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News About The Netpreneur Program

1. A BUSINESS MODEL BASED ON COMMUNITY OF INTEREST
In the inaugural Coffee & DoughNets session, several netpreneurs spoke out about the need to broaden the understanding and concept of the community of interest model as the basis for building businesses on the Internet. The term "community of interest" has its origins in the concept of virtual communities of electronic citizens on the Internet. The "interest" element is some common bond that ties these people together and gives them reason to electronically assemble.

Please join us with your experiences, opinions, questions and comments. You must be a registered user who has joined the site to participate in the online forum, but registration is quick, easy, free and open to all.

2. SERIES ON CHALLENGE AND CHANGE IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Georgetown University's Global Entrepreneurship Studies Program, in partnership with the Netpreneur Program and the Morino Institute, is hosting "Challenge and Change in the Digital Age," a series of speaker panels on important issues related to doing business on the Internet. The first of the series, Electronic Publishing: Fad or Future, held on March 5 featured speakers Mark Pincus and Ralph Terkowitz. Pincus co-founded Freeloader, the first off-line Web delivery service, selling the company for $38 million after only 11 months. Terkowitz is Vice President of Technology of The Washington Post Company, responsible for investments in new technology ventures, including Digital Ink Co. Both speakers expressed their enthusiasm for the netpreneurial phenomenon and the revolution of the young and innovative business person. Mark Pincus explained, "This is an exciting time. Everything is risky but if you don't take the plunge now, you may miss out on some real opportunities. In fact, one of my favorite things to do is convince MBA students to quit their jobs and start their own businesses." Ralph Terkowitz remarked "The only bad thing about the program was that it didn't last long enough!" The second presentation of the series will be held on April 21 at 6:30 PM. Its focus is on "On-Line Investing: Can Establishment Brokers Compete?" and will feature Randy Befumo of Motley Fool and Joseph Grano, President of PaineWebber. It will be held at Georgetown's Main Campus in Copley Hall and the fee is $50 at the door. For more information or to RSVP, contact Georgetown University directly at 202-687-4188 or e-mail (gesp@gunet.georgetown.edu).

3. WHAT'S NEW AT NETPRENEUR EXCHANGE?
If you're new to the Netpreneur Exchange, one of the first places to go is the Get Involved! page (just click the Get Involved! icon on the home page, or browse over to (http://netpreneur.org/about/participate). Here you'll find out how you can play an active role in the development of the Netpreneur community. Click on the "New" icon on the home page (or browse to (http://netpreneur.org/whatsnew.html) to find the latest additions. We also recommend that you join the site (http://netpreneur.org/join) so you can gain access to the discussion groups, contact databases and premium content areas. Joining the site is free and takes just a few minutes!

Regional Netpreneurs

1. SPACEWORKS OFFERS NETWORK-BASED ORDER MANAGEMENT
(Rockville, MD) SpaceWorks, Inc. (http://www.spaceworks.com) has released version 2.0 of its OrderManager product. Based wholly on Internet technologies such as HTML, OrderManager 2.0 is a turnkey, real-time order processing and management application which integrates with a corporation's back-office resource planning systems and extranet. SpaceWorks says the product offers advantages which include: a "self-service" model that reduces order processing costs; support for real-time inventory and order status; partner-specific pricing; a searchable multimedia catalog, reusable interface templates and seamless, end-to-end links between a corporation's legacy system and its trading partners.

2. KIVEX INTRODUCES INTERNET BUILDING SERVICE
SERVICE (Bethesda, MD) Internet Service Provider, KIVEX (http://www.kivex.com), announced availability of its Internet Building Service (IBS) in major office buildings throughout Greater Washington. The service delivers Internet access at speeds up to 100 times faster than traditional dial-up telephone lines. The cost per user for the service is comparable to local dial-up services. Businesses with LANs can "Internet-enable" their desktop computers using a single cable connected to an access port in their suite. IBS enables companies in a multi-tenant office building to access the Internet without the need to operate their own WAN. Customers are not required to purchase any additional hardware and incur only a small setup cost to wire the building access port. KIVEX is a wholly owned subsidiary of the PennCorp Financial Group (NYSE:PFG), an $8 billion Insurance holding company. Both companies are headquartered in Bethesda.

3. MCI INTRODUCES INTRANET SERVICES FOR BUSINESSES
(Washington, DC) MCI (http://www.mci.com) has announced availability of networkMCI Intranet Services, offering two integrated solutions for on-site or fully-managed corporate intranets. MCI is leveraging its own services with those of MCI Systemhouse (the company's IT unit) and existing alliances with Microsoft and Digital Equipment Corp. to deliver the services. The two offerings, networkMCI Intranet Builder and networkMCI Intranet Complete, combine hardware, software, consulting, implementation, systems integration, technical and help-desk support with single-source billing from MCI. networkMCI Intranet Builder packages all necessary tools for companies that want a turnkey intranet without the need for significant customization. networkMCI Intranet Complete provides fully-managed, end-to-end service that can be customized to meet the needs of the individual company with MCI operating the intranet on servers within the MCI network. Both services support a range of intranet applications including: database access; email; information management tools such as authoring, publishing and web searching; collaboration tools; and one-call trouble resolution.

4. NEW EDITORS JOIN INTELLECTUALCAPITAL.COM
(Washington, DC) Reagan White House speechwriter Peggy Noonan and former Illinois Senator Paul Simon are among the new contributing editors to IntellectualCapital.com (http://www.intellectualcapital.com), the bipartisan public policy e-zine edited by former Delaware governor Pete du Pont. Also joining the operation are Anne Applebaum, political columnist and associate editor of the London Evening Standard, and Lisa Schiffren, contributing editor to The American Spectator and former speechwriter for Vice President Dan Quayle. "IntellectualCapital.com's interactive, bipartisan format is a major draw for our writers," said du Pont, "Increasingly, the Web is an essential and primary medium for people active in public policy because of its powerful communications capacity."

5. CWINTRA OFFERS NETWORK SUPERVISION AND CONTROL
(Vienna, VA) Cable & Wireless Internet Exchange (CWIX), a Cable & Wireless company providing tailored Internet solutions to ISPs and multinational businesses, announced CWINTRA, the first secure Web-based business management platform available for IP network management and monitoring. Already available to the company's CWIX customers, CWINTRA is used to monitor and manage trouble tickets, view performance data, receive automatic alarm notifications, and obtain real-time information on network operations. With future releases, customers will be able to monitor route announcements, place orders for new services, upgrade or change existing services, and access real-time billing data. CWINTRA provides integration, access security, workflow capabilities, document storage and presentation through a secure Web-based interface, so customers can obtain extensive real-time network and service information via CWIX's Web site (http://www.cwix.com) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

6. NEW SERVICE PACKAGES FROM PSINET
(Herndon, VA) PSINet, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSIX) announced two new Internet access services for business: a Full Service package which delivers turn-key service which bundles hardware, support and connectivity; and The InterFrame FasTrack service which provides access to the Internet while organizations are waiting for a dedicated, leased line to be installed. The Full Service package is targeted to small- and mid-sized companies connecting to the Internet for the first time. It is offered for an initial service fee and a regular monthly charge. PSINet (http://www.psi.net) owns and maintains the hardware, saving customers the equipment investment. InterFrame FasTrack is for businesses who face long delays before telephone companies can install leased lines, a process PSINet claims can take 60 to 90 days in some parts of the country. PSINet provides analog or ISDN access within 10 business days.

7. HOME SHOPPING MEETS HOME SHOPPING
(Washington, DC) More than a million consumers have begun looking for dream homes in cyberspace using a new site from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) at (http://realtor.com). Potential home buyers can look at an outline map of the US to select from some 600,00 home sale ads drawn from the MLS (multiple listing service). They are searchable by location and zip code, home size, room characteristics, price category, amenities and numerous other criteria. While all geographic areas are not available yet, Greater Washington listings are accessible. The property ad listing system was developed by NAR's subsidiary corporation, the Realtors' Information Network (RIN), in collaboration with Los Angeles-based RealSelect, Inc. The site also contains information services available only to real estate professionals.

Partnerships

1. TELEMEDICINE PROJECT FROM GMUC AND MMMS
(Washington, DC) Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) (http://www.dml.georgetown.edu/gumc.html) will use of Charlottesville, VA-based Multimedia Medical Systems (MMMS), Inc.'s MMS*CARELINK system for the first telemedicine renal-dialysis project known in the world. GUMC's Departments of Radiology and Medicine will use MMS*CARELINK to link renal patients undergoing dialysis to an off-site facility and to the GUMC specialist's home, enabling physicians to remotely examine patients and make an immediate diagnosis and prescription of treatment. Nephrologist James Winchester, MD, said he chose the MMMS system because it is the only interactive telemedicine system to deliver separate but simultaneous medical images, data and video conferencing capabilities. The application provides acquisition, storage and retrieval of data in one electronic medical record including: text, voice, X-ray, ultrasound, EKG, lab reports, MRI, CT, stethoscope, waveforms and other multimedia medical data. MMMS (http://www.mmms.com) develops multimedia network-based products and services that help clinicians improve competitiveness of integrated healthcare delivery networks.

Funding & Finance News

1. IBG TO BROADEN VENTURE FUND
(Herndon, VA) Venture incubator International Business Group (IBG) is broadening its venture fund to$5 million take advantage of the increasing number of Greater Washington-based entrepreneurs planning to start their own businesses. "The Washington area has some of the most influential Internet players anywhere. It has more than 20% of the nations Internet access providers, the highest per capita numbers of computers hooked to the Internet ... yet only 7% of the Nation's venture capital was spent here in 1996", says Tony Carter, chairman of IBG. "This coupled with the work being done at the University of Maryland's, Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Potomac Knowledgeway creates a wonderful opportunity for both conventional venture capital and the non-conventional such as IBG." Since its founding in March of 1996, IBG has seed funded six Internet-related companies: Morph Technologies, Piercom, Global Golf, Tech 2K, Netpad and Knowledge Integrators. The increase in the fund will be used to invest in early stage companies. "We expect to help companies in the early stage of development, sometimes getting them ready for their next round of financing, preparing them for IPO's, or for sale on advantageous terms." For more, see (http://netpreneur.org/funding/ibgpr.html).

2. WAVELYNX SELLS CONTENT TO AOL, CREATES DPO SITE
(Alexandria, VA) CityLynx, the company which developed AOL's local content area Main Street, has sold that content property to AOL's Digital City and taken a new name, WaveLynx, LC (http://www.wavelynx.com). The company recently inked a deal to place CigarCafe, an online area dealing with the topic of cigars, on AOL. Due to debut on America Online in May of 1997, CigarCafe is a property jointly developed and owned by WaveLynx and Yikes! entertainment. On behalf of another client, the Austin Grill of Alexandria, VA, WaveLynx built a site to take advantage of the SEC's new rules allowing a company to sell up to $5 million per year of their own stock directly to individual purchasers over the Internet. Known as a Direct Public Offer, or DPO, companies selling their stock in this manner can avoid the steep fees typically imposed by venture capitalists and investment bankers. The DPO also gives small, individual investors the opportunity to participate in stock offerings that would typically be open only to large, institutional investors. Few other Internet studios have experience designing and producing sites specifically for this new application of the Internet. Austin Grill (http://www.austingrill.com) intends to offer $2.5 million of its stock for sale, with a minimum purchase of $1,000. While the use of the Internet to make a DPO is new, Austin Grill is not the first to do so. Among those who have successfully pursued this option are Spring Street Brewing, a New York micro brewery, and Real Goods Trading Company, a California vendor of solar and wind powered energy systems. For more, see Netpreneur Spotlight (http://netpreneur.org/netcorner/wavelynx.html) at the Netpreneur Exchange Web site.

3. NEW ONLINE MATCHING SERVICE
(Arlington, VA) Washington Business Journal (3/17/97) (http://www.amcity.com/washington) reports that New Vision Financial Inc. is creating a net-based service to match small businesses with potential investors. The test run in Greater Washington will precede a national roll out. The service, called EDIE for Electronic Data for Investors and Entrepreneurs, is backed by a $200,000 investment from BTG, Inc. of Vienna, VA, which buys BTG about a 20% stake in the operation. EDIE expects to generate revenue from fees and advertising. New Vision's President, Richard D. Crawford, explained that the test is being held here because there are many small businesses that do not get national attention.

4. AOL GETS LIGHTSPEED AND TARTIKOFF
(Dulles, VA) AOL said that its Greenhouse Networks media studio will acquire on-line production company, LightSpeed Media Inc., forming an entertainment division that will be headed by former NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff. Tartikoff was also head of Paramount Pictures and currently heads a television and production company, H. Beale Co., Los Angeles. LightSpeed co-founder Scott Zakarin will be president of programming of the new division. LightSpeed is best known for its Internet soap operas including the popular The Spot (http://www.thespot.com). Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. AOL will get all of LightSpeed's 17 employees and assets. Closing is expected this spring and the new division is scheduled to launch this fall. It will feature celebrity hosts, fictional and nonfictional personalities and events, among other things.

Netpreneurs Recognized

1. ALEXANDRIA'S TECHNOLOGY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNERS
(Alexandria, VA) The City of Alexandria, the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce and the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership kicked off Alexandria Technology Achievement Week by hosting the first annual Alexandria Technology Achievement Awards Luncheon. The five finalists for the award were Jones Communications, MPR Associates, Inc., Society for Human Resource Management, UUcom, Inc. and VSE Corporation. The winner, announced at the luncheon, was Jones Communications. Three of the finalists (Jones, SHRM and UUcom) are involved in net-centric business activities. The panel of judges included Dr. Fred Krimgold of Virginia Polytechnic Institute; Joe Viar, formerly of Dyncorp/Viar; George Gingerelli, President of GMG Enterprises; and Esther Smith of Washington Technology. Both Gingerelli and Smith are advisors to the Netpreneur Program.

2. KIMBERLY JENKINS AND HIGHWAY 1 HONORED
(Washington, DC) Kimberly Jenkins, Executive Director of Highway 1, was named one of Federal Computer Week's "1997 Federal 100" (http://www.fcw.com/pubs/fed100/1997/intro.htm). Selected by an independent panel of judges, the Federal 100 awards recognize those people who have made the greatest difference in the government systems community. Highway 1 is a non-profit organization that helps federal employees make sense out of the mass of available technology. Jenkins established Highway 1 in 1994 in response to a request from high-profile legislators interested in new methods of educating federal agency staff. Using technology demos and seminars, Highway 1 has put examples of emerging technology before more than 6,000 government decision-makers, including intranet training classes run at the request of Vice President Al Gore.

Quick Hits

1. AD AGENCIES LOSING INTERACTIVE JOBS
A survey of over 300 marketing executives conducted by Advertising Age (http://www.adage.com) found that interactive work is often going to specialists, rather than agencies, and more and more it's coming in-house. Debra Aho Williamson, editor of Ad Age's Interactive Media & Marketing and author of the report said, "The survey shows that marketers view their ad agencies as just another name in a roster of suppliers -- not particularly better, and sometimes worse, than their new-media competition. Agencies that once thought they could dominate the market must now fight tooth and nail for every scrap of business." Web developers are the choice for interactive work for over 26% of respondents; ad agencies are the choice of 29%, and some 23% do the work in-house. Over 46% of marketers who say they are planning to make changes to their interactive efforts say they will take more work inside.

2. NETWORK WORLD RELEASES ISP STUDY
Three of the four most used ISPs for business are based in Greater Washington, according to Network World's Internet Service Provider Study. The study was conducted by Network World (http://www.nwfusion.com) to gauge usage of Internet services and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the US and to gain a better understanding of the decision-making process for choosing ISPs. Of ISPs In use or planned for use, MCI topped the list at 14%, followed by AT&T at 12%, PSINet at 10% and UUNet/Alternet at 9%. America Online appeared eighth at 4%. MCI, PSINet, UUNet and AOL are headquartered in this region. The survey used a sampling of Network World's 150,000 record database of network IS professionals who said they were involved in their company's ISP selection.

Upcoming Events

Using Eudora For Electronic Mail (10 am-noon)
Using Netscape To Surf The Internet (1-4 pm)
Mar. 22, Enfolinc, Springfield, VA
Contact: or 301/762-9372
Both classes are pilot offerings for Capital PC User Group (CPCUG) Instructors only. Free.

Communication Design Engineering Conference
Mar. 25-27, Washington Convention Center
Contact: (http://www.csdmag.com)
60 tutorials offered over three days to help designers and engineers of telecommunications and data communications equipment "keep abreast of the latest technologies and applications."

How to Successfully Work With the Press
Mar. 26, 8:00-9:30 am, Greensboro Dr., McLean, VA
Contact: (hglazen@gfblaw.com) or (goodjob@aol.com)
Presentation by Trish Gilmartin-Williams, Editor, and John Hurley, VP, both of Washington Technology. Sponsored by the NVTC. Limited space.

First Annual Conference of Univ. Entrepreneurship Centers
Mar. 27-28, Maryland Business School, College Park, MD
Contact: Scott Gilmore (sgilmore@wam.umd.edu)
Sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation.

Netpreneur Program Coffee and DoughNets
Apr. 4, 7:30 am, ANA Hotel, Washington, DC
Contact: (http://netpreneur.org/events/doughnets)
Join the Netpreneur Program team and regional netpreneurs for networking and communication.

Entrepreneurship: Starting & Managing A Growth Company
Apr. 7,14,21,28, Univ. of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)
Contact: Scott Gilmore (sgilmore@wam.umd.edu)
Short course sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation. 6:00-9:00 pm.

Doing Business on the Internet
Apr. 9, 3:00-6:30 pm, Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, VA
Apr. 10, 2:00-5:30 pm, Renaissance Hotel, Baltimore, MD
Contact: (http://www.mwbb.com)
Topics include accessing capital on the Net, intellectual property, netting your data, investigation and discovery of data. Speakers include Russ Ramsey, President of Friedman Billings Ramsey; Thomas Hewitt, President of Federal Sources; and Charles L. Bennett, Dir. of Corporate Financing of the NASD Regulation, Inc. Sponsored by McGuire Woods Battle & Boothe, LLP. $75.

National Archives and University Go Digital
Apr. 10, National Archives Building, College Park, MD
Contact: (carolyn.bernaski@arch2.nara.gov)
Univ. of Maryland cosponsored conference on digital research at three Maryland campuses. Keynote speakers include Bill Arms, director of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives and Toni Carbo, dean of the School of Information Sciences at the Univ. of Pittsburgh. Space is limited. Email reservation requests with name, address, institutional affiliation, telephone, FAX and e-mail address to Contact above. Free.

Possibilities, Perils and Profits of Product Development in the Digital Age
Apr. 16-17, McLean Hilton, Tysons Corner, VA
Contact: (http://www.infoindustry.org) or (apeters@infoindustry.org)
Information Industry Association (IIA) Technology Workshop to help info and technology providers make better decisions about the business realities of information content and technology integration. Cost varies.

Creating a Virtual Learning Environment
Apr. 16-18, Crystal City, VA
Contact: (http://win-nt.ets.okstate.edu/cgarret/virtualconf.html)
Conference for educators, business managers and policy makers in education and telecommunications. $695.

Tips & Traps In Negotiating With Venture Capitalists
Apr. 22, 5:45pm-8:30pm, Entrepreneurs Workshop, UMBC
Contact: Scott Gilmore (sgilmore@wam.umd.edu)
Sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation.

How To Successfully Plan & Execute An IPO
Apr. 22, 8:00-10:30 am, McLean Hilton, McLean, VA
Contact: Lynn McUmber at 703/917-1724
Third in a seminar series on Strategic Planning for Growing Technology Companies sponsored by area businesses. $45.

Electronic Commerce For Content
Apr. 28-29, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Contact: (http://www.ima.org)
The Interactive Multimedia Society (IMA) and US Copyright Office sponsor this second inter-industry forum on issues in technology-based intellectual property management.