for copyright infringement as part of its campaign to stop consumers from copying music over the Internet.

more Security news

Software
IBM Uses Linux To Undermine Microsoft (Forbes)
Linux represents the biggest threat that Microsoft has ever faced. No wonder IBM is spending billions to promote it.

more Software news

Events Calendar

This calendar lists events endorsed by Larta Institute.

May 26: Mergers & Acquisitions
This Larta University session will provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn about the “path to liquidity”. The course will discuss what makes a successful acquisition candidate and what a business can do to maximize value before the sale process and how the M&A process works and how to maximize value during the sale process.

May 31-June 1: Focus on Business
At Focus on Business you will gain up to date knowledge and networks to help you win new business. Around the themes of innovation, networking, federal politics, world class government administration and exporting, Focus on Business is the premier biennial regional business event, and a tremendous opportunity to involve your organisation in a bold initiative designed to showcase Canberra and the surrounding region as a thriving centre of business excellence.

June 6-9: Bio 2004 Annual International Convention
The biotechnology industry will go back to where it all began – San Francisco – to celebrate the benefits of biotech to health, agriculture, the economy and the environment. More than 16,000 biotech executives, investors, journalists, policymakers and scientists from more than 55 countries are expected to attend.

June 8: How to Write a Winning SBIR Proposal
This Larta University workshop will cover the search process to find SBIR/STTR grants, information about the agencies offering the grants, and the elements found in winning proposals.

June 8: Where Will the Next Wave of Technology Take Us...?
Technolink Association presents a roundtable forum with high-tech, life sciences, innovative, international, and political leaders discussing the impact that the next generation of technologies will have on our business and society.

June 9-11: 5th Annual Venture Capital Investing Conference
International Business Forum presents the flagship event for private equity investors and VCs. This conference will show each group ways to profit from the inevitable changes ahead.

June 14-17: North American IPv6 Summit
The North American IPv6 Summit welcomes everyone interested in meeting the pioneers and time-to-market developers and adopters of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), the Next Generation Internet. The North American IPv6 Summit is the premier event for the world IPv6 community, providing an international forum for advancing the development and implementation of next generation Internet networks, technologies, applications and policies.

June 19: Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Software
Join the Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum and the Software Council of Southern California for a look at areas of software holding special entrepreneurial promise. The panel will examine software opportunities from several perspectives and will look at the industry as a whole and distill the highest potential opportunities for entrepreneurs during the next several years.

July 15: Successful Selling Skills and Tactics
This 3-hour Larta University boot camp helps participants learn how to use a defined sales process to sell successfully. By creating a repeatable sales process, you will be able to build a sales team who will follow a defined series of steps and sell your product successfully. Once the sales process is in place, you will be able to manage with accurate forecasts month after month.

July 22: Preparing the Financial Forecast Model
This Larta University workshop will show you how to build a financial forecast model using Excel. You will learn how to build your forecast from the bottom up, in a format that potential investors will find attractive.

Larta Institute's Events Calendar

***** Tech Marketplace *****
Project T2
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FIDELYS
Foley/Freisleben
Project T2
PricewaterhouseCoopers
******** About Larta ********

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

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