FOR GENERAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL, FAX, OR E-MAIL (E-MAIL PREFERRED):
Verge Fund
info@vergefund.com
(505) 247-1038 (office)
(505) 244-8040 (fax)
OUR ADDRESS AND DIRECTIONS:
Verge Building
317 Commercial St. NE
Albuquerque, NM 87102
It is a great time to be an entrepreneur in the Southwest. The climate is improving, more companies are being started and growing, new sources of financing and professional services are moving into the area, and our sources of technology are increasingly looking to build commercial value on their investments in R&D. But, being an entrepreneur is still hard work, and requires help and support.
If you’re an entrepreneur or inventor seeking seed-stage funding, we invite you to contact us and find out if you’re a Verge Fund company.
NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT POLICY. Deal flow is the life blood of the venture capital business. Without the steady stream of new business plans and new opportunities, our ability to make strong investments with substantial growth potential for our investors would be greatly diminished. If we were to disclose openly a business idea that came from a potential investment, our strong reputation with entrepreneurs would be irrevocably tarnished, and we would be out of business almost immediately. As such, it is in our best interests to protect the secrecy and security of your plan, and we do this vigorously.
However, signing non-disclosure agreements (or NDAs) presents problems for us on two levels. First, with the vast volume of deals that we see, NDAs would limit our ability to look at new plans, thereby limiting our ability to invest in promising new ventures. The problem is particularly acute when you consider that most of our businesses are in the narrow range of technology opportunities, so the likelihood of some overlap in business opportunities increases greatly. The second issue relates to time. We pride ourselves on providing a quick response to entrepreneurs about their business plans, and the added legal steps of ensuring that we could sign a specific NDA would lengthen that process significantly.
How can you protect yourself without an NDA? First, remove the detailed technical specifications for your product or service from your plan. Like most investment groups, we are going to be more interested in the backgrounds of the individuals, the size and scope of the market opportunity, and the general problem that the company’s product or service addresses. These are all areas that you should be able to address without harming your company’s proprietary position. If you cannot, you need to think hard about the real strength of your competitive position.