Tag Archives: funding

Education

Scholarships Became the Major Contributors of Funding for College through the Recession

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Since 2010, parents have reduced their spending on college students significantly; instead grants, scholarships, and student borrowing have increased.

Chicago, IL, November 12, 2013 – Since 2010, parents have reduced their spending on college students significantly; instead grants, scholarships, and student borrowing have increased. The use of grants and scholarships has been the largest contributor since 2010.

According to Sallie Mae’s research of “How America Pays for College2013,” “Nearly two-thirds of families (65%) used grants and scholarships to pay for college this year, up from 61 percent in 2012 and up from only half of families five years ago.”

Moreover, scholarships are the only contributors of this year’s increase, since grants for college funding are actually decreasing this year. Numerous scholarship programs and the care of education from society and businesses are the reasons that scholarship awards can still make a huge difference to college funding during the recession.

OCA Chicago Scholarship, one of the scholarship programs in Chicago, has awarded 6 outstanding students this year.  The scholarship helped them achieve their higher education. At this year’s Gala at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza, Anson Wu, VP and board member for OCA Chicago Chapter, introduced the scholarship program to the audience. He remarked, “OCA Chicago Scholarship started with a simple idea that is to help deserving Asian American students to get the education they deserve…” Anson oversaw the scholarship program for OCA for 2012 and 2013.

During the day Anson is the managing Creative Director at a digital creative agency in downtown Chicago, Fresh Design Studio, where he continues to pour creativity into digital assets for client’s brands. He cares about students’ education because he believes in giving back to the community and realizes that the students have such bright futures.

Scholarships are now the major contributors to students’ education. With the help of many different people like Anson, scholarships are the hope of education. Many students can still go to college and make their dream come true, even while the economy is down.

Contact:
Michelle Mann
Fresh Design Studio
A: 53 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 256
Chicago, IL 60604
312-880-9337
michelle.mann@freshds.com

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Technology

MOD Spin-out Receives CA £500K Funding for Technology

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ProKyma, a spin-out from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and founded by Ploughshare Innovations, today announced a £482K grant from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) i4i programme.

Hampshire, UK, December 18, 2012 – ProKyma, a spin-out from the Defence Science and Technology laboratory (Dstl) and founded by Ploughshare Innovations, today announced a £482K grant from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) i4i programme. The funding will help it to apply its technology to improve the detection of cancer and monitor changes during treatment.

The investment will allow ProKyma to apply its ‘KymaSep’ technology, which automates the manipulation of magnetic particles to purify and concentrate very low numbers of Circulating Tumour Cells (CTCs) from a blood sample. The cancer cell, once purified, can be sequenced using tools developed for the human genome project to find the patient’s specific and individual cancer mutation. This information then allows cost effective measurement of CTC numbers, which should decrease during treatment. Oncologists will use this unique tool to adapt and change therapy in real time if the CTC numbers do not decrease.

ProKyma is working with a world-class multi-disciplinary team in Merseyside to deliver the challenging technical breakthroughs needed in this project. A unique cell capture technology has been licenced from CellCap Technologies, which is currently being optimised to harvest millions of stem cells for cellular therapies. Through a long-standing collaboration with the UK Centre for Tissue Engineering at the University of Liverpool, ProKyma will adapt this technology for the very low-number of cell captures needed for CTC detection (5 CTC cells per test-tube of blood). The Liverpool Pancreatic Biomedical Research Unit will then optimise the method for capture, sequencing and enumeration of CTCs. This will then be translated into a device for routine use, which will be tested against samples from the Liverpool Cancer Trials Unit to measure its usefulness on real patient samples.

Damian Bond, chief executive of ProKyma, stated, “The NIHR support has come at a very good time for us and builds on six years of expertise and development. We are excited to collaborate with the teams from CellCap and the University of Liverpool to develop this much needed, but challenging technology.”

KymaSep is a small, portable system that is based around an injection moulded device, providing simple operation at low cost – making it ideal for clinic or point-of-care use. It is the result of six years development at ProKyma that started from Dstl’s work to develop continuous detection systems for biothreat agents. It has been funded by investment from the Rainbow Seed Fund; Merseyside Special Investment Fund’s Liverpool Seed Fund; and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA).

With the funding and support of NIHR, ProKyma is looking to develop its technology to a point where it can raise a Series A funding round to begin manufacture of the CTC monitoring product in Merseyside by the end of 2014.

Notes to the editor:

For further information, please contact Damian Bond on 07798 600 833 or e-mail damianbond@prokyma.com

CellCap Technologies (www.cell-capture.com)

CellCap is an early stage business developing products to harvest adult stem cells from body tissues for research and cellular therapies. Supported by grants from the Technogy Strategy Board and imvestment from the NWFund Biomedical LP, its lead product is due to start external evaluation in 2013.

Dstl (www.dstl.gov.uk)

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is a centre of scientific excellence for the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Its 3,500 strong workforce includes some of the nation’s most talented and creative scientists with the brief to ensure that the UK Armed Forces and Government are supported in-house by the very best impartial scientific and technological advice. Dstl’s position at the heart of the MOD means that its advice is trusted by overnments academia, industry and international partners. It offers timely and accurate advice at all levels of military planning and operations, both overseas and on the home front.

NESTA (www.nesta.org.uk)

NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts. With endowed funds of over £300 million, our mission is to transform the UK’s capacity for innovation. We do this in three main ways: by working to build a more pervasive culture of innovation in this country; by providing innovators with access to early-stage capital; and by driving forward research into innovation, with a view to influencing policy.

The Liverpool Seed Fund

Merseyside Special Investment Fund’s (MSIF) Liverpool Seed Fund is a £27m fund which invests in companies with new ideas, innovations and intellectual property. Seed funding can support three stages of development: proof of concept (£50,000 to £100,000) commercialisation (up to £350,000) and first round venture capital (up to £750,000). Liverpool Ventures, a subsidiary of MSIF, was set up specifically to provide pre and post investment support to businesses invested in by the Seed Fund to help give them the best possible chance of success.

About Rainbow Seed Fund:

http://www.midven.co.uk/Rainbow-Seed-Fund/

The £8.5m Rainbow Seed Fund was established in 2001 with funding from the Office of Science and Innovation to commercialise scientific research in a leading group of the UK publicly funded institutions, our partners. The Fund, which is independently managed by Midven Ltd, made its first investment in 2002, and currently has a portfolio of 16 companies with one exit.

The Fund invests at the earliest stages of a technology’s development, and helps to turn an idea into a business by actively identifying and supporting experienced management and facilitating additional coinvestment. Rainbow’s partners spend over £1 billion on research and development every year giving the Fund privileged access to high quality investment propositions at the earliest stage.

ProKyma is a spinout from Dstl. Founded by Ploughshare Innovations in 2006 with initial investment from the Rainbow Seed Fund, it has developed novel approaches in sample handling to enhance diagnostic technologies to provide improved information and simplified handling.

About Ploughshare:
Ploughshare Innovations manages the commercial licensing to industry of intellectual property developed by the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). Ploughshare’s goal is to give clients a competitive edge, by lowering technology risk, reducing R&D costs, speeding time to market, and maximizing the business opportunity. It provides leading edge, application focused technology, backed up with the assurance of advanced IP support and protection. Ploughshare is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dstl.

Contact:
Chris Goff
Ploughshare Innovations Ltd.
Unit 2, Nine Mile Water Business Park
Nether Wallop, Stockbridge
Hampshire SO20 8DR
+44 (0) 1794 301602
info@ploughshareinnovations.com
http://www.ploughshareinnovations.com

Business

Clairmail CEO Pete Daffern to Address Positioning Your Business for Strategic Growth at June 21 Marin Business Forum Meeting

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High-Tech Exec Shares His Expertise on Getting Venture Funding, Creating a Strategic Growth Plan, and Positioning for Acquisition at Marin Business Networking Meeting.

LARKSPUR, Calif. (June 6, 2012) — Every company should have a growth strategy, whether it needs external funding to taker the business to the next level, or it wants to align internal resources to position the company for a merger or acquisition. To help companies struggling with positioning themselves for growth, the Marin Business Forum will asked Pete Daffern, CEO of Clairmail, to speak on “Strategizing for Growth” at its next meeting on Thursday, June 21. The networking event will take place at the Wood Island Office Complex, 80 East Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Larkspur at 5:00 p.m., and will give business owners and professionals an opportunity to hear Pete’s presentation and network with other local business professionals. The event is open to all Bay Area residents.

During his presentation, Daffern will discuss various growth strategies that he has used during his years as a chief executive with technology companies such as Purisma and AIM Technology. During his career, Daffern has been responsible for finding venture capital and funding for start-up companies, as well as positioning companies for mergers and acquisitions. He also has been responsible for managing companies through strategic growth events, and hiring the experts needed to guide these companies along the way. Earlier this year, for example, Daffern negotiated the acquisition of Clairmail by Monitize plc for $173 million.

“Every company leader needs to have a strategic growth plan, including specific goals and milestones,” said TJ Van Voorhees, co-founder and general partner for Pacific Crest Group, host and co-founder of the Marin Business Forum. “Whether your plan includes an influx of capital, strategic hires, or an acquisition, you have to lay the foundation to achieve those goals. Pete clearly has ‘been there, done that,’ having successfully guided a number of technology firms successfully through watershed growth events, such as IPOs and acquisitions. We are delighted that he is willing to share his experience and knowledge with the Marin Business Forum.”

Pete Daffern has more than 20 years of experience helping technology companies grow. Before his tenure as CEO of Clairmail, Daffern was CEO of Purisma, where he directed operations with a focus on strategic growth with the help of customer service and business development initiatives. For example, Purisma was successfully acquired by Dun & Bradstreet in 2007. Daffern also has served as president of AIM Technology, Vice President of Worldwide Business Development, Alliances, and Corporate Development for Vitria Technology, and was a member of the management team at Seagate Software for 10 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Sheffield University in England.

In addition to the information presentation, the Marin Business Forum meeting will include wine and appetizers, as well as time to mingle with other local Marin professionals and entrepreneurs to exchange ideas and information.

Space is limited and an RSVP is required to attend. Interested parties can register at http://marinbusinessforum.com/event-registration or contact Franka Winchester at 415.461.2586, fwinchester@pcg-services.com.

About the Marin Business Forum
The Marin Business Forum was the brain child of Pacific Crest Group (http://www.pcg-services.com), Filice (http://www.filice.com), and Cypress Partners (http://www.cypresspart.com), who pooled their expertise to create a networking group to give local entrepreneurs and professionals a chance to meet one another and make new business connections. This event is to provide expert guidance, education and inspiration to take back to the office and concentrate on core business strategies for growth and expansion. For more information on the speaker and to keep abreast of future events, visit http://www.marinbusinessforum.com.

Contact:
Franka Winchester
Pacific Crest Group
(415) 461-2586
fwinchester@pcg-services.com

Tom Woolf
Woolf Media & Marketing
(415) 259-5638
tomw@woolfmedia.com

Business, Financial, Internet & Online, Marketing, Small Business, Social Media, Society, Technology, Web 2.0

Michael Blakey & Paul Grant speaking on EFactor Business Bootcamp June 21

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A day full of succeeded Entrepreneurs and the Best Funding Experts in the field, Michael Blakey & Paul Grant!

Want to learn more on what to do when you are on theEntrepreneurial Frontline? Or how Bootstrapping can be an effective way to run your operations? What Investor Types & Funds are out there? And what are the Legal Aspects of Investments? Sign up now for EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT, lunch & drinks included! http://www.efactor.com/ukfunding1206

We provided you with a special program with some great names in this industry:

John Spindler CEO of Capital Enterprise. John has had over 15 years’ experience as an entrepreneur and business advisor/consultant and as well as being responsible for the day to day management of Capital Enterprise is also a director and co-owner of audio designer and manufacturer Ferguson Hill.

Michael Blakey: has been a successful, active, early-stage investor in the UK since 2000 and having invested in some 17 businesses and realized 3 profitable exits to date. Co-investing with his brother, Simon, he is responsible for all our marketing and deal origination activities. Michael was voted by AngelsNews as “the Business Angels You should now”.

Paul Grant: is an experienced entrepreneur who has founded his own London based company through private equity and debt finance. He managed to build a network of over 500 business angels at Capital Partners Private Equity Ltd and more recently at BA Capital Ltd, during which time he never ceased to assist young businesses with fundraising and coaching. He is also the founder of “The Funding Game” seminar series, which offers practical guidance and networking opportunities for entrepreneurs seeking capital for early-stage and growing ventures.

Jaan Larner: is a business minded lawyer at Keystone Law with an MBA from Oxford University. He is a corporate and commercial lawyer with a particular interest in entrepreneurial activity. He advises clients on their corporate structures as well as their on-going day-to-day commercial activity. Jaan qualified as a Solicitor in 1997.

WE HOPE TO WELCOME YOU AT 21 JUNE – INNOVATION WAREHOUSE – LONDON

SEE FOR MORE DETAILS OF THE PROGAM: http://www.efactor.com/ukfunding1206

Please Eva Hukshorn for your questions.

Lunch and drinks are included in the event price.

This event is sponsored by RBS, Capital Enterprise and Keystone Law To attend this event being a member of EFactor is mandotory, you can sign up (for free) on www.efactor.com.

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