A revolving investment fund at the University of St. Thomas helped five promising Minnesota technology companies get through a tough year.
The William C. Norris Institute at St. Thomas' Opus College of Business invested $280,000 during its 2010 fiscal year, which ended June 30. That included an investment in an undisclosed cleantech startup that's still in stealth mode, as well as follow-up investments in four companies that were already in the program's portfolio:
�Apinee, which makes an environmentally friendly wood treatment
�
Dejen Digital, a web portal that aims to streamline music and dance tryouts
�
Seeonic, which makes an RFID-equipped retail display to help track inventory
�and
Xollai, which is developing a system for landing unmanned aircraft
Norris Institute Director Mike Moore said it was a difficult year for everyone.
"It was just survival. If a company matched its sales from the year before, or just lost a little bit, that was more than could be expected," Moore said.
The fund was created by the late Control Data Corp. founder and CEO William Norris in 1988 to support early-stage technology-based companies in Minnesota that address social needs as well as business opportunities. In 2001, the program became part of the St. Thomas business school, where students now help perform due diligence and other tasks related to running the fund.
Moore said this year he hopes to make first-time investments in four or five companies. Entrepreneurs can find guidelines and information about submitting business plans at
http://www.stthomas.edu/norrisinstituteSource: Mike Moore, William C. Norris Institute
Writer:
Dan Haugen