alec dingee, founding chairman. mit venture mentoring service a free service, founded in 2000,...
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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
• 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:
• 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