Resources

Need More Information?
The Alameda Advisors Inc. team has experience as entrepreneurs, venture capital investors, corporate investors, and turnaround investors.
You cannot be too prepared. Gather as much information as possible and distill it into concepts that fit your business.

Alameda can help companies, institutions, investor groups, and shareholders. During his participation as a venture investor, entrepreneur, corporate officer and corporate investor, Rich Helfrich compiled issues and factors that both individual and institutional investors use to evaluate technology startups.

Alameda 101 Questions Investors ask of Entrepreneurs
Most experienced investors have become sophisticated regarding factors that make a winning startup that has better potential to produce a superior return-on-investment (meaning "internal rate-of-return that is much better than the S&P 500)
Alameda 101 Questions for Entrepreneurs

Papers and Presentations Authored by Richard Helfrich
Richard has authored numerous papers on a wide range of issues related to economic development, business, cross-border projects, energy, nanotechnology, and related issues.
        This section will be updated from time to time.

Business and Technology

Customers are essential, but not every customer is worthwhile
Richard wrote a paper on sales productivity that was published in "Sales and Marking Management"
Helfrich_Cost-to-Serve

Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology offers opportunities in most technological sectors and each sector has its own product opportunities, challenges and timeline. Richard presented at a Red Herring conference on nanobiology.
Nanobiology by Helfrich at RedHerring

Conference Notes by Richard W. Helfrich
Richard Attends Numerous Conferences and Produces Notes for Some

Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Notes
CES is an annual exhibition and conference held early January each year. This is the largest event of its type with over 4,000 company exhibits and over 160,000 attendees. Notes from recent CES events are as follows:

2020 CES Notes

2019 CES Notes

2018 CES Notes

Books to provide insights to entrepreneurs at all stages
A leading speaker and author of books that address technology businesses from startup to initial high-growth stages is Geoffrey Moore. Geoff provides market insights to technology management and entrepreneurs via training programs and classes.

Geoffrey Moore has written several best-selling business books; all of which are available on Amazon in paper and digital format.

Zone to Win: Organizing to Compete in an Age of Disruption. 2015 Diversion Books

Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey A. Moore, 1991, HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., N.Y., N.Y.

Inside the Tornado, Geoffrey A. Moore, 1995, HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., N.Y., N.Y.

Guides for Entrepreneurs Preparing to Seek Investors and Customers
Investors and customers look at startups and emerging companies from a vastly different point of view than company leaders. There are some differences between Angel Investors and professional Venture Capital investors, however, over time many Angels have become nearly as sophisticated as professional venture investors.

Both Angel Investors and Venture Capital investors are deluged by companies seeking capital. Many investors have become cynical and only spend less than one minute in viewing an initial document as a first level screen.   Investors are looking for any reason to trash a company in this rapid process with a goal of eliminating 90% or more from a more detailed viewing.

This environment makes it critical for a company to devise a concise document that catches the attention of an investor while avoiding any small mistake that could provide the ammunition to eliminate a company from further consideration and put the company into a list of companies to ignore in the future.
Garage Technology Ventures in Silicon Valley provides guides that work for novices as well as experienced entrepreneurs. https://www.garage.com/resources/

Nearly all investors are pressed for time. That makes it crucial to distill your business into a sound bite; ideally a sentence that takes no more than 2 lines of 12-point text in a word ,processor. This may take much more time than developing a 50-page business plan, but it should be worthwhile for pitching potential investors, customers, suppliers and partners. https://www.garage.com/resources/getting-to-wow/

A good starting point is their 7 factors to win venture funding.
https://www.garage.com/resources/critical-factors-for-obtaining-venture-funding/

One of their best guides is how to create a winning Powerpoint pitch.
    https://www.garage.com/resources/perfecting-your-pitch/

Interdisciplinary Research and Development
Many opportunities to create new markets with new products involve interdisciplinary technologies where several technology skills are essential for a new product. Some government laboratories perform leading-edge basic research based on inter

disciplinary technologies.
A few leaders in basic research for interdisciplinary project are:
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www.lbl.gov
www.sandia.gov
www.arc.nasa.gov/
www.nih.gov

Intellectual Property Protection
The US Patent and Trademark Office site.
www.uspto.gov

Life Science Government R&D and Regulatory agencies:
www.FDA.gov http://www.fda.gov/
www.NIH.gov http://www.nih.gov/

Agencies that Fund Industry and Education
www.nsf.gov
www.dod.gov
www.doe.gov
www.sba.gov
www.nih.gov

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