ADVISORY/Entrepreneurs' VC View Skewed, Survey Claims.

Business Editors

ADVISORY...

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20, 2001

TOPIC: A recent survey by Dee Power, co-author of "Inside Secrets to Venture
Capital," claims more than half of all entrepreneurs have skewed ideas of how
venture capitalists learn of new deals. According to a story by CNET, the study
reports nearly 64 percent of entrepreneurs said they believed VCs learn of new
deals from consultants hired by fledgling companies to put their business plans
forward. Of the more than 250 venture firms surveyed, 34 percent reportedly
said they learned of investment opportunities through other venture firms and
30 percent said they learned about plans by making direct contact with the
entrepreneur. In contrast, only 20 percent of entrepreneurs thought direct
contact was a viable way to get VC attention, the story said. Experts in the
story said the numbers underscore the importance of contacting VCs
independently and networking for entrepreneurs. EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer
several highly qualified experts to comment on this story:

As CEO of Accordiant Ventures, a $200 million venture fund, Betsy Atkins is prepared to discuss how she finds new deals as well as the rigorous and comprehensive process that she uses to evaluate investments -- a process she uses not only for investing money, but also the allocation of her energy, time and personal capital. Betsy Atkins is an independent venture capitalist with more than 7 years of industry experience. Referred to industry observers as a "tech angel," Atkins nurtures start ups with funding and management advice and occasionally makes personal investments until start ups and entrepreneurs can interest venture capitalists. 954/593-8959, [e-mail]; PR: Jean-Marie Teti

Jack D. Ferner is a senior faculty member at the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University. He has previously held positions of Dean of the Babcock School and Director of the MBA-Executive and Continuing Education programs. Mr. Ferner teaches courses in Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Finance, International Competitive Policy, Strategies for Value Creation, Financial Management, Financial Statement Analysis, Business Valuation, Accounting and Control. 336/758-4580.

Mike LaVigna became a technology pioneer in the '70s as one of the first people to commercialize the ARPANet concept. Today that technology is known as the Internet. This former high school math teacher is now a high-tech visionary and VC in Austin, Texas, helping Texas thrive and maintain its stronghold as the Mecca for technology. PR: Cathy Wood [e-mail]

Charles Beeler has been a general partners of El Dorado Ventures since December 1999. In January 2000, he led EDV's seed investment in NuSpeed Internet Systems, which was acquired by Cisco Systems for $450 million in September 2000. Charles joined EDV from Piper Jaffray Ventures, where he was one of three investment managers operating the Piper Jaffray Ventures Technology Funds. His early venture capital experience was at Scripps Ventures, where he helped design and implement an Internet investment strategy for a newly formed $50 million fund. He received a B.A. in economics from Colby College, and an M.B.A. in entrepreneurial studies from the Wharton School. 650/854-1200; [e-mail]

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