Yudu - Finance Monthly October 2011

16 analysis

JLA Ventures / BlackBerry Partners Fund

This month, Finance Monthly speaks to John Albright, the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the BlackBerry Partners Fund™ and also the Founder and Managing Partner of JLA Ventures. During John’s 17+ years in the venture capital industry, he has partnered with entrepreneurs by helping to shape their vision and capital plans into successful long-term growth programs. Here John discusses his recent work, the demands within mobile computing and the future of fundraising.

John Albright

The BlackBerry Partners Fund was established in 2008 and has raised one fund to date in the amount of $151 million from a diverse group of institutions and strategic partners. They invest in early stage companies that benefit from and/or enable the mobile internet. JLA Ventures was established in 1996 and has raised $315 million over four funds from a diverse group of institutional investors. JLA Ventures invests in early stage companies that focus on digital media and software. John currently serves as a director of mDialog, QuickPlay Media,

Nexage, Viewdle, Padopolis, Digby, Achievers (formerly I Love Rewards), GlassBox TV and is a board observer for Copious. In addition, he serves as a director of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) and is an advisory board member to the North American Venture Capital Association (NVCA). In addition, John graduated from the Schulich School of Business at York University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

You recently completed a $5m round of equity fundraising for mDialog, a leader in Mobile & Over The Top (OTT) Ad Mediation. Can you discuss the investment?

Our investment thesis for mDialog can be bifurcated into our belief in the company and our thoughts on the current macro trends in the content delivery and consumption market. When we first met with Greg Philpott, the CEO of mDialog, we realized the technology and intellectual property his team had built around dynamic ad insertion was tremendous. As we dug deeper, we began to see mDialog’s potential to become a de facto industry standard for ad insertion into content for any connected device. As for the macro opportunity, we believe that TV consumption will shift

from linear cable to connected devices, whereby advertising will shift from 1:many to 1:1. This will dramatically change the media landscape, particularly for broadcasters and video gatekeepers.

In addition, the ads

will be interactive in the event that the audience wants more details on a product. As such, the TV advertiser will now have metrics on engagement and conversion rates. This will significantly increase CPM

rates and enable mDialog and its customers and partners to grow in tandem with the market.

How does the BlackBerry Partners Fund meet the on-going and future demands within mobile computing?

We believe there are titanic shifts in the way businesses and consumers are interacting with each other. As part of our investment thesis, we have segmented these changes into broad themes based on the changes in culture, society, and technology – and the interplay between them that is facilitated by mobile devices. More specifically, the themes encompass the always-on, hyper-networked environments that are blurring the lines between professional and personal lives. The team is positioned to capitalize on this shift due to our tenure,

expertise, and most importantly, relationships throughout the mobile ecosystem. We are dedicated exclusively to mobile opportunities, and that allows the team to focus on the best entrepreneurs and teams building products and companies in this space.

How do you see the future of fundraising specifically for the digital media, software and mobile computing sectors in light of recent global economic turmoil?

While the current fundraising future for digital media and mobile computing opportunities is bright, there could be a tightening in the fundraising environment in the near- to mid-term. There are a number of great opportunities right now for fundraising: accelerator or incubators which provide capital and formalized programs, angel and super angel investors, and venture capital firms investing in earlier stage companies. The recent events in the global economy have been a boon for

innovation and entrepreneurship as evidenced by the amount of companies started that are searching for capital. Coupled with the decline in the capital required to start a company, fundraising should remain constant as the search for innovation continues. FM

OCTOBER 2011