New money for early-stage companies

by Heather Hayes
Virginia Business
September 2005

Jonathan Aberman is looking for a few good business plans. The venture capital lawyer and business adviser recently started a venture capital fund to encourage promising IT and health-care companies.

“There just isn’t enough hands-on, early-stage capital available to get companies off the ground,” says Aberman, who has worked for several top technology law firms. He also is involved in the governor’s Commission on Biotechnology, George Mason Intellectual Properties and the Northern Virginia Technology Council.

Amplifier Venture Partners, based in Reston, expects to raise up to $20 million from investors. It hopes to fund seed-stage and early-stage firms in Virginia, the District of Columbia and Maryland. “Our goal is to not just give people money but to provide operational assistance and an experienced viewpoint,” says Aberman.

The fund will invest only in companies that:
• Have developed unique and commercially viable intellectual property ideas or offerings.
• Compete in markets large enough to support a business.
• Are run by entrepreneurial teams that want operational advice and assistance from the fund and are willing to work with it to move the companies forward.
• Can demonstrate a clear, near-term path to commercialization, customer adoption, business growth and strategic interest.

Fund advisers will review unsolicited business plans, but companies are more likely to be reviewed if they are referred by a trusted third party, says Aberman. Amplifier will invest $250,000 to $750,000 during the initial round of financing.