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News About The Netpreneur Program

1. NETPRENEUR PROGRAM'S NEWEST PARTNER: CAPITAL GROWTH
Capital Growth Interactive (http://www.capitalgrowth.com) is an online and print periodical covering private capital markets and growth company financing, especially in the mid-Atlantic region. We are excited to welcome them as a partner with the Netpreneur Program. Starting today, you'll find a feature story from Capital Growth in the Netpreneur Exchange News Center at (http://netpreneur.org/news/cg/default.html). The current feature is "Investing in The Internet: Profitable Possibilities for Expanding Industries" by Editor-in-Chief, Gary Almes.

In print, Capital Growth is a monthly newsletter offering venture news and reports, investor interviews, Bloomberg IPO Monitor, funding opinions, advice from experts, and company profiles. The online service (http://www.capitalgrowth.com) offers current and archived issues, plus a Financial Resource Directory, discussions, online conferences and a calendar of events.

As part of the relationship, Capital Growth is providing regular content of special interest to netpreneurs for the Netpreneur Exchange. What's more, a special discount on subscriptions to Capital Growth is being offered exclusively to registered Netpreneur Exchange users. A one year subscription to both the print and online services-- regularly $265-- is just $99. You must be a netpreneur and have joined at the Exchange (http://netpreneur.org/join) to receive the special price. Joining is free and gets you access to all Netpreneur Exchange discussion groups, databases and other resources. If you've already joined, send an email to (netpreneur@capitalgrowth.com) requesting the special subscription price for netpreneurs. Include your name, email address and company name. Capital Growth will do the rest.

Check out the News Center (http://netpreneur.org/news) now, and once again, a hearty welcome to Capital Growth.

2. CUE THE BARONS? NO, Q THE BARONS
Ask questions of the Barons of the Beltway today on the Netpreneur Exchange at (http://netpreneur.org/events/barons/question-input.cfm). You'll get answers from four of the nation's top Internet pioneers -- dubbed Greater Washington's "Barons of the Beltway"-- on June 12, 1997 during the Evening with the Barons. Sure, there will be Q&A at the event, as well as plenty of networking time, but the Exchange will let you get your questions in early.

The Barons are Mario Morino, founder of Legent Corporation; Jim Kimsey, founder of America Online; Bill Melton, founder of CyberCash; and Russ Ramsey, founder of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. Ask these CEOs questions on everything from starting and developing a netpreneurial business, to opportunities in Internet commerce and venture capital strategies. The Evening with the Barons is a Netpreneur Program Town Hall forum brought to you by CyberCash, MCI Telecommunications Corp., Morino Institute, Pamet River Partners, Riggs Bank N.A. and TECHcapital magazine. Over 400 people have already registered for the event which will take place at the Mayflower Hotel on 1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. Registration is at 6:30 pm, with the program beginning promptly at 7:00. A reception will follow, giving netpreneurs an opportunity to meet the Barons. There is no charge for the event, and business casual dress is encouraged. To find out more or to register, visit (http://netpreneur.org/barons) or email (barons@netpreneur.org).

3. CATCH A WAVE AND YOU'RE SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD
What is a netpreneur? Find out at the Netpreneur Exchange, in a new article from the Morino Institute entitled "Netpreneurs Ride A Wave of Opportunity." There's an overview of the phenomenon, sector breakdowns, and many local netpreneurs tell their stories in their own words. Find the article, including downloadable versions, at (http://netpreneur.org/wave). And once you've been through it, send us your feedback. What's your take on the ways, means, hopes and challenges of being a netpreneur? The Institute would like to include your thoughts and stories in future revisions. Use the mailto option at the top of the article or send comments to (wave@netpreneur.org).

4. I LOVE THE JAVA JIVE
Get your taste buds ready for the next Netpreneur Program Coffee & DoughNets session on June 27 at 7:30 am. This session is hosted by the University of Maryland Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship and will be held at the Shady Grove Center of the University of Maryland (9630/9640 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD) in the Rockville MP Room. Register at (http://netpreneur.org/doughnets).

5. LAST UPDATED...TODAY!
For the latest on upgrades, updates, and up-and-comings on the Netpreneur Exchange, check out the What's New page at (http://netpreneur.org/whatsnew.html). Find out all about recent changes to discussion group strategy, locate Esther's latest article, and discover the whereabouts of the new Program Information Center.

Regional Netpreneurs

1. AN INVISIBLE HAND HELPS WITH CONTRACTS ON THE WEB
(Annandale, VA ) Invisible Hand Software, LLC has released QuickForm Contracts Online (http://www.quickforms.com). The Web site automates the process of drafting sophisticated agreements for computer industry, Internet commerce and general business transactions. Set up as a "virtual vending machine," QuickForm contracts allows users to select among 27 different types of agreements. The system prompts you with interactive questions and then generates a complete agreement automatically weighted in the user's favor. Documents are priced at $19.95, pay-per-use. No memberships or subscriptions are required.

2. TORRENT IS DEVELOPING ROUTER TECHNOLOGY
(Landover, MD) Torrent Networking Technologies (TNT) is a startup company focusing on delivering the next generation of Switching IP Routers for the intranet backbone. The company has opened a new Web site (http://www.torrentnet.com) developed by NMP, Inc.(http://www.nmpinc.com), a Northern Virginia Web development company. TNT is proceeding through the final stages of product development and testing efforts, intending to make detailed product announcements later this summer. Their focus is on campus core backbones, campus wiring closets and enterprise networks.

3. INFRINGATEK BUILDS A NETWORK FORENSICS TEAM
(Vienna, VA) Infringatek Inc. (http://www.infringatek.com) announced the development of a network forensics team to respond to growing instances of crime and illicit activities on the Internet. The team consists of engineers, private investigators and research personnel from the Internet monitoring team. The forensics division will assist in infringement investigations and offer consulting services in other network security arenas. The team's abilities include investigating online distribution channels of counterfeit goods, documenting trade secret leaks via networks, detecting network infiltration, investigating instances of hacking and sabotage, and authenticating electronic correspondence. Infringatek began offering Internet monitoring services to detect the infringing use of trademarks and copyrights. Infringatek specializes in protecting intellectual property rights through Internet monitoring, developing secure network solutions, providing incident response and investigation services and conducting proactive security audits.

4. AOL BETA RELEASES INSTANT MESSENGER
(Dulles, VA) America Online Networks (NYSE: AOL) released a limited beta version of AOL Instant Messenger, a service that allows Internet users to communicate via private, personalized text messages. Instant Messenger indicates when friends, family members and business colleagues are online, making Internet communications more efficient. The limited beta release is currently available at (http://www.aol.com). Instant Messenger makes available to Internet users features that were previously only available to AOL members. The service requires Windows 95 and Java. Windows 3.1 and Macintosh versions will follow.

5. PSINet EXPANDS GLOBAL SERVICES
(Herndon, VA) PSINet (http://www.psi.net) has expanded its Web Co-Locate Service internationally. Co-Locate provides physically secure facilities with redundant Internet connections in strategic geographic locations throughout the world to house customers' Internet servers. Each co-location facility is in a PSINet SuperPOP on the PSINet Network, close to or actually in major Internet interexchange points such as MAE-East and MAE-West, supporting the USA; LINX, supporting London and Europe; Ebone, supporting Europe; and the Network Service Provider Internet eXchange Project in Tokyo, supporting Japan and Asia.

6. GEIS COLLECTS E-COMMERCE SUCCESSES
(Rockville, MD) GE Information Services (GEIS) announced that Dayton Hudson Corp. and Poloroid Corp. will be implementing GEIS (http://www.geis.com) business-to-business electronic commerce solutions. Dayton Hudson, the country's fifth largest retailer, will use a variety of GEIS products to bridge EDI and Internet technology and optimize the supply chain, increasing the speed of products from manufacturer to retailer. Poloroid will implement GE's EDI Application Integrator and Enterprise System to improve the flow of mission-critical data across their enterprise, enable them to adopt new technologies and implement new electronic commerce programs more quickly. Poloroid's technical staff in recent years has witnessed a dramatic increase in requests for electronic commerce services both from within and outside the company.

Partnerships

1. DIGITAL INK AND CITYSEARCH TO CREATE LOCAL ONLINE SERVICE
(Arlington, VA) The Washington Post Company's new media subsidiary, Digital Ink Co., and CitySearch, a provider of community-based online information services, announced an agreement to create a new local online service for residents and merchants in the Washington, DC area. The Washington Post Company is also making a financial investment in CitySearch. The service, which will launch this fall, will be owned and administered by Digital Ink and will be a key service of washingtonpost.com. It will appear on the CitySearch network and will be featured in CitySearch national advertising and promotion. CitySearch will contribute the tools, technology and business model, along with a dedicated team to assist washingtonpost.com's staff in the roll-out of the service. Users will be able to go to the service to get information on local arts and entertainment, community activities and events, local shopping and professional services, as well as news, sports and weather. Users will also be able to participate in community forums and discussions, communicate with merchants, and personalize the service to receive e-mail updates on activities most relevant to their daily lives.

2. NEW VENTURE TACKLES AS/400 LOTUS NOTES MARKET
(Vienna, VA) Solutions By Design, Inc. (http://www.sbd.com) announced a joint venture with Boulder, CO-based Midrange Performance Group, Inc. (http://www.mpginc.com, forming a new company called inter.action. The new venture will focus on the development, integration and deployment of Lotus Notes/Domino-based business solutions on the AS/400 platform. In addition, inter.action is developing a full line of products for the Notes/Domino server performance marketplace. The first product is PM.domino, beta testing in August, which tracks and manages Notes/Domino server performance. inter.action (http://www.interdotaction.com) will maintain offices in Vienna, VA, and Boulder, CO.

3. UOL AND UC BERKELEY LAUNCH MARKETING COURSES ONLINE
(MacLean, VA) UOL Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: UOLP) and The University of California, Berkeley Extension (http://www.unex.berkeley.edu) announced an agreement to jointly create and distribute a Marketing Certificate Program on the Internet. The program is expected to be made available in the Fall of 1997 for a fee of approximately $595 per course, per registered student. It will include seven concentrated courses including classes such as Marketing Essentials, Marketing Research and Strategic Marketing. Upon completion of the program, students receive a Certificate from UC Berkeley Extension. UOL (http://www.uol.com) will market the program to its corporate partners and client base through its online systems.

Netpreneurs Recognized

1. YURIE SYSTEMS IS HOTTEST GROWTH COMPANY
(Lanham, MD) Business Week's (5/26/97) list of 100 Hot Growth Companies is headed up by local netpreneur,Yurie Systems (http://www.yurie.com). The company makes equipment that transmits voice, video and data over phone lines and wireless networks. Revenues for Yurie have grown an average of 385% over the last three years to $21.6 million in 1996. Also appearing on the list at number 28 is Gaithersburg-based ACE*COMM . ACE*COMM markets OSS products for networks deployed by telecommunications service providers and large enterprises operating data and voice networks. The company's products perform such functions as billing data collection, network surveillance, alarm processing and network management.

Funding & Finance News

1. MINORITY-OWNED FINANCIAL RESOURCES
(Washington, DC) Creative Investment Research, Inc. (CIR) has created a set of low-priced electronic documents containing data on women and minority-owned banks, thrifts, brokerage firms and investment banks. Free at the CIR site (http://www2.ari.net/cirm) are lists ranked by financial soundness of Black-, Women-, Asian- and Hispanic-owned banks, as well as community development financial institutions and articles on minority banks and brokers. Complete reports are available for purchase at the site.

2. WOMEN'S CONNECTION ONLINE GETS $600K IN FUNDING
(MacLean, VA) Women's Connection Online (http://www.womenconnect.com), a Web community for professional women and women business owners has received over $600,000 from Mid-Atlantic Fund III and individual investors. Mid-Atlantic Venture Fund has offices in Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia and manages a total of about $80 million. Their latest fund, capitalized at about $40 million, closed two months ago. Individual investors include John Burton, former CEO of Legent Corp. Plans call for a multi-million dollar second round of venture financing to be raised in the next few months. Women are now the fastest growing segment of Internet users. According to Nielsen Media Research, in March 1997 the proportion of women online increased significantly, to 42% from 34%.

3. CEO VENTURE FUND BACKS PARADIGM SOFTWARE
(Vienna, VA) CEO Venture Fund announced the completion of a venture capital financing in Paradigm Software Technologies. Paradigm develops project accounting software for companies in a variety of service industries, including Internet billing software. CEO Venture Fund is the lead investor in the financing, joined by Keystone Venture Fund. Gary Golding, a General Partner of CEO Venture Fund, will join Paradigm's board of directors. CEO Venture Fund invests in software, communication and information services companies, and has served as lead investor in other enterprise software companies such as ACE*COMM, Compucare and Intelus. The Fund has offices in Pittsburgh, PA and Vienna, VA.

Quick Hits

1. TIPS FOR SAFEGUARDING PRIVACY
(Silver Spring, MD) The National Consumers League and the Interactive Services Association have released "Protecting Your Privacy When You Go Online" published by the Online Public Education Network (Project OPEN). The consumer information brochure outlines steps consumers can take to safeguard their online privacy. It is available free by calling 800/466-OPEN and through Project OPEN's homepage (http://www.isa.net/project-open). Recent surveys, such as one released in February by CommerceNet, have shown that many consumers are hesitant to make online purchases because they do not know what information is collected about them or by whom. "Protecting Your Privacy When You Go Online" offers detailed information about online privacy issues, ranging from what people can learn about your identity in a chat room to personal online safety, data collection, sending e-mail and posting to bulletin boards.

2. DISINTERMEDIATION? NOT ALL EXPERTS AGREE
Not everyone believes the future of the Internet is as eliminator of the middleman between supplier and final customer. Some analysts say the disintermediation model is not as much a "sure thing" as Net forecasters say. One such dissenter, Richard Segal, managing director of the marketing firm Hensley Segal Rentschler, believes that the middleman company should not and will not disappear, as it is a "social institution of the marketplace."

As reported by Internet IT Informer (5-27-97) (http://www.mmp.co.uk), Segal told an audience at a Chicago conference that "digital gurus think we're going to move all the companies in distribution channels out of the way in one big e-commerce swoop. E-commerce isn't just casting electronic lines to catch individual customers. It's trawling with an electronic net to collect whole schools of customers. And those schools already exist in the distribution channels. Positional companies add value in the marketing mix by providing customer knowledge, integrated ordering, logistics, and delivery." He adds that, as more and more studies are showing, business-to-business commerce is the ideal domain of the Net, and companies should view it as a growth strategy. Meanwhile, middlemen should take heart--EC will not eliminate, but strengthen. "E-commerce will make intermediary businesses smarter, faster, and better value-adders," he says. "It should be viewed as a powerful strategy on the demand side of the equation. This is not all about driving out costs, it's about facilitating growth."

Michael Dertouzos, head of MIT's Laboratory for Computer Sciences, suggests another need for intermediaries. In a recent Forbes interview (6-2-97) (http://207.87.27.10/forbes/97/0602/5911178a.htm), he discusses his recently published book, "What Will Be," which details his own vision for the future of the Internet. Dertouzos says that today's search engines are limited in the sense that they only provide a map of the Internet. Because of the tremendous amount of "info-junk" on the Web, users will need intermediaries to sort through, analyze, and deliver--either by selling or renting--the information that is relevant to an individual's specific needs. (Copyright Information Inc. Courtesy MCI)

Upcoming Events

For more information on these and other regional events of interest to netpreneurs and funders, visit the Netpreneur Exchange calendar at (http://netpreneur.org/calendar/calendar.htm).

May 30----Internet Training: Basic Principles of Web Page Design
June 2-----Night Owl Session with International Business Group
June 2-----How to Think Like an Entrepreneur
June 3-----1st Annual Greater Washington Technology CFO Awards
June 3-----New Media Society CyberSuds
June 3-----New Media Society Meeting
June 4-----Successful Entrepreneurs' Secrets to Success: What Worked For Us
June 10----Introduction to Business Ownership
June 10----Politics Online Conference '97
June 10----Law and Technology Conference
June 12----An Evening with the Barons
June 12----Medical Information Security Conference
June 15----1997 Capital Region Technology Investor Conference
June 16----Venture Capital Alternatives
June 18----Federal Dollar$ and Sense for Women-Owned Businesses
June 23----NVTC Annual Meeting and Reception
June 23----The 15th International Teletraffic Congress
June 23----The 1997 Entrepreneur Invitational Golf Tournament
June 25----DCIDA Meeting: Netscape 4 Layers
June 25----Introduction to Business Ownership
June 27----Netpreneur Program Coffee & DoughNets
June 27----Internet Training: Introduction to the Internet
June 30----First Annual NVTC Golf Tournament