The "Marchmont-UNN Venture LAB" is a new project being jointly developed by "Marchmont Capital Partners" and the Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod.
The new Venture LAB is a consulting and advisory center which is focused on supporting the University in its efforts to commercialize its new high-tech discoveries - into real products and services which can be sold in Russia and into global markets through the University`s partners.
A leading us example of how the Venture LAB will work can be seen by reviewing the activities of MIT's Deshpande Center (http://deshpande.mit.edu/) in Cambridge Massachusetts. We will start small here in Nizhni Novgorod in 2013, but we expect to grow into a serious "proof of concept" commercialization center within the next three years.
During 2013, the Venture LAB will organize the following services and activities:
1) 1/2 day monthly "Master Class" training program, starting in March - December, which Kendrick White will create and lead and which will be open to 25-30 UNN students, and also students from other NN educational instructions as well.
The program will focus on the A - Z process of commercializing technologies from the idea stage to the preparation of real business projects; sessions will include programs and advice on how to fill in RVC infra fund and RVC seed fund, as well as Skolkovo Foundation grant application forms.
Here is a listing of some of our experts and speakers whom we plan to invite to participate in our monthly Master class series:
2) The Venture LAB will offer a monthly "open door" program on Friday afternoon where any UNN students can come to visit with me between 15:00 - 17:00 and "pitch" to me their ideas and I will spend at least 20 minutes which each project. Appointments can be made in advance with Alyona Polovinkina, but are not obligatory;
3) The Venture LAB will initiate a bi-monthly "TGIF Pitch-Nite" program starting in 3q13, which will work to secure both speakers from Moscow as well as local Sponsors. The three hour program should be based in a convenient local NN club on a Friday night (17:00 - 20:00), and will allow for 4-6 project to make ten minute pitches of their project ideas to a jury of local and Moscow based business angels;
Participants can be identified via the local "Start", "Umnic" and "BIT-konkorse" as well as other applicants. The Venture LAB will manage the program, but it will organized together with the Innovation Technology Center, the BIT-konkurs, the Eureka project Entrepreneurship Center and other participants and co-sponsors and co-organizers which we will jointly invite to join;
4) Marchmont Media will support ALL efforts and programs of both UNN and the Venture LAB; press releases will be prepared and published, regular interviews will be created and blogs may be started and shown on the Marchmontnews.com website.
5) The Venture LAB will provide his Expert Opinion on up to four projects per month submitted to it by the UNN and its affiliates and partners. This part of work can be called the "Express Assessment" of the commercial potential of the given projects. The Assessment will be provided verbally to the project initiators, as well as a summary page in writing on each project as part of the LAB's KPI's.
The Venture LAB will commit up to three hours of cumulative meetings for consultations with each of the four projects, per any given month for a commitment of up to 12 hours per month on individual consultations;
6) Marchmont Capital Partners will endeavor to use all of its resources available to promote the given projects developed by the Venture LAB , and seek out next round investments and or strategic partners for the project to work with going forward;
7) Marchmont and UNN plan to work jointly to prepare additional grant financing proposals in 2013 for the Venture LAB to use which can be used to finance the expansion of each of the projects mentioned above and add new programming to the core work of the Venture LAB.
8) The Venture LAB will work to develop regional relationships with partner innovation and academic support organizations in surrounding regions, and seek to promote UNN's Innovation Corridor as a platform to promote the commercialization of regional russian projects into the US market via the Maryland state university International Incubator.
9) The Venture LAB will work to promote UNN to the USRF and seek ways to expand the university's relationship in the Eureka Program and with its US partners at Maryland State University, Purdue and UCLA as well as the US sub contractor American Councils.
10) The Marchmont-UNN Venture LAB will seek to promote specifically UNN and Nizhny Novgorod in general as a key high profile leading Innovation Cluster in Russia in both IT and Medical Instruments, and to grow this reputation through the development and promotion of success stories which can secure further growth capital in Moscow and beyond.
Finally, the Venture LAB is planning to offer the below 3 Day Master class program for interested partners wishing to better understand how other regions could use a mechanism to improve the Commercialization efforts of their scientific know how.
Additional information you could get by telephone in Nizhny Novgorod +7 (831) 434 59 11 ( extra 125)
or by email:
Ryabinina Alyona, PR-manager a.ryabinina@marchmont.ru>
Polovinkina Alyona, Personal assistant to General Director a.polovinkina@marchmont.ru
Participation in forums, sponsorship and advertising: Events & PR Department MARCHMONT Capital Partners Alyona Ryabinina, e-mail a.ryabinina@marchmont.ru