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Welcome to SL #26! Traditional venture capital firms tend to get the bulk of the publicity, but corporate America has long played a big role in funding early stage companies. In fact, 20% of all early stage capital comes from strategic investors like UPS, Intel, IBM, Turner Broadcasting, and others. Contrary to popular belief, UPS isn’t interested only in logistics deals, but rather anything that could affect their industry. Join us for a great conversation with Alan Koenning, who runs United Parcel Service’s Strategic Enterprise Fund.

Of course, a good batch of your emails, a quick bus ride (powered by a steroid-laden Mike Blake rant), and a dash of humor round out another great show. Enjoy!


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Shownotes and Interview Questions:

As usual, we had lots of related followup questions, but here is a good sampling of the discussion:

• Give us the 30-second elevator pitch for the UPS Strategic Venture Fund
• Can you talk about how a corporate venturing fund differs from traditional private equity/venture funds?
• What makes the UPS Strategic Fund different from other corporate venturing funds?
• How does the fact you’re accountable to a larger corporate entity as opposed to limited partners shape your investing behavior?
• What kinds of opportunities get you the most excited?
• Is the current economic climate (high fuel prices, weakening consumer purchasing power) impacting your investing processes and strategies?
• Are there any important strategic or technological trends you are seeing in UPS’s business space?
• What is the most exciting technological advance you’ve observed in UPS’s space in the last 5 years?
• How many opportunities does your organization receive a month?
• How many investment professionals work at the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund?
• At any given time, how many deals are you looking at seriously?
• Can you talk about your investment evaluation process?
• How do most investment opportunities find you?
• Who are some venture funds that invest in spaces that are relevant to what UPS is doing or trying to do?
• Your web site states that you prefer to co-invest with a venture capital fund and where the VC is the lead investor. Why is that?
• What role do you play with the company after the investment?
• Could you highlight a success story of which you’re particularly proud?
• What are some key mistakes for companies seeking capital from you to avoid?
• What’s your overall assessment of the Atlanta early stage market? Is it improving, and if so, how do you see that?
• What is the best way for a company seeking funding to approach you?

Guest Bio:

Alan Koenning (pronounced “kenning”) is the Fund Manager for the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund. The UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund is the private equity strategic investment arm of UPS. The Fund is a corporate venture capital group which focuses on developing critical partnerships and acquiring knowledge returns from its investments in information technology companies and emerging market-spaces.

Alan’s responsibilities include working with various UPS departments and business units in identifying areas of strategic interest, researching potential investments, negotiating agreements and acting as a corporate liaison with Fund companies.

Alan has been with UPS for over 17 years including assignments in Corporate UPS, UPS e-Ventures, and UPS Supply Chain Solutions. He graduated from Duke University and has an MBA from the University of Georgia.

Miscellany:

Enjoy! To play it, use the tools at the top of this post - you can play it via the embedded Flash player by pressing the big play button at the top, or download it to play on your computer or MP3 player.

Links referenced within this episode:

• UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund

Podsafe music used within this episode:

• Neolith by Kevin MacLeod
• Atari by Odd Austin
• All the Money in the World by Hutch

Our format is a little out of the norm as far as podcasts go. We treat our efforts as a true “show” rather than a super-concise (limited) vehicle for delivery of information. Therefore, the podcasts can run a bit long (actually, it is largely driven by the guests and their responses.) While we try to have very substantive discussions, we also try to have a lot of fun along the way (and that tends to elongate the programming a wee bit.) Our theory is that if we are having fun during the show, hopefully, you will be having a little fun listening as well.

Here is the breakdown for the show, in case you want to hop around.

A special thanks to Alan Koenning for coming in and hanging out with us!

We welcome your continued feedback as well! If you have an interest in appearing on the show, becoming a show sponsor (hint, hint), have some suggestions for topics, have feedback, or would just like to email us and tell us to “shove off”, we invite you to contact us.

Enjoy!