Volume 8, Number 21, May 29, 2003



This Week's Contents:

1) NEWS ABOUT NETPRENEUR
    1.1 Numbers In Strength
    1.2 So Much News, So Little Time
2) REGIONAL NETPRENEURS
    2.1 Calling The Rescue Rangers
    2.2 Calling Nurse Ratched
    2.3 Calling For Your Medication
    2.4 Round-up: Calling All Quick Hits
    ......news from QuadraMed, HandySoft, BrowserMedia,

    ........... and Communiqué Conferencing
3) FUNDING & FINANCE NEWS
    3.1 Dough Raise Me
    ......$4.3M for 1 local entrepreneur
    3.2 Life In The Food Chain
    ......Whitney Acquires AMISYS
4) WHO'SWARE
    ...... news about people at Aurora Funds and Convera


|||||||||||||||||||| 1. News About Netpreneur ||||||||||||||||||

1.1 NUMBERS IN STRENGTH
Holey moley! Interest in IGNITION, our upcoming event to celebrate entrepreneurship in the region, has been absolutely overwhelming. So much, in fact, that we've just had to close registration with well over 1300 people already signed up. If you haven't registered yet, we're sorry, but there's just no space left. Those of you who have registered, do us a favor please. If it turns out you won't be able to make the event, please let us know with an email to ignition@netpreneur.org so that perhaps we can accommodate others later. What's the hullabaloo? IGNITION is more than a celebration, it's also the Netpreneur team's opportunity to say thanks to everyone who has been part of this community. It's a chance for all of us to get together in person to reminisce a bit, renew the entrepreneurial spirit, and glimpse the future of our region's entrepreneurial network. With us for the festivities will be longtime entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship supporters Ted Leonsis, John Sidgmore, Caren DeWitt, Phillip Merrick, Raul Fernandez, Jack Davies, Mark Walsh, Kathy Bushkin, and Netpreneur's own Mario Morino. Special thanks to our sponsors: the Win-Win Strategies Foundation, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Piper Rudnick, Blackboard, Ernst & Young, Hale & Dorr, and Silicon Valley Bank. The party starts Wednesday, June 4, 6:00-10:00 PM, at the Hyatt Regency in Reston. See you there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1.2 SO MUCH NEWS, SO LITTLE TIME
As we've been saying, Netpreneur is turning a corner, with a new group of entrepreneurs already taking over the show. That means changes for Netpreneur News as well. We'll be publishing the News just as you've been used to it for two more weeks through June 12. After that, the Netpreneur News list will continue every two weeks in a scaled-down version for the time being. News will still keep you informed about the program, events, and the community, but without the sections containing news about local companies. After all, the core group of entrepreneurs running the network all have full-time jobs. Not to worry, however, with luck and the growing cadre of volunteers, News will again evolve to meet the needs of the community. If you've got editorial skills or interests and would like to volunteer to work on the Netpreneur News team, send an email to info@netpreneur.org. Stick around for a new Netpreneur News run by and for entrepreneurs (and send your editor@'s Mom a nice note telling her how much you like the next two issues).


|||||||||||||||||| 2. Regional Netpreneurs ||||||||||||||||||

2.1 CALLING THE RESCUE RANGERS
(Silver Spring, MD) OPTIMUS, a provider of public safety technology, introduced its Michaels Computer Aided Air & Ground Dispatch module, a product that enables dispatchers to make emergency transport decisions for ground and air vehicles based on the most up-to-date information available. Part of Michaels Fire & EMS, a pre-hospital emergency management solution, the new module provides a common view across multiple jurisdictions, with increased functionality for vehicle routing and tracking, reporting, and communications. It incorporates a Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology to enable numerous emergency transport activities, including the ability to match transport requests with the appropriate vehicle and to dispatch vehicles based on up-to-date road conditions, vehicle availability, hospital proximity, and bed capacity. (Michael, BTW, is the Patron Saint of paramedics and EMTs).
http://www.optimuscorp.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2.2 CALLING NURSE RATCHED
(Rockville, MD) Planmatics, a change management and technology consulting firm, has created Care Systems Inc. to market Nurse Scheduler, a new scheduling software application for healthcare organizations. The product helps hospitals and staff reduce time spent generating schedules and improves management of overtime and agency staff sources. It was developed based on a schedule optimizer that has been deployed in the postal industry and has been modified to meet the staffing needs of nurses in hospitals. According to the company, nursing costs currently account for 24-30% of hospital revenues.
http://www.caresystemsinc.com
http://www.planitusa.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2.3 CALLING FOR YOUR MEDICATION
(Alexandria, VA) To help improve the prescription process, SureScripts launched the Prescription Process Validation (PPV) program, a research program to study the roles, function, and workflow of physicians, pharmacists, and their respective staffs. The study, which began this month, will also examine key drivers of electronic prescribing adoption and the role that formulary management and drug utilization review play in the prescribing process. SureScripts Messenger Services links physician office technology and pharmacy software to facilitate the secure electronic transmission of patients' prescription information.
http://www.surescripts.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2.4 ROUND-UP: CALLING ALL QUICK HITS

(Reston, VA) QuadraMed released QuadraMed CPA, a scaled down version that incorporates the core cost and profit analysis functionality from its Performance Measurement software, for use by healthcare facilities that may not have the staff and financial resources to implement the comprehensive product.
http://www.quadramed.com

(Vienna, VA) HandySoft partnered with SF-based Plumtree Software to offer the Sarbanes-Oxley Accelerator, which helps publicly traded companies comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. It combines business process management from HandySoft's BizFlow platform with collaboration, search, and personalized portal technology from Plumtree's Enterprise Web Suite.
http://www.handysoft.com
http://www.plumtree.com

(Washington, DC) BrowserMedia launched the website for US China Business Solutions, a provider of services that connect businesses in the US and China.
http://www.uschinabiz.com
http://www.browsermedia.com

(Reston, VA) Communiqué Conferencing, a provider of Web and phone conferencing services, launched an online event pre-registration and reporting service that is free for customers conducting larger Web-based meetings and Web seminars.
http://www.ccimeet.com


|||||||||||||||||| 3. Funding & Finance News ||||||||||||||||||

3.1 DOUGH RAISE ME

$4.3 million in a Series A round for Rockville-based GlycoMimetics, a developer of glycobiology products that use small molecule drugs that mimic the action of carbohydrates which are responsible for important biological functions. New Enterprise Associates led the round, with participation by Alliance Technology Ventures, Anthem Capital, and the Novartis Venture Fund. GlycoMimetics was established around technology acquired from GlycoTech Inc., including an established platform technology for designing and screening carbohydrate mimics which was developed initially by GlycoTech and Ciba-Geigy (later Novartis). GlycoMimetics says that it now has a number of proprietary small molecules that it believes have significant therapeutic potential. M. James Barrett of NEA and Mike Henos of Alliance will join GlycoMimetics' Board of Directors; Barrett as Chairman.
http://www.glycotech.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3.2 LIFE IN THE FOOD CHAIN

-- Whitney Acquires AMISYS
(Rockville, MD) AMISYS and Harrisburg, PA-based Synertech Health System Solutions have been acquired by Stamford, CT-based Whitney & Co. AMISYS is a provider of managed care administrative processing systems; Synertech is the largest business process outsourcer to the managed healthcare industry and offers application hosting capabilities. Whitney purchased the two organizations from Platinum Equity, and has created Amisys Synertech Inc., a new holding company that will run the firms. Whitney has hired Kevin Brown, the former Chairman and CEO of AMISYS, to be President and CEO of Amisys Synertech. The combined services of the two companies will provide complementary solutions for managed care organizations.
http://www.amisysllc.com
http://www.synertechsystems.com
http://www.whitney.com


|||||||||||||||||| 4. Who'sWare ||||||||||||||||||

(Research Triangle Park, NC) The Aurora Funds, an early stage venture capital firm, announced that Tom McMurray has joined the firm as a Special Venture Partner focusing on new investment opportunities in the DC metro area. Aurora already has four portfolio companies in the region, Blackboard, Engenia, InPhonic, and VetCentric. The announcement follows the closing of Aurora's fourth fund last month with $85 million.
http://www.aurorafunds.com

(Vienna, VA) Convera, a provider of search and categorization software, named Rick Rickertsen and Jeffrey White to its Board of Directors. Rickertsen is COO of Thayer Capital; White was formerly CFO of Major League Baseball and is an advisor to executives at the Red Sox and Devil Rays.
http://www.convera.com

[ News Sources ] has links to other business and technology publications. 

[ Public Relations Resources ] has tips on getting press coverage for your business.