Steve Hoagland <xxxxxx@ODUVM.BITNET> wites:
>
>I am interested the experiences of your institution in establishing and
>implementing policies, programs, etc. designed for purposes of venture
>capital finances.  What is your institution doing in terms of venture
>capital arrangements?  How does it relate to the region in which the
>institution resides?  What lessons are there in the evolution of such
>venture capital arrangements?
>
>We have an entrepreneurial center that is exploring various alternatives.
>Your responses and insights will be very useful.  Thank you.

Steve, I suspect you'll want to examine the history at places like Baylor
SOM and UTexas, because they have some success stories to share, but at
UCONN we had the following history.

1.  In 1984 we set up the UCONN R&D Corp., a for-profit subsidiary of
the UCONN Foundation (a 501(c)3 affiliate of the University).  The role
of the R&D Corp was to have right of first refusal on UCONN technologies,
in order to exploit those technologies by setting up spin-off companies.

2.  Over the next 5-6 years UCONN R&D Corp set up a number of spin-offs,
only 1 of which was successfull (the success rate was something like
1/7, which isn't too bad).

3.  Unfortunately, in about 1991, because one of its major income
producers bit the dust, R&D Corp. started into a death spiral from
which it never recovered.

4.  State law prevented the University from ever adequately financing
the R&D Corp., and since it was ultimately dependent upon its income
producing properties for its existence, the R&D Corp folded about 1992.

5.  Since that time the University has sheparded the resolution of the
R&D Corp.'s finances.

6.  Given the state of CT's economy, and its experience, it is unlikely
that the University will choose to go down this road again soon.

I think that the fundamental problems with our experience were lack of
adequate financial backing for the R&D Corp., and marginal productivity
of the technologies which were its basis.

Len

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Leonard P. Paplauskas    Assistant Vice President for Research     |
203-679-3173             University of Connecticut Health Center   |
FAX 679-2670             Farmington, CT   06030-5355               |
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xxxxxx@sun.uchc.edu                                            |
xxxxxx@neuron.uchc.edu                                           |
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