CED in the News, 2002

CED's Money & Markets Event Could Indicate Ending to Venture Freeze

By Matthew Burns, Special To LTW

Reprinted with permission from LocalTechWire

DURHAM - At a time when technology deals are few and far between, dealmakers will be swarming around the Triangle on Friday for the Council for Entrepreneurial Development's Money & Markets 2002 Conference.

More than 500 entrepreneurs, business executives, venture capitalists, lawyers, bankers and other technology industry honchos will converge on the Sheraton Imperial for a day of panel discussions, networking and, yes, maybe even a little deal-making.

"It's really an educational conference, but you never know what may happen," says Helena Lawrence, CED conference manager. "We hope that it will be a resource for both early- and later-stage companies when it comes to financial issues."

A new event for CED, the conference is an aggregation of ideas from a series of half-day seminars that the organization has held in years past, including venture capital, corporate partnering, mergers and acquisitions and public stock offerings.

"By creating a single conference, we have been able to reach out coast to coast to bring in top-quality speakers, and the caliber of the sessions we have planned is attracting a lot of CEOs looking for advice," Lawrence says.

Bowles headlines event

Erskine Bowles, the Charlotte investment banker who was chief of staff in the Clinton White House and now is a Democrat U.S. Senate candidate, will provide the keynote address, giving his take on financial trends and what may be in store for the technology industry in 2002.

Other noted speakers include venture capitalists Mitch Mumma and Kip Frey of Intersouth Partners, Scott Albert and Jeff Clark of Aurora Funds, Steve Nelson of Wakefield Group and Michael Preston of Southeast Interactive Technology Fund; entrepreneurs Scot Wingo of ChannelAdvisor, Vivek Wadhwa of Relativity Technologies, John Ryals of Paradigm Genetics, John Plachetka of Pozen and Tim Huntley of NetIQ; seasoned executives John McConnell of A4 Health Systems, Barrett Joyner of FullSeven Technologies and formerly with SAS, Max Wallace of Cogent Neuroscience and Sandy Costa, formerly with Quintiles Transnational and now with the Maupin, Taylor & Ellis law firm; and an assortment of bankers, lawyers and accountants, including Jeff Barber of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Tom Tullidge of Wachovia Securities and Robert Palumbo of Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown.

Sessions during the conference will address issues like alternatives to venture capital, determining corporate valuation, finding the right strategic business partner, cash management during tight times, integrating systems and transitioning customers after a merger, developing a sales model and preparing for a public stock offering.

"We're trying to reach a very wide audience, both early stage and later stage, and I hope something is there for everybody," says conference Chairman David Bookhout, a lawyer with Maupin, Taylor & Ellis.

Large turnout shows "enthusiasm"

Conference officials say they're pleased that more than 500 people have signed up for the event during what is considered the worst market for the technology industry in years. But the turnout doesn't surprise them.

"It shows there's a lot of optimism in the community," Lawrence says. "A lot of great ideas and new developments sprout during down times. This is the ideal time for people to learn about starting their own company or expanding."

The optimism may be spreading, too. Lawrence says people from as far away as Chicago and New York plan to attend the conference.