Transcript MIT Venture Mentoring Service

Alec Dingee, Founding Chairman
MIT Venture Mentoring Service
A free service, founded in 2000, supporting
entrepreneurs emerging from the MIT
community:
– students
– graduates
– faculty
– staff
VMS Philanthropic Base
• Original founding gifts of $1 million
• Mentors’ donation of significant time, energy, and
expertise (over 8,000 mentor hours in 2008)
• Chairman, Director, and Co-Directors are volunteer
positions, supported by a small paid staff
• Involvement of hosting institution (MIT)
The Need
• Current economy puts additional pressure on
new ventures
• Speed of current product-to-market cycle
means entrepreneurs have little time to learn
• Technologies emerging from university labs
need more entrepreneurs to bring them to
marketplace
• Need for new entrepreneurs who are effective
leaders to keep U.S. economy competitive
VMS Goals
• To educate new entrepreneurs about the
venture creation process
• To build entrepreneurial leadership
• To connect the worlds of academia and
business
• To create successful ventures
VMS Mentoring is Based on Two
Basic Concepts
• A fledgling venture is more likely to thrive
when an idea, a good business plan, and an
entrepreneur are matched with proven skills
and experience
• Successful entrepreneurs can be motivated to
volunteer time and expertise – and many find
the mentoring process compelling and
rewarding
How Does VMS Work?
• Services are free and confidential – no conflict of
interest, no strings attached
• Commitment to an entrepreneur is long-term
• Ventures are screened, assessed, and assigned a
mentor team
• Entrepreneurs have access to a wide variety of
professional resources, contacts, skills seminars
• Monthly mentor meetings to review all VMS
ventures
What Makes VMS Different?
• Focus on professional education: learning by
doing
• Leverage of MIT’s education mission, reputation,
and resources
• Strict ethical guidelines and rigorous screening
for mentors and entrepreneurs create an
unbiased process
• High mentor quality through personal referral
and rigorous screening; becoming a VMS mentor
is considered prestigious
• A culture of collegiality and trust
VMS Mentors
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135 current mentors
Most with start up experience
Almost half non-MIT
CEOs, CTOs, and founders of companies such as
Bose, Analog Devices, Boston Scientific, and many
high-growth technology companies such as BlueFin
Robotics, Progress Software, and Excelergy
• Broad range of
– backgrounds
– technical and industry expertise
– business expertise
VMS Ventures and Entrepreneurs
• 1,259 entrepreneurs served
• 706 ventures served
• VMS ventures have raised over $560 million in
funding
VMS Ventures
• Vela Systems, Inc. – Mobile software for field
activities in construction and capital project
management
• Corestreet, Ltd. – Infrastructure and software for
security and smart credentials
• Myomo, Inc. – Pioneers of neurorobotics, a new class
of non-invasive medical device technology
• SmartCells, Inc. – Polymer-based dosing technology
for treatment of diabetes
VMS Outreach
• Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation grant awarded to VMS to
document its methodology and systems for use by other
organizations
• Outreach workshops, funded in part by Kauffman Foundation
• Mentoring programs based on the VMS model are being
planned by 12 institutions and have already been established
at:
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Innovate St. Louis (Washington University)
Boston University
MaRS Centre (Toronto)
Yale University
• First Founders, providing experienced start-up entrepreneurs
for emerging technologies
Ensuring the Future of VMS
Additional Funding needed:
• Endowment to guarantee ongoing operations
of VMS
– Seed money from four donors already
committed
• Funding to make program improvements and
enhancements
• Funding to continue and improve outreach
and transfer of methodology to other
organizations and institutions