PE/VC conference report

Friday I spent the day at Columbia Business School's annual Private Equity & VC conference. The conference was pretty good, and there was a diverse set of attendees, not just business school students (although, we did make up the majority).

Alan Patricof (CBS alum) opened up the conference and spent his time talking about entrepreneurship in the developing world. He is involved with a variety of initiatives in that area, and seems pretty passionate about it. He's also currently the founding managing partner of Greycroft Partners, which is a media-focused VC firm he started recently. He's also known as the "father" of VC - a very accomplished guy, no doubt.

I attended a couple of panels. One was about VC's and networks - not the wired kind of networks, but social networks. I didn't think this was a great topic to begin with, but it might have been useful for people new to VC who don't understand how important relationships are in the business.

The second panel was much better, and was focused on the globalization of venture capital. Lots of advice was given about pursuing venture capital careers, and one of the panelists mentioned she was hiring interns as well! (I should probably drop her a note, anyways). I also found it interesting how the panelists responded to a question about the tax treatment of carried interest. One panelist said in not so many words that taxing carried interest as income would not dissuade people from getting into the VC business. Meanwhile, another panelist looked like they were squirming a bit :) I dunno, carry looks like income to me, unless someone can convince me otherwise...

There were non-VC related panels as well, including one that focused on limited partners.

I was really happy to see attendees (and alums) at the conference who were working in industry and coming for the educational experience. I also met a couple of Masters candidates in the engineering school who came to learn more about PE/VC. From what I understand from one of those guys, the event was not really promoted within the engineering school, which is a shame. It would be nice to get the MBAs and the engineering folks working together more often, or even just mixing informally.

Afterwards, there was a social reception w/wine and beer as well as nice passed hors d'ouveres. Nice! Anyone who knows me well knows I am a passed hors d'ouveres junky...

Man, I should have hit that Wharton PE/VC conference today...

Looks like there were some protesters who busted in when the cofounder of Carlyle was giving his speech.

I don't think CBS has anyone as controversial coming to its PE/VC conference, unfortunately... (fortunately?)

This looks cool - Social Responsibility PE fund internship

These guys are looking for a CBS intern -- looks like a neat opportunity:


Main Street Resources (mainstreetresources.com) is a niche private equity shop interested in launching a socially responsible private equity fund. The opportunity for one or two CBS interns is to work directly with Dan Levinson, Founder/GP, on the strategic plan for the fund and thereafter fundraising and putting out the fund.

Initial phase will involve research/conception/drafting while latter stage will involve execution. Related topics will be pursued as well - such as presenting findings at CBS, writing a paper on "How a SR CEO can live consistently at home with SR" - and lots more. One goal is to conceive of, raise and put out a cutting edge successful fund - while promoting the concept and project so as to influence thinking in this area. Team will consist of Dan and the intern(s).


In other news, had a great phone interview with a firm today, should have a followup in person next week.

PE/VC breakfast series

The VC/PE club hosts various breakfasts and networking events with local firms. This one looked interesting, especially since it covers the limited partner side of the VC world. Here's an abridged version of the email I just received...


PEVC Breakfast Series TIAA CREF, Alternative Investments

Hosted by Mr. John Goodreds, Director, Alternative Investments

Thursday, September 20, 2007 from 8:10 AM to 9:30 AM

Please note that due to the intimate setting of the event students are required to be punctual and have taken the time to prepare questions and familiarize themselves with the firm, speaker, and industry by reviewing the its website as well as performing data base search.

Sign-Up Instructions:
Due to space constraints, we can only accommodate 12 attendees and will be using a lottery system. Typically each student will only be able to attend one event within this series.

Please respond to this e-mail by 3 PM on Monday September 17th to enter the lottery.

Those elected will receive e-mail notification on Tuesday. Unfortunately, if you do not receive an e-mail confirmation it means that you were not selected.

All MBA and EMBA students without academic obligations are eligible to attend.

TIAA-CREF has $340bn of assets under management, and the Alternative Investment Group has commitments of close to $5bn. The Group invests between $20-200m per private equity or venture capital fund, with an average of $65m. The Alternative Investment Group makes between 20 and 25 fund commitments a year and also about ten to 15 co-investments.

www.tiaa-cref.org


Update: I was since selected to attend this event.

For those of you who want to get into Private Equity after school, CBS has a great deal of access to the PE community by virtue of its location (NYC). Here are a few events going on in the next couple of weeks that will get you aspiring LBO kings excited :)


E&Y Educational Seminar - Transaction Structures: Advance Tax Concepts
Material will be presented by Partners from E&Y’s Transaction Services Group

Material Covered Will Include:
Section 338(h)(10) Transactions
Common Forms of LBO Transactions - Selected Issues
Shareholder and Management Rollovers
Preferred Stock OID -phantom income issues
Deductibility of Interest
Limitations on Utilizing Target’s NOL and Credit Carryovers
Note: Attendees are expected to have some experience dealing with intermediate and advanced tax issues. The material will not cover basic tax concepts.

E&Y Educational Seminar – Financial Statement Risks and Exposures
Material will be presented by Partners from E&Y’s Transaction Services Group

Description: Whether you are buying or selling a company, it is becoming more crucial to understand how accounting impacts a company's financial statements and the contemplated transaction. Even though a company's financial statements may be audited and prepared "on accordance with GAAP", alternative accounting treatments may have vastly different impacts on revenue, margins, EBITDA, working capital and capex. It is important to understand these alternative treatments and how they impact a transaction. The discussion on Financial Statement Risks and Exposures will help you identify where to look for these issues.

Panel Discussion: “PE funds accessing the public capital markets”

Topics will include: Why PE funds are seeking access to the public markets, what advantages/disadvantages exist for a public fund, how conflicts of interest might arise between traditional funds and publicly backed funds, how Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations (“SPAC”) and Business Development Corporations (“BDC”) work, and what types of funds are best suited for these vehicles.

Panelists are:
Professor Colin C. Blaydon, William and Josephine Buchanan Professor of Management Director, Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship Dean Emeritus
http://oracle-www.dartmouth.edu/dart/groucho/tuck_faculty_and_research.faculty_profile?p_id=AZ32XH

Julie Spellman, Partner Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
http://www.cravath.com/attachments/C4780F32C2FB7096852571800068DFE1.pdf

Jason Block, Partner AlpInvest Partners
http://www.alpinvest.com/investment_activities/mezzanine/deal_team.htm