A successful start-up requires:

1. A well defined and financially attractive market need
2. Products or services that provide the business with a significant and sustainable competitive advantage
3. An experienced core management team
4. The right amount of capital from long term investors willing to commit the time, effort, and money to help the new company succeed
5. But there’s a fifth element, one that often makes the difference between success and failure: At least one founder with the vision, passion, and extraordinary commitment of time and effort required to make the company a success

We generally spend considerable time with scientists and managers both before and after we invest, developing and refining the business strategy, recruiting management, developing and helping to implement partnering strategies, securing laboratory and equipment financing, and assembling investment syndicates.

Our initial investments may range from several hundred thousand dollars to several million, including substantial capital reserved for follow-on investments.  For example, we might invest $100,000 to fund proof-of-concept experiments and completion of a business plan, reserving $1 million for a first (“A”) investment round, and $500,000 to $1 million for subsequent rounds.  As a broad and sound investor base is critical to both a company’s success and to attractive investment returns, we endeavor to build an investment syndicate with other institutional investors early in each company’s development.

LIFE SCIENCES (approximately 70% of the portfolio)

Our interests in the life sciences are broad . . .

• Therapeutics
• Medical Devices
• Diagnostics
• Research Tools and Services
• Materials
  
• Healthcare Information Technologies
• Healthcare Services

OTHER AREAS OF INTEREST (approximately 30% of the portfolio)

A partial list . . .

• Information Technology
• Materials
• Green Technology

While there is no requirement that companies be located in or near New Haven, we believe the New Haven area to be an excellent location for a life sciences focused technology business given:

• Affordable office and laboratory space
• Access to a highly skilled workforce
• Proximity of Yale University, research hospitals, and a number of large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies
• Excellent quality of life, with appealing choices of places to live, a rich mix of restaurants and cultural events, and easy access to outdoor recreational activities on the ocean, on the lakes, and in the mountains of New England.