Venture Capital Strategy Launches With Murphree Venture Partners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 1, 2005
(New Orleans, LA) - Murphree Venture Partners, a seed and early-stage venture capital firm with offices in Houston, Austin, Albuquerque, Boulder, Colorado Springs and Birmingham, Alabama, is the founding sponsor of a multi-state venture capital network — Capital Village — to be launched at the 2005 RoundTable © series sponsored by The Idea Village and Greater New Orleans, Inc.
“We believe in the future of Louisiana and are willing to commit resources to create future deal flow,” says Elliott Bouillion, managing partner of Murphree Venture Partners and a Louisiana native. Bouillion is relocating to their Houston office in order to begin building a portfolio that includes the Southeast region. “We bring our extensive knowledge and expertise to Louisiana companies and potentially provide them with the runway they need to grow successfully. I believe the New Orleans region, coupled with the Capital Village , is the perfect opportunity to gain market validation.”
In addition to providing administrative services and office support, the Capital Village, started by The Idea Village and Greater New Orleans, Inc. will supply a team of trained MBAs from local universities who will assess, screen and develop qualified deals for investment to those participating in the network. The Capital Village has “slots” for five founding participants and is targeting Texas (Murphree Venture Partners) Boston, Georgia, New York and California venture capital firms.
“ Louisiana has the potential to be a preeminent entrepreneurial community and we are leveraging our assets collectively to help make Louisiana a great place to start a business,” says Secretary of Economic Development Mike Olivier. “Establishing a network of national VC firms will attract much needed start-up capital.”
The ultimate goal of The Capital Village is to increase the pool of lead venture capital by attracting out of state firms to partner with local VC companies to develop the infrastructure and support for worthy ventures. A report developed by GNO, Inc. and The Idea Village to be presented at the RoundTable © illustrates the need for capital growth and investment activity and raises questions that will be asked of the RoundTable © participants.
Research shows that the New Orleans region lacks a critical mass of qualified venture capital firms with the resources and expertise to lead in first round seed investments. Recent “losses” such as NeuroBionics and Hotel Booking Solutions have prompted GNO, Inc. and The Idea Village to launch a strategy that reverses the trend of regional ventures being “stolen” by out of state investors.
“We want them here,” says Sarah Kracke, senior vice president of GNO, Inc. “The right venture capital firms can reverse our losses based on the experience of their investment team. By providing value added incentives such as community access and overhead support, a VC firm entering a new market will incur less upfront costs. The Capital Village also addresses creating and sustaining jobs—the point at which GNO, Inc. and The Idea Village intersect.”
Startups require, more than ever before, the hands-on mentoring of active, seasoned directors and VC firms. VCs are providing the human capital, networking resources and strategic insight young companies need to grow into successful industry leaders—intangibles that are just as valuable as the capital invested in the company.
“Murphree Venture validates what GNO, Inc. and The Idea Village have been working on together,” said Tim Williamson , president of The Idea Village. “Their expertise and industry knowledge will build businesses that, in turn, will create jobs and revenue for our community. We are, in effect, incubating VC firms. Our message? ‘Louisiana is a buy!' ”
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