Press Releases
> Press Archive
In the News
|
     
|
PRESS ARCHIVE
NextStage Advisors
Prepares Octagon Research Solutions and Wireless M2M
For Funding in Soft Investment Market
Collegeville, PA – October
11, 2002 – Octagon
Research Solutions, a biopharmaceutical software and
services company and Wireless M2M, a provider of
wireless monitoring and control solutions for
commercial assets, are the most recent additions to
the roster of start-up companies working with T.
Williams Consulting, Inc. (TWC)'s Business Launch
team. TWC's Business Launch services help early
stage companies prepare for their first
institutional financing by making rapid, focused
improvements to their businesses. The goal is to
position clients as 'Investments of Choice',
increasing their odds of getting funded and
shortening the time to funding, which is especially
difficult in this soft investment market.
"Many start-up companies are approaching
investors prematurely," said Dan McKinney,
managing director of TWC's Business Launch services.
"And once investors have formed an impression,
it's difficult to reposition without looking
unfocused. We help companies make the right first
impression."
TWC has formed close affiliations with the VC
community, enabling them to advise companies on what
investors are looking for. TWC's methodology and
tools identify and focus on the critical issues, so
companies spend time on what matters to get funding.
"In general terms, we are seeing significant
improvement in both the quantity and quality of deal
flow, because we now have some well thought-out
plans managed by seasoned teams," said venture
capitalist E. Michael Forgash, partner, Zon Capital
Partners. "However, in quite a number of cases,
we are still getting plans from companies that
believe they are prepared, but in actuality are not
yet investor ready."
According to Octagon's President and CEO Jim Walker,
seeking professional guidance was a sensible choice.
"Although Octagon was already achieving success
when we contacted TWC, we realized that we needed a
strategic partner to take our company to the next
level. With their strong investor network, TWC has
helped us to open the doors to many funding sources
that were difficult to access in the past. They've
shepherded us through their investment process,
helping us to crystallize our marketing strategy and
better communicate our value proposition to target
audiences."
Wireless M2M's CEO Bill Bradfield added,
"Wireless M2M is a new company. Our controlGen
management and control solution is a hot application
but we are in an increasingly crowded space. Our
management philosophy has been to keep fixed costs
at a minimum as we build the business. As a result,
we have used third party help with engineering,
manufacturing, and software development. Using TWC
to help with our strategic activities was just
another instance of staying true to our low fixed
cost model: we had a lot of strategic work to do and
we did not want to hire full time folks to do it. We
needed the structure TWC could provide while we were
all running at 100 miles per hour getting the
business started."
The TWC Business Launch methodology begins with a
gap analysis of a client's current state versus its
perfect, funding state. This provides a roadmap that
highlights where focused business improvements need
to be made.
"Our approach is unique," said McKinney.
"This is not a investor presentation 'bootcamp'.
We believe that investor readiness starts with
having the right business fundamentals in place. Our
management consulting is aimed at making business
improvements that increase a client's odds of
getting funded, as well as improving its business
operations."
"We also introduce clients to our investor
network; but that's not the hard part,"
continues McKinney. "Most companies can get a
meeting. Its making it past the first meeting and
through due diligence that requires the right
business fundamentals and a crisp way of
articulating that model to investors."
About TWC
Founded in 1996, TWC is a
world-class management consulting firm that shapes
companies to succeed. We provide a single point of
contact for the outsourcing of critical needs,
including Business Launch Consulting, Human Capital
Solutions, and Strategic Assessments. From start-ups
to Fortune 1000 firms, our track record of helping
companies achieve success is impressive and includes
experience in Biotech, Energy, Financial Services,
Information Technology, Optics, Pharmaceuticals,
Telecommunications, and Wireless. For more
information about TWC, please contact Lisa Sarachman
610-489-2626, ext. 106 or e-mail l.sarachman@twilliams.com.
About Octagon Research Solutions, Inc.
Founded in 1999, Octagon Research Solutions is
profitably helping many of the leading
biopharmaceutical companies dramatically reduce
their drug development costs and time to market.
Octagon is the only company providing proprietary
software and services spanning the entire drug
development cycle from trial to submission.
About Wireless M2M
Through its controlGen, Inc. subsidiary, Wireless
M2M offers its patent pending process for monitoring
and controlling remote assets to firms in the
agricultural, industrial and energy markets.
<< Return to Press Archive
|
|
|
| | © Copyright 2006, NextStage Capital L.P. |
|