Middle Market Deals and how to buy, sell and raise capital from $5 to $500 million

I had a great opportunity on Wednesday to sit on a panel discussion at a seminar presented by the Wayne Brown Institute on the 21st Century Entrepreneur.  It is a fun, small group format with a lively discussion between the panelists and the audience, largely comprised of entrepreneurs.

The panelists are listed below:

The panel, including a few entrepreneurs, an angel investor, a few venture capitalists and a lone investment banker was quite diverse.  I think that those who attended the conference came away having learned something!

I've recently been giving some thought to the on-line practice of building and selling databases of venture capital firms.  It seems like such a great idea to buy a directory, especially if you can get actual E-MAIL addresses.

I once had a client who had purchased a list of 2,000+ venture capitalist e-mails and was planning to casually send a blast e-mail to everyone on the list.

I almost killed myself trying to jump in front of that train. I've often said that there is no such animal as an angel investor--only friends and family who happen to know what they are doing.  That is an exaggeration, but the fact is that angel investors and venture capitalists don't like to invest in people that they don't know or can't vet with people they know well.

The process of raising capital can, therefore, take many months or even years as you build your network in the venture community.

This afternoon I had the privilege of leading a panel discussion on future trends in venture capital, as part of Brad Bertoch's Investors Choice Conference hosted by the Wayne Brown Institute (read Tim Stay's extensive coverage of the event on VCSmart).  We had hoped to get some clear vision into the future, but at least we came away with a fair image of the present and a good picture of the recent past.

The real question that we wanted answered is what is the next big thing?  Corley Phillips of American River Ventures responded jestingly, by quoting a notable VC, that "I wouldn't answer that if you were my mother."  Of course, every VC's hope is to find the next big thing--all alone--and to make that 100 fold return--just once (or twice).

We did discuss some arenas like VOIP, nanotechnology and web 2.0.  These are areas where lots of money has been made, begging the question are there any opportunities remaining?  The point was made in response that venture capitalists are unlikely to back another Skype or Vonage, but that doesn't mean that there aren't opportunities to develop VOIP related technologies that will move the migration of Internet telephony forward.  The key for entrepreneurs is to find a relevant spot on which to push.

On Thursday, I will be moderating a panel of venture experts on trends in venture capital for the Investors Choice Conference for the Wayne Brown Institute.  I'll post the key observations no later than Friday.  Just to get you ready, I'll post the names of the panelists with links to their bios.

I expect to come away from this discussion smarter than I walk in.  For me, this is an opportunity to gain some valuable insights.  I'll share what I learn.

Tim Stay will also be covering the event and will be posting to VCSmart elsewhere on the KnowMoreMedia network.

Next week, I get a rare opportunity for an old dude.  I've been invited to participate in a bobsled run as part of a venture capital conference organized by the Wayne Brown Institute. 

The bobsled run will be Wednesday and the conference and takes place on Thursday.  So next week, watch for a quick report on the fun and a detailed report on the highlights from the venture conference.

I'll also be leading a panel discussion on where the venture market is headed.  I look forward to knowing!