The 2011 PPF will emphasize around the following elements (see detailed schedule below):
Dr Josh Lerner, Jacob H. Shiff Professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School, will set the stage. His opening remarks will lay out critical challenges facing the VC industry, important recent developments, and new ideas and approaches for public policies.
Growing evidence exists that beyond cyclicality, there are major structural problems in the IPO market, especially in the US which for decades has been the leading market for technology IPOs. This market has been in decline for more than ten years. Has the decline in the VC industry fuelled the IPO decline? Or is it the IPO decline that has fuelled the VC decline? As one of last year's participants said: "We are still struggling with company formation and company financing. But the real problem is with exits. Fix that and you fix everything. If we deliver the money back, we will get more of it". Or to put it another way, building value does little good if that value cannot be realized. And when it becomes clear that the value cannot be realized, does not that awareness erode the very "value building" process itself? How do we bring these chain reactions under control? Where do we begin? How do you measure the decline in the IPO market? What are its causes? What are the solutions, and what role will new public policies play in them? The Forum will confront these issues thanks to a panel of industry leaders and other experts and through a new Harvard Business Case on Chinext, the Shenzhen junior stock exchange on which there has been a boom of technology IPOs. How did this boom occur? Is it real? Can it last? And is this Chinese model applicable to other countries?
As traditional financial LPs turn their backs on venture capital, technology start-ups and VC funds must now look to alternative sources of capital. Corporations and their venture arms are one of them which is of particular importance as we witness a recrudescence of interest from corporations for this domain.
Corporate venturing has a particularly rich history in the Life Science sector and large pharmaceutical companies have been particularly active recently to renew their approach and develop new models. This panel will focus on two recent examples in this sector as interesting case studies which may shed some light on the current wave of corporate venturing more generally.
Adequate supply of capital is only one part of a buoyant ecosystem for venture capital and emerging technology companies. Setting the environment right (R&D funding, legal, fiscal, intellectual property) and supporting the development of entrepreneurship and innovation are also key ingredients. Singapore's emerging technology cluster has developed initiatives in a short period of time to address these critical needs. How successful are its policies? What lessons can be learnt?
A one day Forum can only cover so many topics. To allow participants to interact with peers on other important topics of interest to them, a series of round tables (8-10 people) will be organized in advance and conducted by a moderator.
Shuttles will pick up participants at the Chateau Frontenac every 10 minutes starting at 7:00 am. Gathering will take place in the lobby of the hotel.
| Monday, October 24 , 2011 | |||||||||||
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8:30 to 8:50 am |
WELCOME REMARKS
INTRODUCTION
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8:50 to 9:50 am |
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION “Entrepreneurial Finance in the Broader Environment: Lessons from Challenging Times”
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9:50 to 10:50 am |
FIRST PANEL Subject: Exits: Decline in IPO Markets – Causes, Solutions, New Public Policies Moderator:
Panelists:
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10:50 to 11:10 pm |
NETWORKING BREAK |
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11:10 to 12:15 pm |
SECOND PANEL Subject: Corporations as Alternative Sources of Capital: New Models of Corporate Involvement in Venture Capital – Lessons from the Life Science Sector Moderator:
Panelists:
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12:15 to 1:30 pm |
NETWORKING LUNCH |
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1:30 to 2:15 pm |
THIRD PANEL Subject: Setting the Environment Right: Lessons Learnt from the Singapore Experience Interviewer :
Panelist:
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2:15 to 3:45 pm |
HARVARD BUSINESS CASE Subject: Oriental Fortune Capital: Building a Better Stock Exchange – The Case of ChiNext, the Shenzhen Junior Market Case Researchers:
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3:45 to 4:00 pm |
NETWORKING BREAK |
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4:00 to 4:55 pm |
ROUNDTABLES Participants will be invited to choose their table in advance among the following themes: Theme 1: Are new incentives needed to attract private sector investors back to venture capital? If so, which ones are the best? Several countries have shown renewed interest in guarantee schemes and protection against first losses. Will these approaches work? Theme 2: In many countries, venture capital funds are subscale in size and expertise. Are cross-border funds a way to address this issue? If so, how can they be created and funded? Theme 3: More and more countries are considering policies to support business angel investment: what are the best examples of these new policies? The worst? Which will work, and why? Theme 4: Can government agencies and other public entities attract and retain the talent needed to implement programs to support venture capital and innovation, in the absence of an ability to pay them compensation at private industry level? How is this problem solvable? Theme 5: What is the role of growth equity in building an entrepreneurial ecosystem in emerging markets? Will that growth equity be available? Theme 6: What new fund models will align interests of LPs and GPs, including in the many ecosystems other than Silicon Valley? What are the most promising new developments? Theme 7: Technology transfer from universities and research centers: who owns the IP? Who should own the IP? Who should do the transfer, and under which terms? What universities are doing it right? MIT? Harvard? Oxford? Toronto? |
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4:55 to 5:00 pm |
CLOSING REMARKS Dr. Josh Lerner and Dr. Gilles Duruflé |
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5:00 |
All attendees are invited to the Quebec City Conference immediately following |
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