A: We completed our first closing in the summer of 2001 at
$11 million and we expect to complete our second closing for
a total of $20 million in the first quarter of 2002.
2: How much will the Greenhouse's investment be in
each of its portfolio companies?
A: We expect to invest between $1-$1.25 million in each of
our portfolio companies, and in most cases this investment
will have milestone contingencies.
3: In what fields will the Greenhouse invest?
A: We are focused on investing in heath-care related fields,
such as drug discovery, medical devices, etc.
4: At what stage of development does the Greenhouse
become involved in a potential portfolio company?
A: We are looking for newly emerging entities, which could
be seed, start-up, a re-start, or a corporate spin-out.
5: Who are the Greenhouse's investors?
Currently we have 70 individual investors who are members
Tenex Medical Investors, and two institutional investors focused
on life sciences.
6: What is Tenex Medical Investors?
A: Tenex Medical Investors (Tenex) is a non-profit angel organization
made up of 170 individuals who invest in private life science
companies. The group meets 6-8 times a year to review investments
following a screening process conducted by volunteer members.
7: What is the Greenhouse's relationship to Tenex Medical
Investors?
A: Access to
many of the network of Tenex members allows us to bring technical, managerial
and strategic know-how directly to young companies, ensuring the availability
the resources essential for success.
8: Who are the Greenhouse's institutional investors?
A: Sanderling
Ventures in Menlo Park, California, and Diaz & Altschul of New York,
New York. The Greenhouse expects additional institutional investors to join
the fund in the next several months.
9: What specifically is the Greenhouse looking for
in a company to invest in?
A: Our ideal investment is a company where we feel our network,
represented by our investors and Tenex, can help move the
company forward at an accelerated pace.
10: What distinguishes the Greenhouse from other life
science funds?
A: We are based
on a new concept of bringing together life science angel and venture capital
financing to invest in emerging life science enterprises.
11: How is the Greenhouse different from an incubator
or accelerator?
A: Although we are focused on nurturing young companies, unlike
an incubator or an accelerator, we are not site specific;
in fact we anticipate that more than 60% of our investments
will be in companies located outside of the Bay Area. Our focus
is on complete solutions to the needs of portfolio companies, particularly
adding value through our network of investors.
12: Would the Greenhouse be interested in investing
in a concept company?
A: If there is a strong protectable intellectual property
being spun-out of a university or a company, we are interested
in investing. The Greenhouse has the capacity itself or through
Tenex to provide interim management for its portfolio companies
while recruiting long-term management.
13: Why does the Greenhouse have both an operating
committee and a board of directors?
A: The fund believes that knowledge is the key to successful
returns. By having a ten-member operating committee review
investments with the managers, and a board that sets strategy
for the fund, we leverage a tremendous amount of knowledge and pass
it along to the four managers of the fund. The managers still
retain the final investment decision responsibility and consensus
among them is required.
14: Do your institutional investors have an edge
for follow-on financing of Greenhouse portfolio companies?
A: Through its participation in the Greenhouse, Sanderling,
along with our other institutional investors, will get to
know our portfolio companies, and can be in a position to offer
term sheets or perform follow-on financing. However, the entrepreneurs
of our portfolio companies will have the freedom to raise
capital from any source in a competitive marketplace.
15: What does the Greenhouse want to be known for?
A: We want to be known for providing superior returns to our
investors by nurturing our portfolio companies through the
life science knowledge and networks represented by our investors
and the largest life science angel investment group (Tenex) there
is. We chose the term "Greenhouse" in our name because
we are a venture capital fund that "grows" its portfolio
companies into successful life science businesses. In short, we
want to be more than just investors.
16: How does the Greenhouse expect to achieve success
with early-stage investments in the current post dot-com environment?
A: The so-called
dot-com economy was primarily fueled by the new growth of IT and communications
fields, which have matured. The field of life science is of great interest
to venture capital now, and unlike these other areas is expected to achieve
substantial and sustained growth for some time to come.
17: When will the Greenhouse be making its first investment?
A: We anticipate making our first investment in the near future.
We have several enterprises currently under review, and will
soon be making our initial investment decisions.