KALAMAZOO ? Technology from Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) and entrepreneurs from Purdue Research Park will be spotlighted at the Southwest Michigan First?s Kalamazoo Venture Tuesday monthly investment meeting on Tuesday, March 1, in Kalamazoo.
The half-day event ? part of Southwest Michigan First?s Investing in Innovation series ? will include a panel discussion entitled ?Foundations as Limited Partners? in which representatives from PRF, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and TGap Venture Capital Fund address the criteria considered by foundations before making investments in venture funds and seed investments. .
The program also will include business plan presentations from three Indiana companies that are licensing Purdue University-patented technologies from PRF: Andara Life Sciences Inc., Sonarmed Technologies Inc. and QuadraSpec Inc.. This month, QuadraSpec was selected by the foundation to commercialize protein-diagnostics technology that uses a BioCD to analyze a drop of blood for more than 10,000 diseases in a short amount of time. .
?We are excited to be in Kalamazoo to showcase companies that are commercializing Purdue technologies,? said Steve Gerrish, PRF?s senior technology manager. ?These are great examples of the types of companies that are making Purdue Research Park one of the premiere park?s of its kind in the country. When we look to new partners, it is with an eye to organizations that also set new standards in investment strategies and Kalamazoo has certainly demonstrated its ability to do that.? .
The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held Southwest Michigan Innovation Center located at 4717 Campus Dr. in the Technology and Research Park. The business plan portion of the program occurs from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., followed by the panel discussion and a networking luncheon. For more information, contact Gail Lindsey, SMF?s director of equity investments, at [email protected]. .
The Kalamazoo Venture Tuesday (KVT) program was expanded in 2005 to draw new venture capital interest into the state and the region, and to leverage university relationships to increase the quality and quantity of deal flow to the Kalamazoo and Michiana areas. .
?The new KVT strategy mirrors the objectives of the MVCA to increase venture capital deal flow to the region by working with university and corporate technology transfer offices,? Lindsey said. ?Our hope is to improve the nurturing of ideas from these sources and to increase the opportunities for new businesses and new technologies to receive the critical support necessary to proceed up the ?food chain of finance.?? .
SMF also will be a featured partner in this year?s Michigan Growth Capital Symposium June 14 ? 16th, the longest running national forum of its kind in the country. At each KVT, an audience of about 75 experts in the fields of business development and venture fund investments as well as scientific and management talent, local business leaders, and fellow entrepreneurs provides the presenting the companies with the feedback necessary to improve their business model and presentation approach. Since its inception almost five years ago, the monthly event has featured close to 250 companies exposing them to business development experts, venture capitalists, angel investors and others interested in supporting entrepreneurial activities.
?The KVT meetings are becoming the ?epicenter? of venture capital development in our region and have created an excellent monthly forum for serious private equity investors from across the region,? said Pete Farner, managing partner for TGAP Ventures. .
The series is hosted by the Kalamazoo Bank Consortium, a formal association of eleven bank executives from Kalamazoo County who have come together to assist Southwest Michigan First in its economic development efforts. The events are sponsored by Miller Canfield, Michigan Public Radio, the City of Kalamazoo, Arch Development Partners and the Small Business Technology Development Center. .
Formed in 1930 to further scientific research collaborations between Purdue and private industry, the Purdue Research Foundation also owns and manages the Purdue Research Park. The park, which is home to the largest university-affiliated technology incubator in the country, was named top research park in the nation in 2004 by its peers at the Association of University Research Parks. .
Southwest Michigan First (SMF) is an economic development organization providing business development, retention and attraction programs throughout Kalamazoo County. A privately funded, 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation, SMF was formed by leaders in business and higher education to promote economic development. SMF provides entrepreneurs and established companies with a wide range of corporate business development services and support.
