If interested, please email clark [at] bsgtv.com.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2011 |  12:00 noon – 7:00 pm

Mandarin Oriental, Boston 776 Boylston Street  |  Boston, Massachusetts

Cooley LLP, Ernst & Young LLP and BMO Capital Markets invite you to an exclusive gathering of leading executives, investors, entrepreneurs and thought leaders in the medical device industry for the second annual Cooley Medical Device Growth Conference in Boston. This event will focus on the key drivers affecting the medical device industry and explore growth strategies for medical device companies.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Dr. Michael J. Cima – Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED [ view full agenda ]

• Pulse of the Industry: Medical Technology Report 2011 – Ernst & Young’s annual report on the medical device industry
• Developing and Implementing a Sales & Marketing Strategy -  Keys to achieving growth and ensuring regulatory compliance
• An Open Discussion with Thought Leaders – A fireside chat with CEOs at revenue stage medical device companies on the medtech industry, opportunities and challenges, lessons-learned, etc.
• What’s Getting Done? A discussion of trends in IPOs, M&A deals and strategic collaborations

REGISTRATION REQUIRED. This event is by invitation only. Registration is limited to representatives of medical device companies and investors, and is subject to approval.

PANELISTS AND MODERATORS INCLUDE

• Joseph Army – General Manager, Medtronic Advanced Energy (Formerly President and Chief Executive Officer, Salient Surgical Technologies)
• Michael Cima – Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Kevin Casey – Partner, Ernst & Young LLP
• Drew Gantt – Partner, Cooley LLP
• Ron Goldman – Chief Executive Officer, Accuvein
• Larry Knopf – Senior Vice President and General Counsel, HeartWare, Inc.
• Michael McGrail – Attorney, Cooley LLP
• Yiannis Monovoukas – Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, TEI Biosciences Inc.
• Michael Neuberger – Managing Director and Head of Healthcare Group, BMO Capital Markets
• Stu Randle – President and Chief Executive Officer, GI Dynamics
• Charles Sherwood – President and Chief Executive Officer, Anika Therapeutics, Inc.
• Mark Speers – Partner and Managing Director, Health Advances
• Peter Stebbins – Vice President, New Business Development, DePuy Mitek and Codman, J&J Family of Companies
• Kevin Seifert – Chief Executive Officer, Facet Technologies, Inc.
• Don Stern – Partner, Cooley LLP (Former US Attorney)
• Mark Weeks – Partner, Cooley LLP
• Robert White – President & Chief Executive Officer, TyRx, Inc.

Each quarter we survey growth stage CEOs who are running innovation driven companies.  This quarter,  we had more than 60 CEOs responding.  CEOs were running companies in broadly defined technology (software, hardware, semiconductor, telecom), Internet (e-commerce, media, social, entertainment), medical devices, biotech, and cleantech / renewable energy sectors.

A note on methodology.  We send these surveys only to those who fit the category (in this case, sitting CEOs or board member/founders of technology/science-driven growth-stage companies).    All responses were anonymous due to the web-based survey technology employed. The majority of respondents were in the United States, with the highest concentration on the East and West coasts (New York, Boston, and San Francisco/Silicon Valley areas).

For prior survey results from Q2 2010, titled “Impact of Economy and Renewed Growth”, go to http://www.bostonsearchgroup.com/blog/ceo-survey-results-q2-2010-%e2%80%93-impact-of-economy-renewed-growth/ .

ECONOMIC CLIMATE

The first set of questions was around the economic conditions in which each CEO felt s/he was operating.    One question we continue to ask and re-ask over the last six quarters or so targets the turbulence in the macro- economic climate.  It is interesting to compare CEO responses to the same question, “Do you anticipate a double dip in the near term future?”

* In Q3 2009, more than half  (54%) of CEOs polled were expecting a double dip, and planning accordingly

* In our Q2 2010 survey,  again 50% felt a second economic correction was likely, the biggest percentage of those CEOs believing it would be in either Q3 2010 or sometime in 2011.  The other half  of CEOs felt the specter of recession was behind them

* Currently in Q4 CEOs were consistent with prior quarters with a bit more than 50% indicating they didn’t feel a double dip was likely, and the other half of the CEOs saying either a 50/50 probability or greater (16% feeling more likely than not)

So less than 1 in 5 CEOs feel another economic dip is likely.  No CEOs selected the ” greater than 75%” probability.

It’s interesting to do a meta graph of the changing CEO sentiment on this question.  Surprisingly, the graph would be sloping downward, but not as much as many would hope.  The high point was certainly back in Q3 2009, but even throughout 2010, as many CEOs were fearful of a negative correction as those who felt it was behind us.  No doubt this “lack of confidence” index doesn’t inspire the CEO with a swashbuckling, damn-the-torpedoes-full-speed-ahead attitude toward growing their companies.  Rather, it makes CEOs think in short-term windows, perhaps 3 months at a time, with little appetite to make medium or long-term bets.

Those CEOs who felt another downturn was likey referenced several factors that might tip the scales negative–  gridlock in Congress due to midterm elections and likelihood that Democrats lose congressional majority, a belief that a bad Q4 holiday retail shopping was likely, and the persistent overhang of ongoing commercial and residential loan defaults.

As for when another economic dip might occur if it were to occur, the vast majority of CEOs pointed to Q1, 2011, with Q4 of this year and Q2 2011 tying for second at 18% each.

STRATEGY

Almost 50% of CEOs polled said that they had either made a shift in strategy in 2010, or were planning to in the near future.  Granted, growth-stage companies are prone to shifting strategy until they land upon the best formula for significant and sustainable growth.  However ~50% is a big number, and clearly a chunk of those companies have been driven to rethink their strategies because of the challenging economic climate, the concern over the future, and the possibility that 2010 might represent “the new normal” where with no economic “rising tide” no help generated to float all company boats as in periods of economic expansion in the past (1997-2000, 2005-2008, etc).

CASH FLOW

The majority of CEO survey respondents (49%) indicated that they were still planning on burning cash over the next 2 quarters.  24% indicated they would be profitable.  CEO comments regarding this question indicated an overwhelming drive toward cash flow break even.  That was the big push and focus for their companies in 2010, and if they hadn’t achieved it yet, they were gunning to by end of the first quarter of 2011.  CEOs also commented that they were trying to run their companies at break even, with any extra EBIT being reinvested back into the company for additional growth.

COST REDUCTION PLANS

When asked what were the top 3 areas CEOs were targeting for cost reduction, the following table summarizes their responses, representing a combination of spend reduction and staff reduction in non-core areas.  There was a preference by CEOs to favor non-staff cuts over cutting headcount if at all possible, but many acknowledged that in order to make meaningful cuts, staff had  to be considered in the equation.

CEO responses when asked about increasesin spend were logical.  The top three in order were sales, marketing, and R&D.  Many of the comments about this question noted the fact that outside of directly growing revenues, additional spend was hard to build in when many CEOs are driving toward a minimum cash-neutral mandate and economic uncertainties are driving CEOs to think conservatively rather than expansively.

[Click on "more" below for remaining 8 slides and narrative from Q4 2010 CEO survey]

RAISING CAPITAL

The largest segment of CEO survey respondents (40%) listed themselves as having raised capital in the last 12 months, and also planning on raising additional equity in the coming 12.  For those who indicated “other,” most of these CEOs had raised capital quite a while ago (2 or more years ago), were at cash flow positive, and some who were looking at liquidity event in the next few quarters, subject to market conditions.

OUTSOURCING & OFFSHORING

A quarter of CEOs surveyed responded that they were unlikely to ever use/need outsourcing or offshore resources to grow their businesses.

However, almost 70% of CEOs were using some combination of outsourced resources, whether domestic or offshore, full-time or project-based.  Those CEOs using domestic resources were the largest segment at 22%, while those with full-time offshore resources tallied at about 14%.  Nearly one in four CEOs had used contract (non-full-time) outsourced resources in the last 12 months.  A number of CEOs highlighted the fact that although they were users of offshore staff in some capacity, it was difficult to “get right,” and often the experience was less than positive early on in the relationship and took a great deal of work before CEOs could declare it truly accretive.

In answer to where global outsourced/offshore resources were being most utilized, manufacturing, product development, and customer service were the three biggest areas.  One in 5 CEOS (20%)  had already established an international sales presence located abroad.

GROWTH-COMPANY CLIMATE

Do CEOs feel it will be harder to grow companies in the future than in the recent past?  This is a question that many entrepreneurs who look to undertake a new venture (and venture capitalists looking to invest in them) are often quick to ask.

CEO responses were much more evenly distributed than one might think– slightly greater than a third of CEOs indicate “about the same” difficulty, a bit less than a third feel “somewhat more difficult,” and 27% indicating that they thought it would likely be “easier in the next 5 vs. the last 5 years.”  Many of the comments of CEOs responding “easier” pointed to the fact that advances in technology have allowed entrepreneurs to stand up companies for less cash and a lot faster than in years past.   Those CEOs who said it would be harder all pointed to the capital markets, and the medium-term challenges in both raising capital, and achieving liquidity.

DEBT LENDER APPETITE

CEOs were closely split on the question of whether debt has been harder, easier, or about the same to procure in the last few quarters.  37% indicated about the same,  33% responded that it feels worse, and 27% conceded that it appeared easier to get debt now than in the trailing 6 months or so.  However, CEOs commented that even if debt lending had stayed the same or improved slightly in the last six months, over the last year or two lenders have tightened up a great deal, and the lending climate today compared to 2008 is substantially worse.

FEDERAL POLICY IMPACTS

More than three-quarters of CEOs surveyed indicated that there was no impact on their companies due to  changes in federal policy, be it pending capital gains changes, mandatory healthcare, or potential tax increases.  Of those CEOs who did register an impact, the majority (10%) indicated that they would be offsetting any negative impact via headcount reduction.

CEO comments focused on the negative impact of rising healthcare costs as the biggest contributor to any decisions they were considering that were directly attributable to federal policy changes.

EQUITY INVESTOR APPETITE

CEO respondents reported that they saw equity investors as having become more bearish in their investing, with almost 37% holding that opinion.  In contrast, more than 25% of CEOs felt investors appear more willing to put money to work in the next two quarters than in recent past.  CEOs commented that investors don’t want to put money into B rounds, and the investing profile “is a barbell– 259,000 angels poured $17.6 billion into more than 57,000 startups last year, and there are a number of very well funded late-stage private equity firms looking to put $20-$40 million to work per opportunity. But almost nothing in between.”  Other comments indicated that even though investors may be more interested in putting their money to work, those same investors are squeezing valuations harder than ever and their expectations for return are increasingly difficult to meet as an operating CEO.

PRIMARY SURVEY INDUSTRY SECTORS

Of the 50+ CEOs who responded, 25% were running software companies, 16% cleantech, 15$ biotech, 10% interactive media/Internet, and 4% medical devices.  Much of the other 32% of CEO respondents were in the services sector across various industry sectors.

Location of the Companies Surveyed

The majority of responding CEOs were from the New England region (66%), 10% of CEOs’ companies were located in the Rocky Mountain region, with smaller numbers in Northern California (2%), Canada (4%) and the UK( 2%).

PharmaJet's innovative Needless Syring Technology

PharmaJet, Inc. (http://www.pharmajet.com) offers jet injection technology to deliver vaccines and drugs through skin. The company offers PharmaJet, a needle-free system that delivers liquid medications at high speed creating a ‘liquid jet’ that penetrates the skin and delivers the medicine through the skin in less than 1/3 of a second. It serves individual patients, as well as public health needs internationally. The company is based in Golden, Colorado with operations in

With approximately 23 employees currently,  PharmaJet was founded in 2007 and is currently headquartered in Golden, Colorado with other offices in San Francisco and  Baltimore.

As a privately held medical device design company, PharmaJet has developed an FDA 510 (k) cleared needle free jet injection technology.  It can be used to inject any liquid medicine into the body (human and animal), for fixed dosages ranging from 0.1cc to 0.5cc, into intra-dermal, subcutaneous, and intra-muscular tissue depths.  It is most appropriate for vaccine delivery, which is a standard 0.5 cc dose for nearly all human vaccines.  Since starting its first scientific collaboration 22 months ago, active pre-clinical and clinical testing of PharmaJet’s device is underway in 9 countries, with 18 partners for more than 25 vaccines and therapeutic medicines.

Market Opportunity

History & Genesis

PharmaJet’s technology was developed to address a need for safe and clean delivery of liquid vaccines, without a needle, in view of the massive infection rates caused from within the healthcare system of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV (and an additional 17 other blood borne diseases) due to syringe needle reuse and needle stick injury during vaccination (estimated at 22 million injuries per year world-wide).   With the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidelines in mind, the Founders created a needle-free injection technology that is simple, robust, and inexpensive.  Besides getting rid of needles, however, there are a host of other sustainable competitive advantages and attractive features making it a value added device that can improve the lives of people, reduce the cost of healthcare, all the while generating profitability for PharmaJet and its partners.

Product  Potential

PharmaJet’s features help address the developing world problem of re-use (as much as 40-70% in some countries) which contributes to growth in disease and epidemic.  Further, the intra-dermal application (0.1 – 0.2cc volume) may contribute to stretching vaccine supply (reduced dosage, but similar immune response to standard 0.5cc dosage) where there is shortage so that the health net can be spread among a larger population, ultimately benefiting their group welfare and economy.  At the same time, it is perfectly appropriate for the sophisticated healthcare market, and eliminates needle-stick injury which is prevalent everywhere.  As a technology platform, there are a variety of additional product extensions that allow it to be useful in other injection segments, user groups, and processes.

Initial Markets

• Human vaccine market: >1.75 billion needle-syringes being used annually for injection of vaccines, for children and adult populations.
• Animal vaccine market: Even larger by volume than the human vaccine market, PharmaJet’s device has been used successfully in a range of species (mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs, cats, goats, sheep, horses, cattle), making it suitable for:
  • For pre-clinical research and antibody production
  • To keep companion animals from spreading disease to their owners (i.e. rabies), and;
  • To keep animals productive, so that populations do not starve (developing world), industries are not financially devastated (i.e. culling for foot & mouth disease), and producers maintain efficiency (i.e. dairy).

The Position

As PharmaJet, Inc. seeks to substantially expand it’s product user base, exposure and revenues in 2010, the PharmaJet Regional Business Development position plays a vital role in product introduction, demonstration and sales within several key market segments.  Leveraging their industry experience, this sales and business development leader will systematically identify and develop key new market opportunities and represent product sales to all public and private healthcare providers currently utilizing needle injection delivery of vaccines and select drugs to patients and the general public. Based upon a pre-defined region, such product introduction will use a team approach for product adoption and use support, in conjunction with PharmaJet Certified Trainers and Technical Support. This position will thus serve as the overall regional business manager of these services.  The role will be focused on integrating PharmaJet’s product capabilities into all relevant regional public health networks, private clinics, and hospitals, thereby participating in all key mass vaccination events at the city, county and regional levels.  Such efforts shall include attendance and representation at all relevant user’s groups and regional conferences of professional healthcare providers

PharmaJet Candidate Competencies Venn Diagram

Financial Backing

PharmaJet has raised a Series A and B equity financing from angels and strategic investors, and is well capitalized to enter their next phase of commercialization.

Compensation

Compensation is competitive with the position’s requirements.  In a performance-based environment, this will include base salary, incentive bonus structure based on both quantitative revenue goals and qualitative MBOs, and a potential stakeholder position in the company.

]]> http://www.bostonsearchgroup.com/blog/sales-leadership-innovative-needless-syringe-technology/feed/ 1 http://www.bostonsearchgroup.com/blog/tobii-ati-hires-vice-president-sales-drive-market-growth/ http://www.bostonsearchgroup.com/blog/tobii-ati-hires-vice-president-sales-drive-market-growth/#comments Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:32:26 +0000 Clark Waterfall http://www.bostonsearchgroup.com/blog/?p=934

Dedham, MA-  Tobii ATI is pleased to announce that John Stamatopoulos has joined the company as Vice President, Sales.

“We’re very excited to have John on board.  Tobii is poised for significant growth in 2010, and John will be instrumental in our success in the coming year,” said Tara Rudnicki, Tobii-ATI’s U.S. President.

“I’m extremely excited about joining the team, and feel a real missionary passion to help bring Tobii’s assistive technologies product line deeper into the markets we serve,” stated Mr. Stamatopoulos.

John’s background prior to joining Tobii included Global Director of Sales, Medical Device, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals, Capital Equipment, & medical Instrumentation for Fiberoptic Components, a contract manufacturer serving the medical devices and industrial manufacturing industries.  While there, John was focused on developing an international medical marketplace for custom Fiberoptic applications including hand instruments, sensors, and analytical instrumentation. Partner with OEM’s and contract manufacturers.   Before this role, John was responsible for sales leadership at IDEX Health & Science where he was recruited to direct sales for newly launched medical arm of $135M Health and Science division. Other sales roles John played previously included Account Sales Manager at Hill-Rom, a fortune 1000 global provider of healthcare solutions and sales executive at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals where he was #1 in district for total Rx market share and recipient of “Best in ‘03″ and “Best of the Best” for professionalism 2004, including  national contest winner for market share growth.  John started his career in the medical industry  at Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, and has received industry-focused certificates at Loyola University of Chicago and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.  John received his BSBA from Northeastern University in Marketing and Management Information Systems.

Tobii-ATI (http://www.tobiiati.com ) is the founding pioneer in the field of assistive technology.  Tobii ATI has released a range of new alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) solutions that help individuals with speech impairments communicate. Tobii-ATI develops both communication hardware and software solutions for people with physical, cognitive, and speech disabilities. Tobii Assistive Technology, Inc. was formerly known as Assistive Technology, Inc.  Tobii Assistive Technology, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of its venture-backed Swedish parent, Tobii Technology AB.

We’re often asked how to establish fair market compensation when it comes to CEOs of privately held companies, often with venture capital or private equity backing.

Below is one method that can be employed as a jumping off point for this calculus:

1)     “De-risked,” how much is a CEO worth?  Is  $500 -$1M a year too much?  For our purposes here, we’re talking about a talented CEO.  Not someone below average, but above the average, one that a retained executive search firm, venture or private equity investor, or board of directors would be proud to put in the role.   Rather than pick some arbitrary number, this should be  ”market set,” by looking at what someone working for any global 2000 company (i.e. General Electric or other similar) earns annually.  From our executive search experience and database of compensation comparables in these companies, base salary is usually between 250K and 400K, depending upon how big the divisional P&L responsibility is, there is usually a bonus that is between 50-100% of base, and an LTIP (long term incentive plan) that-once partial vesting begins-can generate from 100K up to 250K or more a year in cash.

2)     So, the cash component of a comparable, including average base, annual average bonus, and yearly LTIP pay-out looks something like this:

Base ~ 300K

Bonus ~250K

LTIP (cash only) ~ 200K

TOTAL: 750K

* This does not include any meaningful RSUs (restricted stock units) that are usually also part of that package, which could add another 200K or more per year in value to a general manager’s package with true P&L responsibility for their division, group, or sector/segment.

* This is also not indexed to geography/cost of living.  If the position is in New York City tri-state area (New York, northern New Jersey, southern Connecticut), San Francisco, Boston, London, Singapore, Hong Kong, or Tokyo, a multiplier factor needs to be used to level-set for cost of living increase required for those metropolitan areas.

3)      Now, back out the cash portion of a CEO’s compensation for the company that they’re stepping into (say 250K a year in cash in smaller companies as all base, or combination of base + cash bonus).  So you’re left with say 500K that needs to be made up in equity, on a per anum basis.

4)      Over how many years is the liquidity horizon (and/or vesting rate, 3, 4 ,5 years)? Let’s say it’s 4 years, at net 500K, equals ~$2 million

5)      Now, this is with ZERO beta risk factor.  Add back the beta risk of an earlier stage company.  Let’s assume a global 200 company equals “1.”  A CEO role in a privately held, externally backed company is not “1″.  It’s probably a multiplier of 1.5, or 2.  For a pre-revenue, VC-backed company with high burn rate, it could be as much as in the 3 to 5 range.  Note that any illiquid company is inherently risky in terms of cashing in any equity at a reasonable price.  Let’s pick a beta risk multiplier of 2.5 times riskier than “average.” So, 2M * 2.5 = 5M.  Note that when there are preferences for the investors that create an exit hurdle rate before any common shareholders get paid, beta risk goes up accordingly unless the CEO participates in any exit event via cash carve out or other instrument.   As mentioned above, a recent IPO that represents a reasonable market comparable netted a CEO who joined the company 4 years ago $20M.  Using this number, the CEO’s compensation was $5M a year, or a beta multiplier of approximately 5.

6)     Then, are there any combat pay provisions you need to add in (warts that a CEO or executive team member is required to overcome and vanquish in their role that are above and beyond the normal call of duty)-reconstituting the executive team, or raising an outside round of capital because existing investors are tapped out, or starting up an Asia manufacturing capability that will require the CEO to take a dozen 15-hour flights one-way to get up and running.

7)      Finally, you have to look at what likely dilution there is going to be to an initial options grant for the CEO.  If you start with a 6% stake in an early stage company in a Series A funding, and you then raise a series B and C, depending upon valuation for those rounds, the CEO will likely end up below 3% as a “fully diluted” stakeholder.  There is an argument to be made that any of the management team critical to the success of the company will be “topped off” at later funding events in order to keep them motivated.  However, there is no guarantee that this happens.  It’s only good business sense to do it.  For the CEO, it is more important what s/he ends up with, not how much with which they start.

8)     Add water, and stir…

Notes & disclaimers:

• * This is not intended to be biased in any direction, to any party, neither CEO candidate, nor company and/or investor.
• * This is only one way of calculating compensation, indeed there are many others.
• * There is no way an earl- stage emerging/growth company will be able to compensate a CEO in all cash, nor truly be able to offset the risks inherent in this stage of venture.  The CEO either accepts this, or is not truly capable of working successfully in this milieu.
• * Other than the impact of cost of living  adjustments to base compensation, each CEO candidate comes with what we refer to as their own subjective “keep the lights on” cash needs.  We calculate this simply as the amount of cash required on a yearly basis to cover their living/family obligations without having to write checks out of savings to cover it.  Some CEO candidates may have 3 children in private school or college, while others may have no children and no mortgage.  Cash needs therefore may range widely, and need to be adjusted for using equity as a “leveler” (less cash-needy, higher the equity, and vice versa)
• * Alternatives to paying bonuses in cash might be to pay bonuses in equity, upon achievement of key milestones for the company
• * This same calculus can be applied to the Vice President level as well, subject to appropriate adjustments downward in cash and equity
• * In a circumstance where there is a “turn-around” required, equity may not be enough of a certainly to attract a competent CEO for the challenge ahead.  In these circumstances, a cash carve-out may be warranted in addition and/or in substitution for a stakeholder role.  The cash carve-out may be just for the CEO, or for the key management team required to achieve the turn-around.  Often, the cash-carve out structure is a percentage of total sale price over a certain amount, with the possibility for an accelerator depending upon exit/liquidity circumstances/outcome.
• * Often the question of anti-dilution comes up in an effort to assure a CEO of a certain percentage of equity upon liquidity.  Granting 5% equity to a CEO at a Series A financing with anti-dilution would ensure that the CEO retained his or her stake across the growth and additional funding needs of the company.  However, this is rarely a good mechanism, as the CEO becomes less interested in new company valuations at subsequent funding events, and becomes misaligned with the company’s investors.

Below is the hyperlink to our latest CEO peers “speed-survey,” exclusively for growth-stage CEOs.  Topic– “Preparing for Recovery?”

http://surveys.polldaddy.com/s/D3642F14267CCC14/

We at BSG Team Ventures periodically take the temperature of the markets we serve. This speed survey is no more than 10 questions, simple multiple-choice.

Knowledge is power.  Aggregated peer-provided knowledge is “actionable power.”

We make an effort to survey only those who fit the category (in this case, sitting CEOs or board member/founders of technology/science-driven growth-stage companies). [Note, if you don't fit the aforementioned description, please refrain from responding.]

Feel free to forward to the qualified CEOs in your sphere of influence.  The more data generated, the more accurate the trend lines.

All responses are anonymous due to the web-based survey technology employed.

We will forward the survey results within the next two weeks to the email address on file.  Please let us know if there is another email address you wish us to send the results to as well.

Executive Recruiters Boston Search Group and IdealWave Solutions Merge to Form BSG Team Ventures

Bringing Unparalleled Mobility and Social Media Expertise IdealWave Deepens Firm’s Commitment to Building Trusted Advisor Relationships with Clients

Boston – August 1, 2009 - BSG Team Ventures, formerly Boston Search Group, an international retained executive firm serving emerging and high-growth companies, today announced a merger with IdealWave Solutions, a nationally recognized executive recruitment leader in the mobility and convergence sector.  IdealWave couples deep expertise in the enterprise mobility and social media industries with a unique team-based approach that yields quick results with highly personalized service. The combined company, BSG Team Ventures, will be headquartered in Boston, with offices in Silicon Valley, New York and London.

As many other retained search firms are shrinking or closing down, BSG Team Ventures is taking advantage of the opportunity to grow stronger.  The merged entity will be uniquely positioned to identify and recruit top Board Director, C-level and VP-level talent for both emerging and established companies across its now seven practice specialties – mobility and convergence, cleantech, technology and media, medical devices, biotech, education, and not-for-profit.  While the executive search industry has been slow to harness advanced technology to optimize domain expertise, market involvement, and the candidate development process, BSG Team Ventures has turned to innovative social networking technologies to cultivate a large and growing community of mobile industry executives working for some of the most high-profile companies in the world.

“Combining forces to create BSG Team Ventures marks the beginning of an exciting adventure and a natural evolution for our business. With BSG we have found a partner whose commitment to innovation, client service, and results mirrors our own,” said Mathew Corbett, founder and managing director, IdealWave Solutions.  “I look forward to drawing on our combined 17 years experience in retained search and mobile industry expertise to grow the firm, provide increased capabilities to our clients, and expand into new markets.”

INmobile.org: Engaging the Global Mobile Community

The brainchild of Corbett, a longtime social media evangelist, INmobile.org is one of the largest industry-specific social networks on the Web, comprising more than 2,500 mobile industry executives who gather in one place to learn, share ideas, and network with peers.  Combining online networking with offline executive receptions at top mobile industry conferences, INmobile.org is both a key facilitator in helping BSG Team Ventures’ clients stay abreast of market and technology trends, and an invaluable tool in keeping BSG Team Ventures fully engaged with top leaders and decision makers globally.

The mobile industry is especially well poised for continued growth.  “Even more exciting than the internet phenomenon is this mobile phone phenomenon,” according to Dr. Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, in a speech given to the Economic Club in 2008.

“Our merger with IdealWave comes at a pivotal time for our firm as we look to expand to new markets and set the highest bar for innovation in the executive search process,” said Clark Waterfall, founder and managing director, BSG Team Ventures.  “With decades of combined executive search and strategic organizational development experience, we’re confident that together with IdealWave we can continue to achieve the highest levels of client satisfaction in the industry.  We couldn’t be more thrilled with the addition of Matthew Corbett and Mark Newhall as partners to the firm.”

About BSG Team Ventures

BSG Team Ventures is an international leader in retained executive search and human capital consulting for emerging and high-growth companies. Its mission is to build deep, trusted-advisor relationships with its clients, and to do so with a keen appreciation for the unique requirements of entrepreneurial ventures.  Via its presence in Boston, New York, Silicon Valley and London, BSG Team Ventures has completed hundreds of leadership searches on behalf of its clients in its practice specialties that include technology, media, cleantech, biotech, medical devices, education and non-profit.

About IdealWave

IdealWave is the leading executive search partner for companies involved in or effected by mobility and convergence. Established in 2001 and headquartered in MA, IdealWave has worked with many of the most exciting companies innovating within mobility and convergence. The company was launched by Matthew Corbett and Mark Newhall.  For more information please visit www.idealwave.com.

Contacts:

BSG Team Ventures

Clark Waterfall: Managing Director cwaterfall@bsgtv.com

Matthew Corbett: Managing Director mcorbett@bsgtv.com

Address: 224 Clarendon Street, 4^th floor, Boston, MA 02116

www.bsgtv.com

The Company

World Leader in Eye-Tracking and Eye-Control

Our client is the founding pioneer in the field of assistive technology.  Being able to speak is something that most people take for granted. However, some are born with Cerebral Palsy, have ALS/MND or may have acquired a disability through an injury or a stroke — all of which can impair their ability to speak. Our client has released a range of new alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) solutions that help individuals with speech impairments communicate. The company develops both communication hardware and software solutions for people with physical, cognitive, and speech disabilities. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Dedham, Massachusetts. Our client  has just launched nine new AAC products that give individuals with communication disabilities a voice and a way to live more fulfilled, integrated and independent lives.

The Position

Reporting to the President outside of Boston, Massachusetts, the Vice President of Sales will be responsible for the planning and execution of sales activities for the U.S. The VP will organize and lead a team of sales professionals divided into three regions, East, Central, and West.  Each of these regions is led by a Regional Sales Manager, focused on direct sales of the company’s products and services to end-user customers located primarily in the USA and Canada.  The current sales and marketing organization is comprised of a sales team of 20 spread across these regions.

Key deliverables include responsibility to create growth strategies and successful business solutions for branding and positioning of the product line as well as organize, develop, and grow the sales organization. Critical to success will be the ability to work closely with Technology business managers and R&D resources around the globe.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The diagram below illustrates the intersection of competencies critical in the new VP Sales:

Financial Backing

The firm has raised equity capital in prior rounds, the most recent $16M includes the addition of well-known Amadeus Ventures out of the UK.  Additional investors include Invacare, Tudor, Vector Fund Management, Northzone Ventures, and Investor Growth Capital.  Prior to their most recent round of funding, the firm had established profitability.

Compensation

Compensation is competitive with the position’s requirements.  In a performance-based environment, this will include base salary and milestone/incentive bonus structure.

Location

U.S. Headquarters: Dedham, MA

To apply please use the following link:

http://155.212.246.208/JobDescriptionMultiple.asp?WebJobPostingsID=181&chkbox181=chkbox181

FUNCTIONAL EXPERIENCE:

• Successfully building direct sales force of 20-35 covering the US
• Building/managing scalable sales forecasting, budgeting, & incentives sales plans & tools
• Managing revenue to plan at both board and sales team level
• Strong consultative selling approach – selling to multiple decision influencers both B2B (healthcare professionals) and B2C (patients/consumers)
• Managing remote decentralized/multi-office sales & sales operations support team
• Achieving significant market penetration for new product launches
• North & South American customer selling experience (US and Canada, primary)

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE:

• Durable medical equipment
• Home Medical equipment
• Assistive technologies (hearing aids, mobility aids, visual aids, cognitive aids, etc.)
• Medical technologies sold directly to patients

MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE & PHILOSOPHY:

• Success as individual contributor, as player/coach; ability to close/Proactive involvement in deal tactics and closing
• 2-tiered sales management experience
• Strong collaborative style; uses persuasion over coercion
• Attracting, hiring & managing A sales talent to support rapid growth
• Instituting processes that scale as customer base and sales team grow
• Experience working within multi-national corp structure (minimum EU)

As CEO, when do you predict the market conditions to take a turn for the better?

When CEOs were asked whether they were still seriously considering cuts in Q2, 2009, more than 25% of the early respondents answered affirmatively.

As CEO, are you seriously considering further downsizing in Q2 2009

We will post the rest of the survey responses in the next 10 days or so, and will include updates in the interim.

• Developing a component is really difficult. Developing an end user complete solution is by far the better way to go.
• Components are often harder to visualize as displacing current technologies or sciences. In particular, VERY hard for consumers to visualize.
• Those who may be most interested in the innovation may be so interested because they stand the most to lose. Therefore, to get control of the technology might be important, but to further develop and deploy it may be exactly the opposite of what they had in mind.
• Kevin Johnson, CEO of Manifold Products, mechanical engineer and serial entrepreneur, had one of the best sports metaphors for it-

“It’s not enough to be the Harlem Globe Trotters and show off fancy ball tricks in the back court, expecting that others will notice and say, ‘Hey pass me the ball and I’ll take it to the basket.’ Instead, you have to take it all the way to the hoop yourself and demonstrate the value/viability/feasibility before anyone else will sign on….”