TWC Group :: Press Archive

TWC Business Launch Prepares Octagon Research Solutions and Wireless M2M For Funding in Soft Investment Market

Collegeville, PA (October 11, 2002) – Octagon Research Solutions, a biopharmaceutical software and services company and Wireless M2M, a provider of wireless monitoring and control solutions for commercial assets, are the most recent additions to the roster of start-up companies working with T. Williams Consulting, Inc. (TWC)'s Business Launch team. TWC's Business Launch services help early stage companies prepare for their first institutional financing by making rapid, focused improvements to their businesses. The goal is to position clients as 'Investments of Choice', increasing their odds of getting funded and shortening the time to funding, which is especially difficult in this soft investment market.

"Many start-up companies are approaching investors prematurely," said Dan McKinney, managing director of TWC's Business Launch services. "And once investors have formed an impression, it's difficult to reposition without looking unfocused. We help companies make the right first impression."

TWC has formed close affiliations with the VC community, enabling them to advise companies on what investors are looking for. TWC's methodology and tools identify and focus on the critical issues, so companies spend time on what matters to get funding.

"In general terms, we are seeing significant improvement in both the quantity and quality of deal flow, because we now have some well thought-out plans managed by seasoned teams," said venture capitalist E. Michael Forgash, partner, Zon Capital Partners. "However, in quite a number of cases, we are still getting plans from companies that believe they are prepared, but in actuality are not yet investor ready."

According to Octagon's President and CEO Jim Walker, seeking professional guidance was a sensible choice. "Although Octagon was already achieving success when we contacted TWC, we realized that we needed a strategic partner to take our company to the next level. With their strong investor network, TWC has helped us to open the doors to many funding sources that were difficult to access in the past. They've shepherded us through their investment process, helping us to crystallize our marketing strategy and better communicate our value proposition to target audiences."

Wireless M2M's CEO Bill Bradfield added, "Wireless M2M is a new company. Our controlGen management and control solution is a hot application but we are in an increasingly crowded space. Our management philosophy has been to keep fixed costs at a minimum as we build the business. As a result, we have used third party help with engineering, manufacturing, and software development. Using TWC to help with our strategic activities was just another instance of staying true to our low fixed cost model: we had a lot of strategic work to do and we did not want to hire full time folks to do it. We needed the structure TWC could provide while we were all running at 100 miles per hour getting the business started."

The TWC Business Launch methodology begins with a gap analysis of a client's current state versus its perfect, funding state. This provides a roadmap that highlights where focused business improvements need to be made.

"Our approach is unique," said McKinney. "This is not a investor presentation 'bootcamp'. We believe that investor readiness starts with having the right business fundamentals in place. Our management consulting is aimed at making business improvements that increase a client's odds of getting funded, as well as improving its business operations."

"We also introduce clients to our investor network; but that's not the hard part," continues McKinney. "Most companies can get a meeting. Its making it past the first meeting and through due diligence that requires the right business fundamentals and a crisp way of articulating that model to investors."

Founded in 1996, TWC is a world-class management consulting firm that shapes companies to succeed. We provide a single point of contact for the outsourcing of critical needs, including Business Launch Consulting, Human Capital Solutions, and Strategic Assessments. From start-ups to Fortune 1000 firms, our track record of helping companies achieve success is impressive and includes experience in Biotech, Energy, Financial Services, Information Technology, Optics, Pharmaceuticals, Telecommunications, and Wireless. Additional information about TWC may be found at www.twcgroup.com.

Founded in 1999, Octagon Research Solutions is profitably helping many of the leading biopharmaceutical companies dramatically reduce their drug development costs and time to market. Octagon is the only company providing proprietary software and services spanning the entire drug development cycle from trial to submission.

Through its controlGen, Inc. subsidiary, Wireless M2M offers its patent pending process for monitoring and controlling remote assets to firms in the agricultural, industrial and energy markets.