LISTnet fund plan draws LICA wrath

By: Ben Abelson
Long Island Business News
February 5, 2004

GARDEN CITY - While Jeffrey Bass likes the idea of bringing more money to small Long Island businesses, he isn't exactly thrilled with the Long Island Software and Technology Network's recent venture capital initiative.

Bass, chairman of the Long Island Capital Alliance and principal in Garden City-based accounting firm Margolin, Winer & Evens, said LISTnet's proposal to host venture capital forums would directly compete with his own organization and its annual event.

"To the extent that the Long Island Capital Alliance has been doing that, as our 20th anniversary suggests, fairly successfully, it kind of repeats a theme."

Bass noted that his own organization is already hosting or planning events with area networking groups such as the Hauppauge Industrial Association, Long Island Forum for Technology and the Long Island Association. He said he hoped that LISTnet would "take the same position, rather than duplicate what's already there."

"A couple of years back some executives members of LISTnet were talking about the need for the Long Island Association to be less competitive and more cooperative with the organization, but now they take this stance about having an independent capital forum to basically help those companies that we've been helping and showcasing all these years," he added.

Executives at LISTnet, however, say the proposed events, under the umbrella of the Technology Funding Forum of Long Island, would be different from LICA's annual forum. Richard Lippe, who chairs LISTnet's venture capital committee, said LISTnet's forum would seek to attract funding for spin-offs of area not-for-profit institutions and incubators.

While working with the LICA remains a possibility, Lippe noted that LISTnet wanted "to see the forum controlled by the non-profits, not by Jeff Bass or a bunch of service providers."