- About the Lecture
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About the Lecture
This panel was evenly divided on the utility of predicting the direction of markets, so some speakers chose to discuss predicting in lieu of making predictions.
Martin Hensel describes three common forecasting points of view: industry forecasts, which are really “marketing tools, intended to give comfort to investors and customers;” entrepreneurial forecasts, which are “generally early and optimistic;” and investor forecasts, which focus on broad product areas, as well as on management teams. As a CEO of a company that has found a market delivering magazines digitally, Hensel commends his investors in particular, and offers advice to directors in general: be “steadfast” and “protect entrepreneurs from themselves.”
Ned Hazen discusses the “little known and little understood marketplace” of venture debt -- a method for financing companies that provides capital for purchasing equipment and for things like market research and prototype introduction. Hazen recommends this alternative to venture capital, because it doesn’t “dilute” the company; entrepreneurs retain their ownership positions. But before borrowing, he cautions entrepreneurs, watch out for tricky financial restrictions on how to run the business and for clauses that allow lenders to “seize your cash” if they spot the smallest “material adverse change” in your operation.
Claire Wadlington notes that 2005 marked the first uptick in venture capital investment in four years -- $21.7 billion dollars, which slightly topped 2004’s number. Close to $5 billion went toward software deals, followed by biotech at $3.9 billion, then internet-centered and medical device investments. One big change: 901 companies got first-time funding this year, a four-year high. For 2006, she sees VC money trending toward open source; Web 2.0; recurring revenue business models; wireless-3rd screen; energy technology; robots for unstructured environments and bio-engineering.
While apologizing for “missing the market” last year, T.L. Stebbins makes some forceful pronouncements about 2006 and beyond. He remarks that U.S. markets last year underperformed all other major markets in the world, and worries that NASDAQ “has moved away from small and micro cap” business. Some of this may be attributable to our “good friends in Washington and the regulators,” who have restricted “capital flows to small cap-micro cap in the U.S. today.” New markets have emerged outside the U.S. to serve smaller firms. The London Stock Exchange “is now the most vibrant small cap market and the fastest growing market in the world today.” And there’s bad news for 2006: Stebbins says the domestic recovery will stabilize and flatten out; the international market will be volatile and anti-American; real estate prices will be in trouble; interest rates will rise; and capital markets will see a high degree of risk.Related Videos
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- About the Speakers
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About the Speakers
Moderator: Robert Crowley
President, Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation (MTDC)
Bob Crowley was elected President of MTDC in November 2002. Prior to that, he was its Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer. Crowley is an experienced venture capital investor in early-stage technology companies. A former Chairman of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, Crowley is also a Chairman of the Smaller Business Association of New England (SBANE) Educational Center. Crowley has served as director of a number of companies including Optical Micro Systems, Inc., Aspen Technology, Inc., MultiLink, Inc., Pacer Infotech, Inc., and Endogen, Inc.
Crowley has spent most of his professional life in finance, initially as a commercial lender with Shawmut Bank and Neponset Valley Bank & Trust Company, and, for more than 23 years, as a venture capital investor with MTDC. He earned a B.A. from Fairfield University and an M.B.A. from Boston College .Martin Hensel
President, Texterity, Inc.
Martin Hensel has been with Texterity since 1991 when the company provided systems integration services to publishers, and helped to add E-Book services in 1998. Previously, Hensel was general manager of Investext, a division of Thomson Financial Services; co-founder and general manager of electronic publisher Wilson Cambridge; and co-founder and president of LaserData, Inc., where he chaired the NISO standards committee that established the CD-ROM format.
Hensel received a B.A. in philosophy from New York University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.Claire Wadlington
Partner & CFO, F.A. Technology Ventures
Prior to joining F.A. Ventures, Claire Wadlington served as vice president of finance and chief financial officer of Cayman Systems, Inc. She was a member of the management team that sold Cayman to Netopia, Inc. She worked as an investment banker for nearly a dozen years and has extensive experience handling public and private market transactions at First Albany Corporation, Lazard Freres & Co., and The First Boston Corporation.
Wadlington is a director of privately-held Adapt Media, serves on the executive board of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, and on the board of trustees of Christopher House, Inc., Christopher House Assisted Living, and the Women's Union . She is also a member of The Boston Club. She earned her B.A. from Yale University and her M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.C. Edward (Ned) Hazen
Managing Director, Lighthouse Capital Partners
Before joining Lighthouse in January 2000, Ned Hazen held various senior management positions at Avid Technology, including general manager of the Office and Consumer Group, senior vice president of business development, and treasurer. From 1987 to 1993, Hazen was a managing director of Robertson Stephens and Company, where he was responsible for establishing and building the firm's Boston-based technology investment banking practice in the Eastern U.S. and Canada.
Hazen holds a B.A. in political science from Brown University and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School .T. L. Stebbins
Head of U.S. Investment Canaccord/Adams
Prior to his position at Canaccord/Adams, T.L. Stebbins served as managing director and chairman of investment banking at Adams Harkness. Stebbins joined the firm in 1970 as a research analyst, and participated in the introduction of the New England Research Service. He also formalized the firm's Investment Banking function and created the company's Corporate Finance department from scratch.
Stebbins received a B.A. from Harvard College, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.Moderator
Speakers
- About the Host
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About the Host
MIT Enterprise Forum
Video Player
Forecasting Markets: The Capital Update for 2006
- Moderator: Robert Crowley
- Martin Hensel
Claire Wadlington
C. Edward (Ned) Hazen
T. L. Stebbins - January 26, 2006
- Running Time: 1:31:19
