An Interview With Joe Migliaccio, Manager Of Innovative Programs, Maine Technology Institute (Part 3)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Joe: From time to time, the state of Maine may issue bond funds for a program that helps research institutions and companies to secure necessary R&D infrastructure and capital equipment.

That program is closed right now, but we have been going through a process of awarding that money over a couple of years. That was called the Maine Asset Technology Fund. >>>

An Interview With Joe Migliaccio, Manager Of Innovative Programs, Maine Technology Institute (Part 2)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: Could you give me a quick overview of your funding initiatives?

Joe: The core programs that I oversee are primarily direct business investments for products and  services, process innovation, and research and development. >>>

An Interview With Joe Migliaccio, Manager Of Innovative Programs, Maine Technology Institute (Part 1)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

This is the fifty-second interview in our series on financing for entrepreneurs. We are talking to Joe Migliaccio, manager of Innovative Programs at Maine Technology Institute (MTI), an industry-led non-profit corporation that offers early-stage capital and commercialization assistance in the form of competitive grants, loans, and equity investment for tech entrepreneurs in Maine. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Jason Stoffer, Principal at Maveron (Part 6)

Irina: How do you manage your time?

Jason: It’s fluid. If you’re late in diligence on a substantial investment, you’re going to spend an inordinate amount of time working on that. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Jason Stoffer, Principal at Maveron (Part 5)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: What are the usual exit strategies with your portfolio companies?

Jason: Acquisition or IPO. It’s no different from others. We do our best to understand who the strategics are and get to know them within the sectors we invest in.

Irina: Do you have an idea when you want to exit?

Jason: Like most venture funds, we have a 10-year fund life and a five-year new investment period. So, we’re very clear with entrepreneurs that we want to make sure that we’re aligned from the get-go, that the liquidity time horizon, ideally, would be eight years or fewer. We understand that sometimes it extends beyond that, but we want to make sure the entrepreneur understands our limited partner’s needs from a liquidity standpoint, and we try to be aligned going in. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Jason Stoffer, Principal at Maveron (Part 4)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: Are there any other character traits besides leadership that you think are important for entrepreneurs?

Jason: I don’t know how to put it, but a nose for making money. I guess what I love is a quantitative orientation with brand sensibility on top of it. It’s very hard to find people who are metrics driven but also have the ability to understand the essence of a brand. We’re looking for people who can pull that off.

Irina: What do you do with the entrepreneurs you don’t invest in?

Jason: If it’s not a fit for us, I’ll tell people on the spot. If there’s an introduction that makes sense, I’ll make it. I want to make sure there’s value added for both parties. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Jason Stoffer, Principal at Maveron (Part 3)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Jason: For the seed investment, there’s a sliding scale in that the better we think the entrepreneur is, the less validation we need in terms of user traction and business model traction. In other words, for us to back a PowerPoint, we have to think the person is great, and she has to have an excellent track record. For us to back something that has good, early traction, those are the levers. >>>

Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Jason Stoffer, Principal at Maveron (Part 2)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: How many entrepreneurs did you actually incubate?

Jason: In the past 18 months, we’ve funded two PowerPoint presentations, roughly, where there was a great entrepreneur with an idea, but that was it. That’s a pace we’re comfortable with. We might accelerate.

Irina: So, they came in and worked in your offices?

Jason: One did; one did not.

Irina: How many pitches, approximately, do you get per month from all your sources?

Jason: I have no idea. For me, within education, it’s a relatively small sector from a venture investment perspective.

So, within the consumer side, the way I like to think of it is, we want to see the vast majority of great entrepreneurs who are creating great companies in that sector. Within Web-enabled consumer services, likewise. For us, it’s not a question of how many pitches we see but how many quality entrepreneurs we’re talking to. >>>