Venture capitalists across the U.S. invested a combined $4.8 billion in 637 deals during the third quarter of 2009, as dollar volume rose 17 percent over the second quarter. A year ago, $7.2 billion was invested in 994 companies.
Fueling activity during the three months ended Sept. 30 were surges in the clean technology and biotech sectors, according to the quarterly MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National Venture Capital Association, based on Thomson Reuters data.
Biotech received the highest level of funding as $905 million went into 104 transactions. Clean tech counted $898 million invested in 57 deals.
“The third quarter illustrates a gradual and deliberate industry shift towards a longer term venture capital investment strategy,” NVCA President Mark Heesen said in a statement. “Venture capitalists are becoming increasingly focused on industry sectors which require multiple funding rounds of financing for an extended time horizon.”
He said companies in area such as clean tech and life sciences require significant capital, often over a 10-12 year period, meaning a longer time toward a successful exit where the venture capitalist can deploy capital earned into new investments.
“This is not to suggest that the venture capital industry will abandon short-term IT investment,” Heesen said. “Rather, the mix of investments will become much more balanced.”
Tracy Lefteroff, global managing partner of PwC’s venture capital practice said investments for the full year are expected to exceed the $15 billion mark.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Small firms seek broad access to health exchanges
Small business groups are lobbying Congress to allow firms with as many as 100 employees to purchase health insurance through new exchanges that would be created through health care reform legislation.
These Web-based exchanges would offer individuals and small businesses standardized, easy-to-compare information about insurance plans available in their area. Under the Senate Finance Committee's bill, insurers could offer the same plan anywhere in the country through state-based exchanges.
These reforms would help bring down the cost of health insurance by bringing more competition to the insurance market, expanding the risk pool, pooling small businesses' purchasing power and reducing administrative costs, business groups contend.
Having a national plan as option in the exchange is "really important," said Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, because it would provide efficiencies of scale and more choices to small businesses in states where the small group market is dominated by one or two insurers.
The National Federation of Independent Business and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce agree. They contend giving small businesses the ability to shop for insurance across state lines is vital to increasing competition in the health insurance marketplace.
Both groups view the Senate Finance Committee's bill as the best approach to health care reform so far, even though they have serious concerns about some of its provisions. The Senate Finance Committee bill makes more small businesses eligible to purchase insurance through the exchanges than do the health care reform bills passed by other committees in Congress.
Plus, the committee's bill doesn't include a government-run insurance plan as an option in the exchange -- a proposal that NFIB, the chamber and many other business groups fear would undermine the private insurance market.
The Obama administration has not taken endorsed any of the bills over the others, but letting more small businesses participate in the exchanges is a "very positive" step, said Gene Sperling, a counselor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
The exchanges would allow "a microbusiness to get health care with the same administrative costs as Microsoft for the first very first time," Sperling said.
Self-employed seek tax equity
Snowe, who is the ranking Republican on the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, and the panel's chair, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., also hope to convince their colleagues to include tax equity for the self-employed in the final version of health care reform.
Self-employed individuals can deduct the cost of health insurance from their federal income taxes. But current law doesn't allow them to take this deduction before they compute their 15.3 percent self-employment tax, which covers both the employer's and the employee's share of Social Security and Medicare (FICA) contributions.
This situation costs a self-employed individual who pays $4,500 a year for health insurance an extra $688.50 in self-employment taxes.
"No other worker or employer in the United States is required to pay FICA taxes on any portion of their employer-sponsored health benefits," said Keith Ashmus, co-founding partner of Frantz Ward law firm in Celveland and chair of the National Small Business Association. "With health insurance costs already sky-high, our members find it unbelievable that the federal government would slap an extra tax on those who have the hardest time securing coverage in the first place."
This inequity is particularly troublesome since all of the health care reform bills before Congress require that self-employed individuals purchase health insurance, said John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of Small Business Majority.
"In many cases, those who are already insured will be required to purchase greater coverage at additional cost," he said. "Yet the self-employed are at a disadvantage because the tax code does not allow them to fully deduct the cost of their health insurance, as larger businesses can."
The Congressional Budget Office estimates it would cost $33 billion over 10 years to provide tax equity to the self-employed on health insurance, Landrieu said. That's a lot of money, she said, but it's dwarfed by other expenditures in the health care reform bills, which are projected to cost $829 billion to $1 trillion or more.
Finding money this money may be difficult, but Snowe and Landrieu enjoy strong bargaining positions: Both of their votes are needed in order for health care reform to pass the Senate.
These Web-based exchanges would offer individuals and small businesses standardized, easy-to-compare information about insurance plans available in their area. Under the Senate Finance Committee's bill, insurers could offer the same plan anywhere in the country through state-based exchanges.
These reforms would help bring down the cost of health insurance by bringing more competition to the insurance market, expanding the risk pool, pooling small businesses' purchasing power and reducing administrative costs, business groups contend.
Having a national plan as option in the exchange is "really important," said Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, because it would provide efficiencies of scale and more choices to small businesses in states where the small group market is dominated by one or two insurers.
The National Federation of Independent Business and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce agree. They contend giving small businesses the ability to shop for insurance across state lines is vital to increasing competition in the health insurance marketplace.
Both groups view the Senate Finance Committee's bill as the best approach to health care reform so far, even though they have serious concerns about some of its provisions. The Senate Finance Committee bill makes more small businesses eligible to purchase insurance through the exchanges than do the health care reform bills passed by other committees in Congress.
Plus, the committee's bill doesn't include a government-run insurance plan as an option in the exchange -- a proposal that NFIB, the chamber and many other business groups fear would undermine the private insurance market.
The Obama administration has not taken endorsed any of the bills over the others, but letting more small businesses participate in the exchanges is a "very positive" step, said Gene Sperling, a counselor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
The exchanges would allow "a microbusiness to get health care with the same administrative costs as Microsoft for the first very first time," Sperling said.
Self-employed seek tax equity
Snowe, who is the ranking Republican on the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, and the panel's chair, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., also hope to convince their colleagues to include tax equity for the self-employed in the final version of health care reform.
Self-employed individuals can deduct the cost of health insurance from their federal income taxes. But current law doesn't allow them to take this deduction before they compute their 15.3 percent self-employment tax, which covers both the employer's and the employee's share of Social Security and Medicare (FICA) contributions.
This situation costs a self-employed individual who pays $4,500 a year for health insurance an extra $688.50 in self-employment taxes.
"No other worker or employer in the United States is required to pay FICA taxes on any portion of their employer-sponsored health benefits," said Keith Ashmus, co-founding partner of Frantz Ward law firm in Celveland and chair of the National Small Business Association. "With health insurance costs already sky-high, our members find it unbelievable that the federal government would slap an extra tax on those who have the hardest time securing coverage in the first place."
This inequity is particularly troublesome since all of the health care reform bills before Congress require that self-employed individuals purchase health insurance, said John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of Small Business Majority.
"In many cases, those who are already insured will be required to purchase greater coverage at additional cost," he said. "Yet the self-employed are at a disadvantage because the tax code does not allow them to fully deduct the cost of their health insurance, as larger businesses can."
The Congressional Budget Office estimates it would cost $33 billion over 10 years to provide tax equity to the self-employed on health insurance, Landrieu said. That's a lot of money, she said, but it's dwarfed by other expenditures in the health care reform bills, which are projected to cost $829 billion to $1 trillion or more.
Finding money this money may be difficult, but Snowe and Landrieu enjoy strong bargaining positions: Both of their votes are needed in order for health care reform to pass the Senate.
Following every leadIT consulting firm has carved niche for growth
MORRISVILLE – Pradeep Palreddy is sitting in his IT consulting company’s small headquarters explaining his outlook on business.
Think about all the companies that are within a five-mile radius of the office, he says. The vast majority aren’t customers of his. But it’s what he says next that gives you an insight into how he’s wired.
“They could be,” says Palreddy, whose contagious drive and optimism have helped grow Keshav Consulting to 130 employees in five-and-a-half years. Palreddy likes to describe himself as a meat and potatoes kind of guy with a strong work ethic. He’s convinced that he can land a target customer’s business if he can just tell them his story, which combines his background with Keshav’s sales pitch.
“He has a passion,” says Lennox Superville, a senior technology adviser for Keshav. “He follows through on every lead.”
Palreddy is CEO of the firm, which he co-owns with brothers-in-law Ram Shapuram and Praveen Reddy. They named the company, which was founded in March 2004, after Shapuram’s son, Keshav.
While the firm is based in Morrisville, it employs only about nine people in the Triangle. Several dozen work at client offices around the country, while about 80 are based at the company’s software development center in Hyderabad, India.
Palreddy hails from Hyderabad. He came to the U.S. about nine years ago to pursue a master’s degree in computer science from Frostburg State University in Maryland. He eventually found a home in the Triangle, where he threw himself into building Keshav.
There are a lot of IT consulting firms similar to Keshav, and many of them have more resources and employees to throw at big contracts. Palreddy has found a niche landing projects in the range of $50,000 to several hundred thousand dollars. He says the company’s annual revenue is in the range of $5 million to $10 million.
One of the strengths of a smaller consulting firm such as Keshav is that customers can have direct contact with the CEO. When Keshav clients communicate with Palreddy, they know they’re talking to someone who has the authority to make things happen.
“You can get a definitive answer to a question right away,” says Michael Eastman, chief information officer for Thrift Recycling Management Inc., which has used Keshav’s services in the past.
Eastman says Keshav employees are courteous and polite, and adds that the firm’s administration was easy to work with. Thrift Recycling Management, which is based near Seattle, sells used books online.
The nature of Keshav’s business is service, not products. That means many of the firm’s employees have to work directly with clients for months or years at a time. For that reason, Palreddy is careful about who he hires.
Being a good programmer isn’t enough. Job candidates also must be able to fit in while working in client offices. “I am willing to wait for the right people,” Palreddy says.
Like most companies, Keshav has seen business slow in recent months. But Palreddy says he has seen some signs that make him hopeful that business will pick up in the first quarter of 2010.
Superville says one important challenge for Keshav right now is to continue to be strategic in the way it goes after new business. It’s a message that could apply to many firms during this recession.
In a slowdown, some firms get desperate and pursue any business they think they can get. While adjustments must be made based on market conditions, Superville says, it’s important to correctly line up resources with the jobs being pursued.
Think about all the companies that are within a five-mile radius of the office, he says. The vast majority aren’t customers of his. But it’s what he says next that gives you an insight into how he’s wired.
“They could be,” says Palreddy, whose contagious drive and optimism have helped grow Keshav Consulting to 130 employees in five-and-a-half years. Palreddy likes to describe himself as a meat and potatoes kind of guy with a strong work ethic. He’s convinced that he can land a target customer’s business if he can just tell them his story, which combines his background with Keshav’s sales pitch.
“He has a passion,” says Lennox Superville, a senior technology adviser for Keshav. “He follows through on every lead.”
Palreddy is CEO of the firm, which he co-owns with brothers-in-law Ram Shapuram and Praveen Reddy. They named the company, which was founded in March 2004, after Shapuram’s son, Keshav.
While the firm is based in Morrisville, it employs only about nine people in the Triangle. Several dozen work at client offices around the country, while about 80 are based at the company’s software development center in Hyderabad, India.
Palreddy hails from Hyderabad. He came to the U.S. about nine years ago to pursue a master’s degree in computer science from Frostburg State University in Maryland. He eventually found a home in the Triangle, where he threw himself into building Keshav.
There are a lot of IT consulting firms similar to Keshav, and many of them have more resources and employees to throw at big contracts. Palreddy has found a niche landing projects in the range of $50,000 to several hundred thousand dollars. He says the company’s annual revenue is in the range of $5 million to $10 million.
One of the strengths of a smaller consulting firm such as Keshav is that customers can have direct contact with the CEO. When Keshav clients communicate with Palreddy, they know they’re talking to someone who has the authority to make things happen.
“You can get a definitive answer to a question right away,” says Michael Eastman, chief information officer for Thrift Recycling Management Inc., which has used Keshav’s services in the past.
Eastman says Keshav employees are courteous and polite, and adds that the firm’s administration was easy to work with. Thrift Recycling Management, which is based near Seattle, sells used books online.
The nature of Keshav’s business is service, not products. That means many of the firm’s employees have to work directly with clients for months or years at a time. For that reason, Palreddy is careful about who he hires.
Being a good programmer isn’t enough. Job candidates also must be able to fit in while working in client offices. “I am willing to wait for the right people,” Palreddy says.
Like most companies, Keshav has seen business slow in recent months. But Palreddy says he has seen some signs that make him hopeful that business will pick up in the first quarter of 2010.
Superville says one important challenge for Keshav right now is to continue to be strategic in the way it goes after new business. It’s a message that could apply to many firms during this recession.
In a slowdown, some firms get desperate and pursue any business they think they can get. While adjustments must be made based on market conditions, Superville says, it’s important to correctly line up resources with the jobs being pursued.
Intel® Ethernet Controllers
Intel offers a complete line of industry-leading, single- and multi-port 10 gigabit, gigabit, and fast Ethernet controllers with integrated MAC and PHY, providing high performance, low power consumption, and a smaller footprint. Offering 10 Gbps, 1 Gbps, and 100 Mbps network connections, PCI Express* (PCIe), PCI, PCI-X, or LCI bus interfaces, 16, 32 or 64 bit architecture, Intel produces Ethernet controllers that enable faster, smaller, and simpler designs.
Intel® My WiFi Technology
Building on the advanced Wi-Fi features of Intel Centrino®: 2, Intel My Wifi Technology creates a mobile Wi-Fi Personal Area Network (Wi-Fi PAN)1 on select models of notebook computers. This new Wi-Fi capability allows simple, more secure and direct Wi-Fi connections for up to eight Wi-Fi Certified* devices.
Mobile broadband on the go
WiMAX extends broadband connectivity beyond WiFi hotspots, enabling faster download speeds and metro-wide connectivity. To take advantage of existing WiFi hotspots and to offer service beyond them, Intel provides WiFi and WiMAX connectivity in a highly compact module on Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology notebooks. Take your high-speed internet with you around town with WiMAX-enabled Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology.
How can I tell if I am connected to a hotspot access point
Open your browser window. If you are connected to an access point the Internet Service Provider (ISP) login page for the hotspot location should load. Alternatively there may be a wireless network icon in the Windows* System Tray (by default located in the left bottom corner of your desktop) that may provide this information
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