Last Thursday, Lynn Gellerman, founding partner of Adena Ventures and a partner in Woodland Venture Management, spoke to an audience of about 60 Midlands Venture Forum members and non-members.
His speech, titled “Venture Capital in Underserved Areas,” began with him calling to mind his Nebraska connections: his hometown is Columbus, his undergraduate alma mater is Hastings College, and his good friend is Frank Solich. The third is his most recent, as the two now both call Athens, Ohio home. He related Omaha to Athens, pointing out the characteristics that make it ripe for venture capital.
The first half of his speech focused on explaining venture capital as well as Adena Ventures’ origins and keys to success. Lynn described Adena as “old school VC” that focuses on building companies. In the end, he said, it boils down to the people. He also provided insights on the current economic conditions, commenting that the meltdown might move the little guys “to the front of the bus.”
In the second half of his speech, Lynn provided three case studies from Adena. First, he described its involvement in ED MAP, a distance learning software company that started out with “16 employees waiting around in a warehouse for the UPS truck.” It’s been profitable in four of its five years in the fund. Second, he explained how Adena, in partnership with Ohio University, secured a $3.5 million award from the state of Ohio to invest in new technology businesses in the 19 counties of Southeast Ohio. Third, he brought Omaha back into the picture, detailing the success of Omaha-based Game Plan Technologies, a sports’ video editing and statics software company.
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Following his speech, Lynn fielded questions from the audience, including whether or not Adena has considered opening an office in Omaha.
MVF’s next event will be an educational luncheon, titled “Maximizing the Value in Social Networking Sites,” on Friday, March 20th at 11:30 a.m. in the Community Room of Security National Bank, located at 1120 S. 101st St. Registration, open to members and non-members, may be completed on MVF’s event page or by phone at (402) 397-0280.
