November 1, 2000, San Francisco, CA: - Two years ago, Ephibian (www.ephibian.com) CEO Teri Spencer had a novel idea. "What if technology based startups, whose biggest concerns are often preserving capital while minimizing speed to market, could utilize top engineering talent for back end Web site development for little or no cash?" Today, this novel idea is called "venture technology," and is the cornerstone for business development at the Tucson based Internet services firm specializing in infrastructure, application development and management services.

In its simplest form, venture technology is the acceptance of equity in exchange for deferring or reducing fees for technology development. "We have a rigorous screening process for our venture technology candidates," notes Henry Guy, Ephibian CFO and managing director of Ephibian Ventures. "We put our prospective portfolio companies through the same screening process that a leading venture firm like Kleiner Perkins or Draper Fisher Jurvetson would. If we believe in the team and the market opportunity they are pursuing, we'll take a small interest in their company and get them to market fast."