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Securing venture capital for a start-up company is anything but easy.

For Ted White, it meant 20-hour work days poring over paperwork and conferencing with lawyers on both coasts. Without an office to work out of, White says his kitchen was so jammed with file folders that his family couldn’t even use it.

But White was one of the few lucky ones his bid for venture dollars paid off. In just a little under six months, White received $16 million late last year to start Long Term Care Group.

It was one of the largest first-round venture capital fundings ever obtained by an L.A.-area company. It was the fifth-largest first-round funding nationwide in the fourth quarter of last year, according to Price Waterhouse LLP.

“There was so much pressure during those months 20-hour days were normal; sometimes we’d work all night,” said White. “But there is money out there if you have the management experience and a good idea.”

White was on a business trip in Hawaii when he made the decision to quit his job as chief executive of First Health Strategies. The decision was triggered by an idea: launching a firm that would offer insurance and other managed care alternatives for the nation’s aging baby-boomer set.

Within weeks he contacted Chip Linehan, an associate with New Enterprise Associates, a Menlo Park-based venture capital firm. White had decided to approach the firm because he had worked with Linehan on a previous venture. Last July, Linehan and White began to assemble a business plan.

“We viewed (the business plan) as a double play,” said Linehan, who specializes in the health care industry. “One, there was stable leadership. Two, we saw this as a vehicle to develop new programs and products with a managed-care twist to them. We could see right off a way to build a very, very large program.”

The business plan included purchasing a division of United HealthCare, which already had been working in the long-term health care field. The business plan outlined how spinning off this division would provide a high-growth opportunity for building a new company.

By August, a tentative deal was signed to purchase the division within a specified period of time, and White pitched the business plan to New Enterprise’s board.

“It took a month and a half to check references and talk to a number of potential customers,” said Linehan. “We wanted to see if this would be a good opportunity, and it was.”

With a rough deal cut between New Enterprise and White, Linehan then assembled a syndicate of venture capitalists. The process of presenting a business plan began all over again, he said.

White and Linehan went to pitch meetings through September, grabbing the attention of New York-based Warburg Pincus, Nashville-based Franklin Ventures, and Encino-based Pacific Ventures.

All four venture capital firms had committed by early October. Three of the firms invested roughly an equal amount, with New Enterprise investing a bit more, White said.

“The last nine days were a blur, with 20-hour days at the end,” said White. “None of us were resting until we actually got the check there was still a chance of someone backing out, so the pressure was on.”

White added: “When it got to the last minute, everything was at stake. If it worked, you get a big reward.”

The deal finally closed on Nov. 14, and the $16 million of venture capital funds were deposited the next day. Simultaneously, White said, the deal to purchase United Healthcare’s long-term health division was closed.

The deal gives the venture capitalists majority ownership (about 80 percent). When the company goes public in a few years, Linehan figures that the venture capitalists will see “five to six times their investment” returned.

“At the end of the day, money is a commodity,” Linehan said. “If you are the exception that can raise money, it’s a great time to be an entrepreneur.”

White said choosing partners was perhaps the hardest part. He wanted venture capitalists that not only came through on the money, but also had the experience and dedication to help grow the company.

Long Term Care Group’s board is comprised of both management staff and representatives from the four venture capital firms.

“It’s not like they are putting money into the bank and walking away,” he said. “They help me by giving me business advice and bringing me strategic alliance opportunities and sales opportunities. They are not only helping to manage the company, but helping to grow it.”

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