NASVF President Jim Jaffe introduces TechConnect community to organization and its mission
Dear Friends:
I appreciate this opportunity to introduce you to the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF). Our organization, established in 1993, is celebrating its 17th anniversary as an international association which brings together innovation capital leaders: private, public and non-profit organizations committed to building their local economies by investing in local entrepreneurs.
NASVF began as an ad-hoc group of practitioners seeking the best models to encourage capital formation in their states, particularly for new technology ventures. These founders continued to meet each year and in 1997 formally incorporated the group as a not-for-profit named the National Association of State Venture Funds. The name was changed in 2000 to reflect the Association’s expanding service to private sector funds and programs.
Networking is a key benefit of the NASVF, and the Annual Conference is our most important networking event. Participants share their knowledge of the seed and venture capital industry and discuss the best strategies and tools for building and managing strategic investment programs and institutions. Newly formed organizations receive the benefit of different viewpoints, while established companies track new approaches and resources.
The theme for this year’s conference is “Funding Innovation-Accelerating the New Economy”. The conference will be held in Baltimore, Maryland form October 13-15, 2010. Keynote speakers include Aneesh Chopra, United States Chief Technology Officer and Assistant to the President and Associate Director for Technology within the Office of Science & Technology Policy, Sean Greene, Associate Administrator for Investment with the SBA, and Steven Welch serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist and author. Panel experts will explore everything from the current state of innovation capital to best investment practices including new paradigms that foster innovation. To find out more about the NASVF Conference, please log onto our web site at www.nasvf.org.
A special highlight at this year’s event: three sessions focused on working with the federal laboratory system. The Federal Lab Consortium (FLC) is one of the largest research and development organizations in the world and has an annual budget of over $150 Billion, employs 100,000 scientists throughout 700 United States laboratories. The FLC provides exceptional technological assistance to research institutions and emerging technology companies.
We are pleased to have TechConnect as a supporting organization for this year’s Annual Conference, and we look forward to welcoming you to Baltimore in October.
Best regards,
Jim Jaffe
President and CEO
NASVF
