Smeal's Garber VC Fund Invests In Two Companies

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (May 7, 2009) – The MBA student-managed Garber Venture Capital Fund at Penn State's Smeal College of Business closed two investments during the spring 2009 semester.

The first is in the form of a Promissory Convertible Note for $75,000 made to INDIGO Biosciences Inc. The Garber Fund is already a major shareholder in this company from prior rounds of investment, and this note provides sufficient working capital for the company prior to a subsequent equity round.

INDIGO creates products and services that facilitate drug discovery and development, the analysis of active ingredients, and molecular toxicology. The company specializes in aiding pharmaceutical companies with toxicology screening in the pre-clinical discovery stage of drug development. Garber's prior funding was instrumental in helping to launch the company's new product line of frozen single-use human nuclear receptor assay kits, which are currently being sold to pharmaceutical companies and high throughput screening facilities around the world.

INDIGO was founded in 2005 by Blake R. Peterson, associate professor of chemistry in Penn State's Department of Chemistry, and Jack Vanden Heuvel, professor of molecular toxicology in the Department of Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences.

According to H. Dean Bunnell, chief executive officer of the company, "Our relationship with the Garber Fund has provided major benefits during the early stages of the company, not only through its funding support, but also through interaction with the MBA students who have provided valuable insight and analysis as we have formulated our marketing and sales plans."

The second company that the Garber Fund invested in is HireVue Inc., headquartered in Sandy, Utah.  HireVue is the leading provider of Internet-based video interviewing services to major corporations. HireVue customers make better hiring decisions while saving time and money by including a video interview early in the hiring process. Earlier exposure to the candidate via video interview gives companies a richer assessment of the candidate than a resume or phone interview at a fraction of the cost of an on-site interview.

The Garber Fund invested $150,000 alongside Peterson Ventures in a Series "A" Round of Preferred Stock. This opportunity was introduced to the fund by Chip Luman, a Penn State alumnus and chief operating officer of the company.

"We are thrilled to have Penn State involved with our company through the Garber Fund," Luman said. "The Penn State alumni network is the largest and most loyal alumni organization in the world, and it's benefitting us, not only in raising funds, but also in exposure to potential HireVue clients."

Both investments were recommended by students in the Garber Venture Capital Practicum course within the Smeal MBA Program after extensive due diligence was undertaken by student teams. The class was presented with six investment opportunities at the start of the semester, finally deciding on these two investments.

About INDIGO Biosciences, The Nuclear Receptor Company

Founded in 2005, privately held INDIGO Biosciences, Inc. provides unique, cost-effective, reliable, and user-friendly target-specific nuclear receptor assay products and contract screening services to drug developers, toxicologists, and researchers in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemical, and nutriceutical industries.

INDIGO Biosciences developed a unique and superior processing method called CryoMite™, which provides long-term cryo-preservation of cells for shipping and storage, enabling the company to provide its unique Nuclear Receptor Assays for third-party use via overnight delivery.

About HireVue, Inc.

Founded in 2004, HireVue developed the industry's first Internet-based employer driven video interviewing solution. Today, the company has delivered this service in more than 85 countries around the globe. HireVue's full-service video interviews eliminate travel costs, reduce recruitment time, and allow hiring managers to view applicants' interviews at their convenience. HireVue's client list includes African Development Bank, Austin Independent School District, Dish Network, Inter-American Development Bank, ITT, Rio Tinto, Whirlpool, and many others.
For more information please visit www.hirevue.com.

About The Garber Venture Capital Fund

The Garber Fund was established in 1999 with a $5 million commitment from Penn State alumnus John Garber and his wife Bette to bring reality to the teaching of entrepreneurship and venture capital. The fund is part of the Nittany Lion Venture Capital Association (NLVC), an MBA student-run management group that works with small companies and other investment groups in early stage business planning, execution, and due-diligence assignments. NLVC forms part of Smeal's highly acclaimed entrepreneurship program, in which students are immersed in real-life situations throughout their studies.

For more information on Nittany Lion Venture Capital or the Penn State Entrepreneurs Network, contact Anthony Warren, Farrell Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship, at 814-865-4593.