CONNECT Springboard Program

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CONNECT Springboard Program

• Annual Meeting
• December 13, 2004

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What is Springboard?

• Springboard is a year-round, CONNECT flagship
  program started in 1993 that assists
  technology-based companies and entrepreneurs
  refine their business and financial strategies
  through a group mentoring process.

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How does Springboard work?

• By assisting hi-tech and life science
  entrepreneurs develop their business plan through
  the formation a 10 minute business presentation.
  
• Then giving them a forum in which to present
  their refined business model/ financial strategy
  before a customized group of domain, business,
  marketing, and management experts, as well as
  service providers, potential strategic partners
  /customers, and capital providers

4
How does Springboard work?

• Strategic Issues dealt with
• Technology
• Product
• Business Model Strategy
• Market
• Management
• Intellectual Property
• Financing

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Why is a business presentation important?

• The ability to concisely / accurately convey the
  business opportunity allows the listener to
  efficiently assess and validate the opportunity
• Any flaws that may exist within the model will
  become more transparent, thus enabling the
  panelists the chance to assist the entrepreneur
  in the refining and restatement of their business
  opportunity

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Why is this necessary?

• Failure to understand the difference between
  having a company.and having a business
• Thinking that capital providers invest in
  technologies rather than businesses
• Stakeholders want to see qualified
  opportunities
• Failing to realize that they dont know what they
  dont know
• Failing to truly understand market
  driverscompetition, addressable markets, and
  competitive sustainable advantage
• One chance to make a good first impression

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Why this particular process?

• Allows the most promising opportunities to be
  showcased in their best light
• Articulate, concise presentations allow the
  listener to quickly assess opportunity and risk
• None of us are as smart as all of us
• A safe place for constructive deconstruction
• Accelerates potential failures
• Access to a diverse and robust domain of
  expertise, that would be difficult and costly to
  replicate
• Encourages the cultivation of new and relevant
  relationships that will help the entrepreneur
  accelerate their success

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Criteria for Acceptance?

• Life Science or Technology
• Potential for growth
• Regional in location (or intention to be local)
• Have an executive summary available to submit at
  the time of application
• The Entrepreneur must be coachable

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Who are the stakeholders?

• The Entrepreneurs
• The Coaches
• The Mentors
• The Panel Participants
• The Business Community

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Why do stakeholders participate?

• Increased viability for the entrepreneur
• The chance to view and learn about new and
  promising technologies / business opportunities
• Knowledge transfer from experts through lateral
  learning
• ROI Return on Involvement
• Creating a stronger and more vibrant community
  through new job and wealth creation
• Networking
• Potential future business relationships

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Outcomes

• 230 technology companies graduated
• Over 1000 companies assisted
• Over 550M early / seed stage investment attained
• 135 are still doing business

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Conclusions about Springboard companies
survivability

• Approximately 60 of Springboard companies
  (high-technology based startup firms) have stayed
  alive, and a company has 88 survival rate if it
  raises funding during its first 24 months after
  graduation. Springboard graduates in general have
  a business failure rate of 33.
• According to OFarrell, author of Stepping Into
  Magic A Handbook for the High Tech Start-Up,
  failure rate amongst high tech start-ups is as
  high as 90 (10 survival).
• Compared with OFarrells statistics, Springboard
  program increases a high-technology startup
  firms chance of survival by approximately 6 (in
  general) to 9 (if raises funding within 24
  months) times.

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The Future of Springboard

• Differing levels of Springboard
• Idea ? Invention
• Invention ?Product
• Product ? Business
• Business ?Growth
• Growth ? Exit, Spin-out, or Spin-In

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CONNECT Springboard Team

• Del Foit, Springboard Program Manager
• dfoit_at_ucsd.edu
• Doruk Aytulu, Program Assistant
• daytulu_at_ucsd.edu