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  • Top Articles - How Venture Leasing Added Millions To A Startup's Equity Value

    Craig Berman beamed noticeably after completing his board presentation. Berman, CEO of a startup that develops nanotechnology applications for the defense industry, had just closed a $ 20 million equity round. Berman finalized the round at an equity valuation that made the whole board blush. Only six months earlier, Berman's team faced a daunting technical delay that set the company back three mo
    According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product
    nths. With only four months of cash remaining from a previous equity round, the delay would cause Berman's company to burn cash faster and to fall short of an important benchmark.

    The prospect of raising additional equity earlier than expected and at a much lower valuation than anticipated was a chilling thought for Berman and his board.

    Just as things appeared to be headed downhill, the compan
    ; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

    Examples of combination products may in
    's CFO broached the idea of obtaining $ 1.5 million in venture leasing. Roughly $ 600,000 of this financing would be used to finance existing equipment. The balance could be used for upcoming acquisitions of computer workstations, servers, software, and test equipment.

    A colleague had introduced Jamal Waitley, the company's CFO, to Jerry Sprole. Sprole heads Connecticut-based, Leasing Technologi
    lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

    s International, a leasing firm specializing in equipment financing for venture capital-backed startups and emerging growth companies. It took Waitley less than a month to get the financing in place. Cash from selling and leasing back existing equipment along with a leasing line to add new equipment allowed Berman's firm to operate three extra months without additional equity. When the firm final
    here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe
    ly completed its $ 20 million equity round, the pre-money valuation was at least $ 5 million more than it would have been otherwise. Venture leasing had literally created millions of dollars for Berman's shareholders.

    Like Berman's firm, a growing number of venture capital-backed startups are taking advantage of venture leasing to build equity value faster and to expand infrastructure. What is v
    d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

    Combination pro
    nture leasing and why has it become so attractive to venture capital-backed startups' How are savvy entrepreneurs using venture leasing to increase shareholder value' To find answers, one must take a closer look at this important financing source for venture capital-backed startups.

    The term venture leasing describes equipment financing provided by equipment leasing firms to pre-profit, early st
    ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc
    ge companies funded by venture capital investors. Like Berman's firm, these startups need business essentials like computers, networking equipment, software, and equipment for production and R&D. These firms generally rely on outside investor support until they prove their business models or achieve profitability.

    Where does venture leasing fit into the venture financing mix' The relatively high
    easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi
    cost of venture capital compared to venture leasing tells the story. To compensate venture capitalists for the risk they take, they generally receive sizeable equity stakes in the companies they finance. They typically seek investment returns of at least 35% on their investments over five to seven years. Their returns are achieved via an IPO or other sale of their equity stakes. In comparison, v
    nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically
    nture lessors seek a return in the 15% ' 22% range. These transactions amortize in two to four years and are secured by the underlying equipment. Although the risk to venture lessors is also high, venture lessors mitigate the risk by having a security interest in the leased equipment and structuring transactions that amortize. Taking advantage of the obvious cost advantage of venture leasing over
    and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ
    venture capital, startup companies have turned to venture leasing as a significant source of funding to support their growth and to build equity value faster. Additional advantages to startups of venture leasing include the traditional leasing strong points --- conservation of cash for working capital, management of cash flow, flexibility, management of equipment obsolescence, and serving as a su
    ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi
    plement to other available capital.

    How do venture leasing firms evaluate transactions' Venture lessors look closely at several factors. Two of the main ingredients of a successful new venture are the caliber of its management team and of its venture capital sponsors. In many cases the two groups seem to find one another. A good management team has usually demonstrated prior successes in the fie
    ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

    Following aspects would a
    ld in which the new venture is active. The better venture capitalists have successful track records and direct experience with the types of companies they financed. The best VCs have industry specialization and many employ individuals with direct operating experience within the industries they finance.

    After determining that the caliber of the management team and venture capitalists is high, a v
    dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

    Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
    Which combination prod
    nture lessor looks at the startup's business model and market potential. During this evaluation the lessor considers questions such as: Does the business model make sense' Is the product/service necessary' Who is the targeted customer and how large is the potential market' How are products and services priced' What are the projected revenues' What are the production costs and what are the other
    cts are meaningful and rational?
    Which therapeutic categories to select?
    Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
    Do combin
    rojected expenses' Do these projections seem reasonable' How much cash is on hand and how long will it last the startup according to the projections' When will the startup need the next equity round' These, and questions like these, help the lessor determine whether the business plan and model are reasonable

    The most important question facing a leasing company financing startups is whether there
    tions increase the patient compliance?
    What would be the developing cost?
    How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
    is sufficient cash on hand to support the startup through a significant part of the lease term. If the venture is unable to raise additional capital and runs out of cash, the lessor stands to lose money on the transaction. To mitigate this risk, most experienced venture lessors require that the startup have at least nine months of cash on hand before proceeding. Usually, startups approved by ven
    t?

    As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel
    ure lessors have raised at least $ 5 million in venture capital and have not yet exhausted a healthy portion of this amount.

    Where do startups turn to get venture leasing' Part of the infrastructure supporting startups is a handful of national leasing companies that specialize in venture leasing. Like the Connecticut-based lessor introduced to Waitley, these firms have experience and expertise i
    ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

    Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
    structuring, pricing and documenting transactions, performing due diligence, and working with startup companies through their ups and downs.

    Most venture lessors provide leases to startups under lines of credit so that customers can schedule multiple takedowns during the year. These lease lines typically range from as little as $200,000 to over $ 5,000,000, depending on the start-up's need, pro
    y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products
    jected growth and the level of venture capital support. The better venture lease providers also assist customers, directly or indirectly, in identifying other resources to support their growth. They help customers acquire equipment at better prices, arrange takeouts of existing equipment, find additional working capital funding, locate temporary CFO's, and provide introductions to potential strat
    .

    As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de
    gic partners--- these are all value-added services the best venture lessors bring to the table.

    While Craig Berman's story is only an illustration based on an actual financing, many venture capital-backed startups are discovering that venture leasing can leverage venture capital to boost shareholder value. These startups are then able to use their venture capital for growth activities that build
    elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

    Companies that provide selfless information through particip
    enterprise value, like product development, bringing in management talent and expanding their marketing efforts. Since venture leasing is more cost effective than venture capital, requires no board representation or loss of management control, and usually results in little or no equity dilution, this rapidly growing financing for start-ups is reaching the radar screens of many savvy entrepreneurs


    tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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