Utah's venture capital community is light years ahead of states such as Florida and Tennessee but could improve in commercializing more ideas from its universities, according to Mark Heesen, president of the Virginia-based National Venture Capital Asso- ciation.

Heesen was in Salt Lake City Friday to join with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and other venture capitalists plugging the state's growing venture capital industry.

In 2005, Utah captured $248 million in venture capital money, a 28 percent rise from $193 million raised in 2004, according to the MoneyTree survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Venture capital money is money invested into private companies, usually at early stages of growth.

Huntsman said the state is on track to reach the $300 million mark. Still, Heesen said Utah could compete better by creating a closer relationship between its VC firms and universities.

"I don't know how many companies that you have taken out of the university setting, but I would assume that it is pretty low compared to some other states," Heesen said. "And it's not simply your public universities, but also your private universities in trying to have an understanding of moving ideas out of the academic setting."

Jack Brittain, vice president of the University of Utah's technology venture development, said the U., over the past 10 years, has created about 3.5 companies on average annually. However, in the past fiscal year ended June 30, roughly 20 companies were created.

In the past, Brittain said, the university simply "sold off" its technology ideas, something known as "tech transfer."

"That was very much, 'throw it over the wall,' " Brittain said. "Now we really focus on getting commercialized and creating jobs. We're making companies."

In addition to commercializing more ideas, Blake Modersitzki, partner at UV Partners, said Utah should be more active in pushing science, technology and biology at both the high school and college levels.

---

E-mail: danderton@desnews.com