By Richard Koffler, CEO, Koffler Ventures
Executive Director, Software Council of Southern California

The our Members, Sponsors and Friends,

It’s been 12 months since I stepped in to become the Software Council’s executive director, and as I approach my voluntary retirement from the position later this year, I want to give you a thumbnail status report:

The Software Council is financially sound, our educational and networking programs are strong and getting even better, our membership is growing again after a brutal post-bubble contraction, the Software Industry Awards in February exceeded everyone’s quality and attendance expectations, and our sponsors continue finding that the Software Council is an exceptional platform to reach their audience of software industry decision-makers. All told, we’re rocking! More >>

The Software Council supports the Software Finance and Tax Executives Council in its opposition to proposed Federal legislation that would mandate the expensing of employee stock options. More at the Softec website

By Michael Silvio, Director of Tax Services, RSM McGladrey

R&D Tax Credits: Is your software company taking full advantage of this hidden treasure?

Have you attempted to improve your revenues and margins by adding to and improving your product list? Do you continually fight competitive pricing pressures by working to improve your efficiency and reduce costs? If you answered yes, the federal government wants to help you finance these activities through the Research & Development Credit, a direct reduction of the tax liability on your corporate income tax return. In California and many other states, R&D credits are also available at the state level. More >>

By Mark T. Hiraide, Petillon & Hansen

Publicly traded shell corporations are often touted (usually by the organizers and promoters of the shell) as a cost-effective means of "going public." While shell corporations may appear to be an attractive alternative to a conventional registered initial public offering ("IPO"), the true cost of going public through a shell corporation is usually much greater than a conventional IPO. This article evaluates the purported benefits of shell corporations and discusses the true costs "going public" in this fashion. More >>

By Dr. Tony Karrer, CEO, TechEmpower

In talking with organizations about how they can use computers to improve the performance of individuals, teams and organizations, there is an interesting trend emerging - organizations need performance, computers can help, but today only relatively simple opportunities are being used. As a software community, we need to look at how we can help drive performance through software. In other words, we need to learn to make our software persuasive! More >>

By Mark Feldstein, President, Concentric Software

Marketing has a bad reputation. Many feel it is the one department in a company whose only purpose is to spend money without any guarantee of an ROI (Return on Investment). When marketing is mentioned, it conjures in the imagination expensive ad campaigns, media hype and market research. When times are tough, marketing is usually the first budget to be cut. More >>

Phone: (310) 328-0043
Fax: (310) 224-1993

www.scsc.org

Catrina Gruver, Director of Programming, catrina@scsc.org
Kristen Messineo, Program Coordinator, kristen@scsc.org

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June 4
Software Executive's Roundtable
Featuring Aubrey Chernick, CEO, Candle Corporation

June 11
Orientation
About SCSC

June 12
Orange County Chapter
Market Opportunity in Security

June 19
Los Angeles Chapter
Best Practices in Software Licensing and Pricing

September 3-4, 2003

VentureNet is Southern California's premier software and information technology capital conference. It is the primary forum where the region's most promising companies get to meet and present to prospective investors and strategic partners from around the country.

VentureNet is an excellent fund-raising platform for Southern California companies that develop and commercialize software and related information technologies and which have the potential to create superior shareholder value. The past six VentureNet conferences have cumulatively helped presenting companies raise over $75 million.

Apply to present today!