About ONSET

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What stages of companies are you interested in?

We are primarily interested in early-stage companies. We also make selective later-stage investments.

2. Do you have geographic preferences for investments?

To provide our companies with the value that can only come from personal attention, we invest primarily in companies near our office in Northern California, but we will consider other locations.

3. What is the minimum/maximum amount you'll invest?

Depending on the stage of the company's development, our first investment typically ranges from several hundreds of thousands of dollars to about $5 million. Our goal for investment over the length of our association with a company is generally between $8-12 million, but is flexible depending on the needs of the company.

4. What types of companies do you invest in?

We invest in sectors where our partners have experience—business-to-business markets in information technology and institutional or physician markets in medical technology. Our IT investments focus on enterprise applications and infrastructure software, communications and networking. Our medical technology investments emphasize medical devices and drug delivery systems.

5. Will you work with companies represented by brokers or other third parties?

We are happy to receive information about companies that match our investment capabilities from a variety of sources. However, we prefer all of our investment dollars be used by the company for its development.

6. I have a great idea I want to talk to a partner about—how do I schedule an appointment?

We prefer to assess your business opportunity by reviewing a two- to five-page executive summary of your idea; a full business plan is not necessary. Your summary should contain a description of the business opportunity, customer profiles, products and services, and team member backgrounds. Include market size and profile, competitive information, and financial projections. You may send the summary by fax, email or regular mail. If your opportunity is in a market corresponding to our investment areas, we will contact you to ask questions or arrange a meeting.

7. Do you sign non-disclosure agreements? If not, how can I be sure you won't steal my idea?

Of course, we respect the sensitive nature of your idea. Our reputation is critical to our success, so we are careful not to divulge information inappropriately. However, for legal reasons, we are unable to sign non-disclosure agreements before you present your basic idea. We prefer that you send us non-confidential information at first, until we determine if there is mutual interest. If there is mutual interest and our diligence activities require signing a non-disclosure, we will work with you to ensure that we maintain confidentiality.

8. How long before I will hear back from you? Will someone call me?

Our usual response time is two to four weeks. We make a point to respond to every plan submitted as quickly as possible.

9. How can I find out more about your firm?

Read the articles in the News & Events section of this Web site. If you have a specific question, you may also email us at mp@onset.com, and we'll do our best to respond to your inquiry as quickly as possible.