PitchBook publishes VC Fundraising and Overhang Report

In the world of entrepreneurship, venture capital (VC) funding is paramount.  VC deals, especially those of the big, sexy, multimillion-dollar variety, are headline grabbers and the stuff of water-cooler conversation in towns like Austin and San Francisco. All that money has to come from somewhere though, right?  What about VC fundraising?  When a VC firm raises a fund, it rarely makes front page news.  Nevertheless, whether or not VCs are able to raise funds is a critical indicator of the broader health of the capital markets and how much money is out there for budding entrepreneurs.  For this reason, I was pleasantly surprised when a colleague emailed me a copy of PitchBook’s “1H 2013 Venture Capital Fundraising and Capital Overhang Report.”

As the title suggests, the report looks at two metrics: VC-fund overhang and VC fundraising.  The first of these, overhang, is a measure of how much money in a private equity fund remains uncalled.  In general, as Mark Heesen of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) notes, a high-level of overhang signals a “potential bubble, as VCs, in their quest to find a home for this bucket of un-invested capital, would presumably fund too many companies.”  Conversely, low overhang results from poor fundraising and suggests anemia in the capital markets.

The second of these, fundraising, is a more self-explanatory metric.  Before investing in companies, VCs typically try to raise a fund of a particular size ($100M, $1B, etc.).  Once they have hit their mark, or have at least come pretty close, they start to invest the fund in companies.

Of these two metrics, the  report is primarily focuses on VC fundraising.  As such, the majority of the report is dedicated to discussing fundraising levels and trends from the early 2000s through 2012.  A discussion and analysis of 2013-levels of  overhang frames the report’s fundraising coverage.

The tone of the report is accessible.  You don’t have to have a degree in finance to make sense of it.  The graphics are rich, informative and approachable.  Furthermore, the report is very clear on what types of funds they are covering and those that they are not (e.g. the report doesn’t include angel investment or corporate VC funding totals etc.), leaving no confusion for novice readers.   Bottom Line: I’m a fan.  This report, when combined with info from the NVCA, helps to paint a clear picture of what's happening in the world of venture capital.

Get the VC Fundraising and Overhang report HERE

Get Pitchbook’s 2013 VC run down HERE

NOTE: pitchbook requires you to enter your contact info to download these reports directly from the site.  However, expert Googlers can get around this by doing a simple file-type search.

Librarian or Model? TXLA Presents: Personal Style with a Professional Twist

As many of you know, April and I have been involved with the Special Libraries Division of Texas Library Association for several years. We've talked many times about the idea of doing a librarian fashion show of sorts during one of the annual conferences. Well, this year, our dreams are coming true. We're so excited about this year's TLA Annual Conference featuring the presentation "Personal Style with a Professional Twist". Here's the official description from TXLA:

See stylish outfits for job interviews and day-to-day work wear modeled by real librarians. A Nordstrom personal stylist advises on dressing for different budgets as well as how to wear the same outfit for different occasions.

Late last year, TLA put out a call for models and last week chose six librarians to participate and represent the following categories:

1. Up & Coming - Work attire for library students or librarians in the first 5 years of their career

2. Kiddie Business - Library staff who work with children or young adults

3. I Can Manage - Library staff with more than 3 years of experience and currently working in a management role

4. Guy Style - Just for the men

5. Choose Me - Job interview attire for library students or library staff who are looking for a new job

6. Check Me Out- Library staff working the front line reference or circulation desks

The six librarians chosen have been given a $150 stipend and will meet with a Nordstrom Personal Shopper in their area to pick out an outfit. They'll show off their new duds and talk about their experience during this year's Annual Conference. Additionally, a Personal Shopper from Nordstrom will talk to attendees about outfits for different occasions, including suiting and interview attire. We can't wait to see what everyone is wearing this year! And, of course, we'd love it if some of our Texas librarians ended up on Librarian Wardrobe. The presentation will be Friday, April 26 2:00-3:50.

Special thanks to all the divisions who helped us sponsor this wonderful event: The College and University Libraries Division, Library Support Staff Round Table, New Members Round Table, Public Libraries Division, Reference Round Table and Special Libraries Division. And an extra-special thanks to Ashlynn Kogut, Chair of Reference Round Table, for working so hard to put all this together!

BCC Research Special Offer

BCC Research has a great offer for fans of bizologie! bizologie through a partnership with BCC Research, has arranged for an option to purchase market research reports at a substantial discount.

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Contact your bizologie BCC Research Account Manager, Maura Tobin directly to receive a free demonstration to the BCC Research portal of market studies.

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Seasons Greetings from bizologie!

Wishing you and yours all the best this season. See you in 2013!

Mega Trends for the Holidays! Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds

Every 4 years, the U.S. National Intelligence Council publishes its Global Trends report.  The purpose of the report is to advise policy makers (particularly the president—hence the once-every-four-years timeframe) on the intelligence community’s predictions for the next twenty years.  This year’s report, Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds, covers a variety of global social, environmental, political, economic and technological trends and draws on experts from equally diverse backgrounds.  This report is a gold mine for innovators, educators, policy makers, students and information professionals.  The 2012 global trends report is particularly interesting to folks working in my current field: technology commercialization.  The new edition contains expanded emerging technology coverage and addresses the question: “will technological breakthroughs be developed in time to boost economic productivity and solve problems caused by growing world population, rapid urbanization, and climate change?” (ii)  To answer this critical question, the NIC looked outside of the intelligence community and surveyed scientists and consultants from NASA to Silicon Valley.

Here is just a quick sampling of some of the mega trends forecast by the report:

• Global population will rise to approximately 8.3 billion
• Climate change will lead to a higher frequency of extreme weather events
• Decline in Western share of global wealth
•  Growth in the global middle class

In all, this is a fascinating report and a trusted source for information on global trends.  At 150+ pages, the report is not exactly light reading, but should be in every information professional’s tool chest nevertheless.

You can obtain a copy of the report (FREE) and the three reports that preceded it here.

Casual Friday: Face Retirement

Merrill Edge is helping you Face Retirement. They are convinced that we don't save enough for retirement because we just can't picture ourselves living into our 70s and 80s. By showing you what you will look like in the future they hope to convince you to save for retirement. All I have to say is that it worked. I now believe I should save more - for plastic surgery. If the age progression is correct, I might need a little nip and tuck at 67. Beyond scaring (and possibly scarring) you with a glimpse into your future, the site also provides some cost of living data. See how much a loaf of bread will cost, a gallon gas, or a movie ticket. It is all enough to make you realize that tomorrow will be here before you know it, and it will cost you a lot more to live the same lifestyle.

If you are brave enough it just takes a minute to find out what you'll like 20, 30, 40 years from now. The program uses your webcam to take your picture and begin the aging process. Bonus, you can share right to Facebook if you are so inclined.

So if you are ready to start saving more, find out exactly how much you need using the bizologie favorite tools: retirement planning post.

SEC History

This week, while looking for the major rulings of the SEC, I ran across the SEC Historical Society Timeline. The timeline is a treasure trove of information laid out in an easy to navigate format. "The Timeline highlights significant developments in the history of financial regulation against U.S. and world events. Choose a decade to start, click the arrow button to move through the years, and click on any development to read more". The timeline starts with the depression in the 1930s and go through the Occupy Wall Street marches of 2011. On the timeline you see the SEC regulations juxtaposed with the world events.

In addition to the amazing timeline,  The Virtual Museum & Archive of Financial Regulation also includes:

• Galleries:  Materials from the permanent exhibits on a particular topics
• Papers
• Programs: Broadcast live online
• Oral Histories: Available in video, audio/MP3 and edited transcript formats
• Photos
• Film, Radio and Television

Currently there are only 32 files in the Film, Radio and TV section, but they go back to 1921 and they are definitely worth a look. You can hear Ralph Saul from the American Stock Exchange speaking at the Women's National Democratic Club in 1970 or see 1950s films from the New York Stock Exchange.

Who knew SEC history would be this exciting?

The Information Institute Presents: 21st Century Business Research Tactics And Sources

If you'll be in the Austin area this January and would like a crash course in competitive intelligence, check out this new course presented by The Information Institute from the University of Texas School of Information. The class is called "Boiling the Ocean: 21st Century Business Research Tactics And Sources". Presented by Yours Truly along with Claudia Chidester, Gary Hoover and Joel Lang, who will be sharing all our best business research secrets. This is a 3-Day course from January 7 - January 9, 2013. Check out the description below and you can register for the class here.

Boiling The Ocean: 21st Century Business Research Tactics And Sources: Understanding Difficult-to-Size Markets and their Competitive Landscapes

This is a hands on workshop with industry experts in entrepreneurship and business research that will teach industry standards and the latest tools in the practice. You will receive hands-on practice using resources you've likely never used before.

• Are there any competitors to your new idea?
• If anyone is making money in a particular space?
• Is a particular private company growing or faltering?
• Who your potential customers are?
• How to set up a system of monitoring your competitors or customers and finding new competitors and customers?

Why is this course useful? You'll learn how to:

• Save money: what resources are worth their cost and when is free good enough.
• Save time: understand the 80/20 of research. Tips and tricks.
• Network with other researchers

You will receive hands-on practice using resources you've likely never used before. Solutions like Capital IQ and other subscriptions at the University of Texas and Austin Public Library will be used to develop research strategies. Be sure to bring your own research problems to class—there will be free consultation on strategies.

Who should take this class? Entrepreneurs, legal researchers, development officers, corporate librarians, market researchers, and anyone who wants to learn how to gain a competitive advantage.

Topics Covered

• Does market sizing matter? How the venture capitalists do it. Defining a thesis.
• Where to start: Use what you know. Define what you don't know.
• SEO tools: Compete, Alexa, comScore, Hitwise and Nielsen Online, crowdsourcing
• Database tools: Capital IQ, Thompson One, Bizjournals, Special Issues, Census
• People tools: Zoominfo, Linked-In, Associations
• CI Knowledge management: keeping up to date: Sharepoint, Google products

Online MBA Programs

If you are helping someone find an online MBA program, check out MBAOnline.com. The site offers program rankings and a search by specialty and state. The site offers an online MBA guide, and an Q&A section with information about online MBAs, but what I found most interesting were the interviews with students from different programs. "[The ] interviewees will give you insight, based on personal experience, regarding issues such as the application process, program curriculum and faculty and the job search. These interviews not only cover the basics of pursuing an online MBA, but they also tackle more in depth topics including determining how an online MBA program is legitimate, whether pursuing an online MBA is worth the cost and how employers view online MBAs."

A little research bonus, each of their blog posts includes a great infographic. Check out the recent post on Twinkies.

bizologie Favorite Tools: 10 Minute Mail

Don't you hate when you have to register your email to download that perfect report or gain access to an article? Check out 10 Minute Mail. This free service will give you a temporary email for just such an occasion. "Any e-mails sent to that address will show up automatically on the web page. You can read them, click on links, and even reply to them. The e-mail address will expire after 10 minutes."  Providing a free service that reduces our spam earns 10 Minute Mail a spot on our Favorite Resources page.

Common Craft Explains: The U.S. Election Process

We love Common Craft and their great, simple explanations of complicated subjects. Today on Election Eve, we thought you might like a brief reminder of how our presidential election process works. You can check out other Common Craft explanations (e.g. big data, cloud computing, QR codes and much more) here.

Casual Friday: Tank on Empty

Ever wonder just how far you make it on an empty tank of gas? Check out Tank on Empty to find our just how many miles people have been able to drive with the gas light on in your car's make, model, and year. I like to know I have plenty of gas to get where I'm going, so I don't push my luck since I can't push my car.. But, there have been times where I was a little nervous about getting to the gas stations. Kind of nice to know I probably have a little more fuel to get me to the pump. I do know a few people (won't name any names here) who will just keep on driving long after that light comes on. This site does shows that they are probably just fine going that extra 20 miles. But really, there are quite a few comments about burning up your fuel pump if you actually go completely dry. So not a good idea.

Still kinda fun to see how the experiments went and to learn what others in your car have experienced.

Form D Free For All

Do business research for any length of time and you'll likely be called upon to locate Form Ds. And as we bizologists like to say, why not find them for free? First of all, what is a Form D? Our friends at Investopedia define it as "a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) required for companies that are selling securities in reliance on a Regulation D exemption or Section 4(6) exemption provisions." But for our purposes, let's use a simpler definition. Start-up companies file Form Ds when they raise money. And while there are a couple of paid subscription databases you can use to track down Form Ds, you can also find them on FormDs.com.

FormDs.com, founded by  former private equity firm investor Robert Hunt, offers a couple of paid services like monitoring or custom projects, but you can also get quite a bit of great information for free.

My favorite feature is their "Local FormDs" showing investments in a particular city. I simply click on my city of choice and I see a list of recently funded companies in my area which shows me the date and the amount of funding. Even better, once I click on a particular company, I can see their address, company directors and executives, a link to the actual Form D and, better still, a link to other companies in the same industry.

Speaking of industries, I can also filter by industry, location, amount and dates. And then display these results as a list or as a map. Below you'll see I've created a filter showing all the biotechnology companies recently funded in Texas.

FormDs.com definitely earns a spot on our Favorite Resources page.

"One Card to Rule Them All"

I am not one of those people that uses different credit based on the rewards I get. I have picked one credit card and use if for just about everything. The problem with my plan is that I'm losing out on all those points and cash back offers from credit card companies. Who knows how many vacations I could have had covered by now! Wallaby Financial to the rescue. "Wallaby keeps track of all of the different rewards offers for each of the credit cards you own, including limited-time and one-time discounts... Wallaby automatically picks the right card for you–every time you swipe." So many credit card companies now offer special monthly deals, this month it is on gas and next month you get extra points for restaurants. I would never keep up with this. With Wallaby I don't have to, I just use their card and let them select the best card for the purchase so that I can maximize my points and cash back. Wallaby calls itself "one card to rule them all." Pretty good idea and since they are all about points, I will give them extra points for the geek reference.

How much will will this convenience cost? The rate is $50 per year, and they are offering six months free right now. They are still in beta and they aren't working with private label cards yet, but it sounds like that might be coming soon. Since this isn't a credit card, there is no credit check and you still pay all the bills separately. Now, if they could simplify that last piece it would be even better! I'm going to test it out and see if I can earn enough point for my next flight!

Cycling for Libraries - SLA Texas Chapter 2012

Cycling for Libraries Day 10-11: Last Days on the Road

Day 10 - 47 miles

We began the day by touring the delightful Rakvere Public Library. In the photo above you can see Katarina Jee, Estonia's only bookmobile, parked next to the library.

The Katarina Jee is part of the Tallinn Public Library system, and she followed us throughout our journey from Vilnius to Tallinn. We had many fun events that involved Katarina Jee, including this fantastic performance of a folk song performed by Estonian school librarians.

Later that day we cycled to the Palmse Korts, an amazing restaurant that is on the grounds of one of Estonia's manor house. We had a very tasty meal that included some of the best pork we've ever eaten.

Day 11 - 49 miles

The last day had finally arrived. It was a long ride in a headwind and took forever. I think we were just getting excited to be in Tallinn and to reach the our final destination. When we had lunch at the half way mark, it felt like we had already been riding for the entire day. We had been on the  highway and then took a detour through the forest. When we stopped for lunch we understood why we had taken this route, we walked past the lunch tent to discover this amazing waterfall! What a wonderful surprise and beautiful backdrop to our last lunch on the road.

To pass the time on the long, hard last day. We belted out the hits of the 70s, 80s, and today. We definitely entertained ourselves and our captive audience seemed to enjoy the musical styling of the Texas Girls (the name of our new coverband!). When we hit the city limits of Tallinn we were so excited. Our trip into the center of town was along the coast and we had this incredible view of Old Town. Cycling by the ocean is pretty, but the wind was blowing so hard we had to concentrate on not blowing over.

We cycled through the cobble stoned streets and were greeted for the last time by the smiles, waves, and cheers of the Estonian people. When we got to Freedom Square, we jumped off our bikes and hugged and congratulated everyone. We had done it! We cycled a total of 366 miles over 11 days. We met the most incredible librarians from around the world and we were changed by the international experience off a lifetime. Where are we going next year?

By April Kessler and Karen Holt of Librarian Lifestyle. April & Karen are librarians at the University of Texas at Austin.

The Looming Red Herring Shortage: How the JOBS Act Affects CI Analysts and Business Researchers

This April (4/05/2012), President Obama signed the landmark Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act into law.  The law is designed to encourage entrepreneurship both by making it easier and safer to go public and by relaxing certain fundraising requirements imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  The act also has some profound consequences for business researchers and CI analysts, as it changes the SEC filing requirements that certain types of companies (Emerging Growth Companies) have to follow when preparing to go public. Emerging Growth Companies—A New Category Under the JOBS Act

Before jumping into the new SEC filing requirements under the JOBS Act, it is first useful to discuss the types of companies that the new rules apply to: Emerging Growth Companies.  Quite simply, Emerging Growth Companies (hereafter EGCs) are those that posted revenues of under $1 billion during their most recent fiscal year.  Most IPO-bound companies, with some notable exceptions like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), meet this criteria.  In fact, according to David Westenberg of the high-tech business and economics news sight Xconomy, 90% of all companies that went public prior to December 8^th, 2011 would have qualified as EGCs under the JOBS Act.  Thus, the changes in the JOBS act will impact the vast majority of companies that plan to file an IPO in the future.

But what about the actual changes to SEC filing requirements?

New Filing Rules under the JOBS Act:

Under the JOBS act, EGCs are able to confidentially file drafts of their registration statement (S-1) for non-public review prior to their actual public filing (adventurous readers might want to check out the full text of the law HERE, specifically Part I section 106).  An EGC's S-1 is only made public 21 days before it conducts a roadshow (if you’re not familiar with the term “road show” as it applies to IPO filings, here’s how Investopedia defines it: Road shows refer to when the management of a company that is issuing securities or doing an initial public offering (IPO) travels around the country to give presentations to analysts, fund managers and potential investors.)

So why should librarians, researchers and CI professionals take notice?  There are two reasons that this provision of the JOBS act makes our job more difficult:

No Red Herring Left Behind…

Each year, multiple companies withdraw their IPO as a result of poor market conditions or lacking investor enthusiasm.  In the past, when a company decided to withdraw its IPO, it did so knowing that valuable and previously confidential information about the business would remain in the public record.  With the new confidential filing rules, companies that decide to withdraw their initial public offering can now do so without leaving behind a so called “red herring” S-1 statement (i.e. a publically available draft of their S-1).  With the new confidential filing provisions in the JOBS Act, unless EGCs get to the point of conducting a roadshow, no one will have access to their business plan.

7 Week Wait for S-1 Filings?

How long will we have to wait for new S-1 filings to enter the public record?

According to Gus Fuldner, a VP at Benchmark Capital in Menlo Park California, the time commitment between filing to go public and actually selling shares on the open market can be as long as 10 weeks. Why?  Often, companies will have to bounce several drafts of their S-1 statement prior to the roadshow, which usually occurs in the final three weeks leading up to the sale of shares on the open market.   This means that interested parties could have to wait as long as seven weeks to get access to an IPO-bound company’s business plan. This is not a huge deal, but still could cause frustrating delays for researchers.

Less Transparency: More IPOs

The JOBS act is a very interesting piece of legislation that will have a tremendous impact on the American economy.  While I have outlined a couple annoying aspects of the legislation, keep in mind that the ultimate goal of the so called “IPO On Ramp” (the nickname of Part I of the law), is to simplify the process of issuing a public offering.  This, in turn, should lead to a steadily rising number of IPOs in the coming years.  More IPOs means more public companies and more S-1s, 10Ks and 10Qs for us all to sink our teeth into.

Stay tuned: in my next post I will be describing some of the new scaled back disclosure requirements in the JOBS Act and how these affect what information researchers will have access to.

Casual Friday: A future made of Glass

A glimpse into the future. An amazing glass house brought to you by Corning. I've been on lots of home tours and have seen the mirrors that display video, but the future brings us a mirrored touch screen. And, I love the glass countertops that turn into video screens when you put your phone down -- pretty awesome!

Cycling for Libraries Day 7-9: From Mountain Retreats to the City

Day 7 - 30 miles We left the mountain trails for actual mountains during the next stretch of the trip. This part of Estonia is called the Switzerland of the Baltics and now we know why. We cycled in the same spot the Russians send their Olympic skiers to train in the summer! The ride to Otepää was actually pretty short but the climbs were incredibly difficult. If you could get some momentum from the down hill, you could make up the next hill a little easier. That meant we were doing some serious flying downhill. Very fun, but kinda scary too. We visited just one local library, and then stopped early for the day at the mountain ski resort for some much needed R&R. We had a dip in the lake, a sweat in the sauna, and a soak in the hot tub. Just what our worn out bodies needed.

The sauna in Otepää

Day 8 - 55 miles

We call this part of the ride the highway to hell. We were actually on the way to the lovely Tartu and the scenery around us was gorgeous, but it was difficult and scary to ride single file along a busy highway. Because we could not talk to our peers, we realized how much we appreciated the library discussions that keep our minds busy and buzzing.

We stopped in the little town of Elva to tour their beautiful library.

This is also where Karen's bike got arrested.

We also visited a little public library in Ülenurme, which is on the outskirts of Tartu. They had charming little nooks in their library where you could visit with friends.

Once we arrived at some very nice dorms in Tartu, we cleaned ourselves up and met as a group for a discussion on library issues like marketing and publishing. It was very interesting to learn more about how libraries in other countries tackle issues like eBooks. We have so much in common, but when the topic turned to copyright we learned so much about we differ as well. We take the concept of Interlibrary Loan for granted in the States, but it is not the norm in Europe.

That evening we were free to explore the city of Tartu on our own and we went to the seriously amazing Italian restaurant, La Dolce Vita, which we would highly recommend to anyone traveling to Tartu. Thanks to our new Cycling for Libraries friend, Eve, for the recommendation!

Eve & April in the Ülenurme Public Library

Day 9 - 10 miles

This day involved very little biking. We spent the morning and afternoon in Tartu. We rode by Tartu University Library, the oldest and largest research library in Estonia. Then, after meeting the mayor and riding with him to the Tartu Public Library, we had a discussion about book publishing by libraries in Finland and Estonia. The Tallinn Public Library works with a local author to publish a book each year and then every 2nd grade student in Tallinn gets their own copy. The catch is that this book isn't for sale. It is only available from the library. Of course this limited printing makes it quite special for the country. All the kids and teachers are trying to get their hands on this hot commodity!

The discussion was followed by a special session on erBooks. Because libraries in Estonia can't buy eBooks, the Tartu Public Library has partnered with the Estonian Literary Museum to convert print books in eBooks, and one of the leaders of this project gave a very interesting demonstration for us on how they convert the books into a digital format.

Mural in the Tartu Central Library.

Next, we took a bus ride to Rakvere. That evening we went to the historic castle ruins, which featured a reenactment of castle life.

And then we had a lovely dinner and danced to a local rock band. Like we always say, there's no party like a librarian party.

American Business Leaders of the 20th Century...

...is  brought to you courtesy of Harvard.  We tip our hats to them for making a free and searchable database with hundreds of prominent business people from last century.  As they (Harvard that is) state,  this was, "an effort to identify and chronicle the lives of 20th century men and women whose business leadership shaped the ways that people live, work, and interact." Well it's a great effort, and the result is a good-looking and straightforward browsable list/advanced search interface, wherein you can narrow by basic demographic factors like gender, birthplace, and education.  (It's not unlike playing the Guess Who? boardgame, am I right?!)  Individual-level results also include a small blurb about their business success.  Oh and even better, if you ask nicely, they can apparently send you data in an Excel Spreadsheet.