| SANTA BARBARA TECHNOLOGY GROUP EXPANDS INTO MANAGEMENT CONSULTING |
Santa Barbara, Calif. , March 4, 2002 – Santa Barbara Technology Group, LLC (‘SBTG’) has announced that their management consulting services are being made available to the general business community in the tri-counties area. The Group consists of a core management team, an advisory board of thirty seasoned executives and scientists from a variety of industries, and an additional forty high-net worth investors. Over the last two years SBTG has established itself as a leader in high-technology business development.
Initially, SBTG was formed as Santa Barbara Technology Incubator and acted as an early stage venture investor providing start-ups with seed capital, management consulting support and office space in their incubator facility. Since its founding in April of 2000, SBTG has built an impressive reputation as a dynamic environment for venture financing, incubating, and launching high-technology start-up companies. Their professional management team and office facility have provided financing, operational, technological and physical infrastructure, strategic guidance, and valuable connections for entrepreneurs.
In response to demands from several local companies in various businesses and at various stages of development, SBTG is announcing its expansion into outside consulting. Led by entrepreneur and venture investor Dennis Cagan, they will be offering their management and strategic consulting services to qualifying companies that are not part of their investment portfolio. Mr. Cagan, Chairman and CEO, notes, “We have been asked to provide board members and to advise local companies on everything from strategy and technology, to marketing and fundraising (one word). We have already accepted clients.” (is that true? Isn’t it one client? I wouldn’t say unless true – perhaps you have another client?)
Joe Nida, Managing Partner in Santa Barbara for Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, LLP noted, " Dennis and his team have the talent and experience necessary to enable businesses to successfully meet the challenges they currently face."
SBTG will provide selected client companies with active hands-on consulting addressing a comprehensive range of today’s critical management issues. These include: strategic repositioning and strategic alliances, sales-marketing-distribution strategies and tactics, fundraising, revenue generation, merger and acquisition strategies, turnarounds and crisis management (services including complete workouts and restructuring), cost containment, management reorganization (including evaluation and redeployment of sales and marketing resources), product and service strategies and positioning, achieving sustainable competitive advantages, customer relationship management-retention-loyalty, and management roles in leveraged buyouts.
Doug Cole, previously CEO of Great Bear Technologies, Inc. (GTBR), StarPress (GZON), NetAmerica.com (RTX), and PolarCap, Inc. said, “Dennis has been on the Boards of my last three companies, and an interim executive at two. His hard work, insights into the marketplace, and leadership on tough issues facing the companies has consistently made a crucial difference.” He went on to state, “I started my career working for Dennis many years ago and it would be a real mistake to start a new business without his advice.”
Mr. Cagan is highly regarded as a technology and computer industry pioneer, entrepreneur and consultant. In 1979 he was the first Keynote Speaker at COMDEX, the computer industry’s leading trade show. Having been in the business for 35 years he has founded twelve companies, and has been on over 30 boards of directors. For almost two decades prior to founding SBTG, Mr. Cagan’s activities primarily comprised a series of interim senior management positions at a wide variety of technology companies, usually where he was also a member of the Board of Directors. Companies he has been directly involved with have been some of Santa Barbara’s most successful technology enterprises including Wavefront Technologies (NASDAQ, acquired by SGI, now Alias/Wavefront), Software.com (NASDAQ, merged with Phone.com, now OpenWave: OPWV), Commission Junction, and Supply Solution. Software.com (now Openwave). he originally joined the Board of Directors in 1995 as one of the first outsiders and subsequently took on a one year temporary assignment as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing. After his departure from Software.com’s day-to-day management teams the company’s co-founder and then CEO John MacFarlane said, “Dennis brings a wealth of experience and energy necessary to build a company in a fast growing and ever changing market."
Mr. Cagan recently commented, “In early 2000 when we raised the initial capital for SBTG the market took its big post-dotcom adjustment and the business climate was already deteriorating. Since then, economic conditions and the environment for running almost any kind of company have become as challenging as anyone has ever seen.” He went on to state, “During this period we have evaluated over 1,500 business plans and made 9 investments. We are still helping some of our portfolio companies, however we have been particularly impressed by the needs of many of the companies we did not invest in and others in our community. Many continue to look for experienced, knowledgeable, battle-tested senior executives and temporary advice. With SBTG’s direct investment activities winding down we now have the resources available to help a number of existing companies in the community.”
Mr. Cagan emphasized that SBTG will remain actively involved in evaluating investments and providing investment opportunities to its individual investors and other accredited angel investors in the area.
About Santa Barbara Technology Group Santa Barbara Technology Group, LLC is a private investment and consulting firm engaged primarily in working with, and acquiring equity from, early-stage technology companies. The firm has become an important connection for any high-tech start-up on the Central Coast. SBTG provides world-class management assistance, strategic guidance, and valuable connections for entrepreneurs, as well as providing young companies access to financing, and operational and technological infrastructure.