Talking Points


Introductions/Objectives: Tracy Warren

• To provide multi-party insight into the opportunities and pitfalls involved in commercialization of institutional technologies.
• Institutional perspective provided by Alex Fischer of Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle), who will discuss how Battelle and the labs it manages work with investors and entrepreneurs.
• Venture capital perspective provided by partners of Battelle Ventures (BV) and Innovation Valley Partners (IVP), having experience in company formation of institution-based technologies, both in a regional model, as well as nationally.

Overview of Battelle: Alex Fischer

• History of Battelle and its National Lab management – Government-Owned, Contractor Operated (GOCO) facilities
• Battelle’s approach to commercialization (venture, licensing, etc.)
• Battelle’s internal efforts to support success (incentives, metrics, maturation funding, etc.)

Battelle Ventures/Innovation Valley Partners Unique Approach: Glenn Kline, Tracy Warren

• Comfort in founder capitalism
• Virtual company model – objectivity
• Lessons learned

Opportunities for Commercialization: All three presenters

• What has to be true for technologies to be spun out, for companies to be created?
• Researcher profile [the 10% rule]
• How to identify and manage off-the-shelf/IP creation
• Milestone-based capital needs to minimize risk
• The roles of the 4-Fs: friends, family, fools and the federal government

Pitfalls in Seed Stage Deals and Company Formation: All three presenters

• Recognizing needs and objectives of the (VC) "customer" in setting licensing terms
• Valuation of equity/pricing ahead of the VC market
• Economic development pressures
• Breakdowns in communication/trust

Click Here for Consolidated Slides for All 3 Presenters

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Tracy Warren
( General Partner, Battelle Ventures )

Bio

Tracy Warren focuses primarily on investments in health & life sciences and emerging energy technologies.

She has led the firm’s investments in five companies, including two university spinouts: Endovalve, on the East Coast (University of Pennsylvania), and Superprotonic, on the West Coast (California Institute of Technology). She currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Endovalve and Metatomix, and is a Board observer for NuPathe and Superprotonic.

With the funding of Endovalve, Tracy pioneered a new investment model for Battelle Ventures, the “virtual company” model. This model calls for minimizing typical early-stage infrastructure expenses during a company’s initial high-risk phase, in which “go/no go” decisions are objectively made at major development junctures and are guided by successful milestone achievements. For example, Endovalve, a cardiovascular device spinout, limited start-up staff size and time commitment, and outsourced R&D, prototype design and fabrication, all of which substantially cut costs and dramatically accelerated product development.

Proven successful, the fund has since taken this approach with another investment.

Tracy, who also is a general partner at Battelle Ventures’ Tennessee-based affiliate fund, Innovation Valley Partners, was previously with SG Cowen Securities in its Health Care Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Finance divisions. There, she focused primarily on companies in the medical device and health care information technology fields. Prior to SG Cowen, Tracy was in the Global Financial Analyst program at Chase Manhattan Bank.

Tracy received her Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and international business from New York University and her MBA from Columbia University.

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Glenn Kline
( General Partner, Innovation Valley Partners )

Bio

Glenn Kline, who manages Innovation Valley Partners (IVP), Battelle Ventures’ affiliate fund in Knoxville, Tennessee, has been involved with technology spinouts from institutions throughout his career as a venture capitalist.

Since joining IVP in 2006, Glenn has helped orchestrate the spinouts of Planar Energy Devices from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in Golden, Colo., and flexible thin-film photovoltaic technologies company Ampulse from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tenn. He serves on the Boards of both companies and is acting CEO of Ampulse, while the start-up operates in the funds’ “virtual company” model. Acting as a bridge between early-stage businesses and ORNL, in particular, Glenn also took on the role of “founder capitalist,” helping to pair up local technology entrepreneurs and ORNL scientists to establish, with funding from Battelle Ventures and IVP, traffic-management-technology company Aldis, Inc., where he serves as chairman.

Prior to joining IVP, Glenn was managing partner at Academy Funds, an early-stage venture firm that he co-founded in 1997 to focus on spinning out technology from the major research institutions in North Carolina. At Academy, Glenn raised two funds totaling more than $40 million under management; managed three offices; and led investments in some 30 portfolio companies, which included start-ups in the areas of life sciences, semiconductors, advanced materials and information technology. In addition to leading investments at Academy, Glenn was actively involved in portfolio-company management. One company he headed for seven years as president and CEO is North Carolina-based Silicon Semiconductor Corporation.

Active in the regional venture community, Glenn was venture co-chair of the 2007 Tennessee Valley Venture Forum, served on the steering committee of the 2007 NanoNexus Conference and is on the 2008 Global Venture Challenge steering committee (the two latter events are sponsored by ORNL).

He holds an MBA in finance from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA/Los Angeles, Calif., and a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations from Pomona College/ Claremont, Calif.




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Alex Fischer
( Vice President for Commercialization, Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle). )

Bio

Alex Fischer has responsibility for the Technology Transfer and Economic Development activities at the National Laboratories managed or co-managed by Battelle. This includes the oversight and deployment of nearly $400 million of venture capital investments aimed at commercializing Battelle-related technology and the coordination of Battelle’s company-wide commercialization agenda.

Alex was previous director of Technology Transfer and Economic Development for UT-Battelle at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where he oversaw tremendous growth in commercialization activities, the development of a new Science and Technology Park on the Lab’s campus and the implementation of a technology-focused venture capital fund by local business leaders.

Previously, Alex served as deputy governor and chief of staff to Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist. In this position, Alex served as the principal advisor on all matters of the State of Tennessee, including the oversight of the 22 state agencies.

Prior to his government service, Alex served as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. During his tenure, the State of Tennessee set numerous economic development investment records and was named “State of the Year” for its economic development accomplishments.

Earlier, Alex was the co-founder of Comprehensive Community Care, a behavior health company; the executive vice president and chief operating officer of Akins and Tombras Public Relations; the founding executive director of Technology 2020; and the director of Planning for the Tennessee Technology Foundation.

Alex graduated from The University of Tennessee in Knoxville with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in city planning. He is active on numerous boards and community organizations.




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Fund Description


Battelle Ventures, L.P., a Princeton, N.J.-based venture fund, and its Knoxville, Tenn.-based affiliate fund, Innovation Valley Partners (IVP), have a combined $255 million under management for creating and accelerating the development of early-stage technology companies with breakthrough solutions to multiple marketplace problems. The funds focus nationally on investing in technologies in the energy & environment, health & life sciences and security sectors.

The funds enjoy unique relationships with the technology transfer offices of six U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories and have established similar associations with a number of university tech transfer and commercialization departments. They take a flexible approach to establishing and growing companies, from lab and university spinouts and virtual companies to tech injection and cross-organization development.

To date, they have announced investments in 18 portfolio companies: six in energy & environment, five in health & life sciences and seven in security. Among those companies, four are spinouts, including two from universities: Endovalve, spun out from the University of Pennsylvania, and Superprotonic, from the California Institute of Technology. Two companies were spun out from National Laboratories: Ampulse, from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Planar Energy Devices, from National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Battelle Ventures was established in August 2003 with a sole limited partner – Columbus, Ohio-based Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle), the world’s largest nonprofit independent research and development organization, which manages/co-manages six National Laboratories for the U.S. DOE. IVP, launched in August 2005, is backed by Eastern Tennessee business leaders and works closely with regional research and entrepreneurial communities, giving the funds a strong presence in the Southeast.

The $220-million Battelle Ventures fund and the $35-million IVP fund invest side by side in every deal, providing an average of $2-3 million in funding per round, but have invested as little as $500,000. Over the life of a company, the funds could jointly invest up to $10 million in a company. When they are fully invested, the funds expect to have some 30 to 35 companies in their portfolio.

For more information, visit www.battelleventures.com

For more information, visit www.innovationvalleypartners.com.

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Organization Description


Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle), the world’s largest nonprofit independent research and development organization, explores emerging areas of science and develops and commercializes technology through its four global businesses: Laboratory Management, National Security, Energy Science and Technology, and Health and Life Sciences.

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle oversees more than 20,000 employees in more than 120 locations worldwide, including National Laboratories that it manages or co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy. These are: Brookhaven National Laboratory; Idaho National Laboratory; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Battelle advances scientific discovery and application by annually conducting $4 billion in global R&D through contract research, laboratory management and technology commercialization. Each year it is involved in some 5,000 projects for about 1,100 government and industrial clients, and helps to develop between 50 and 100 patented inventions.

Some critical areas of focus are sustainable-energy technologies, high-performance materials, next-generation healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics, and advanced security solutions for people and infrastructure.

Battelle makes commercialization part of the process to bring products to the marketplace. Battelle technology may be embedded in a product; it may be licensed to a manufacturer, or it may be developed and launched through one of its subsidiaries. The organization uses every option to bring products to market – from forming an independent venture fund, Battelle Ventures, to sharing the risk of technical and commercial success with customers through direct investments.

For more information, visit www.battelle.org.