While independent, NCP is affiliated with Needham & Company, LLC a leading U.S. investment banking, securities and asset management firm focused solely on serving emerging growth industries and their investors. Needham & Company is actively engaged as an investment bank in the public and private capital markets and in providing strategic-partner and merger-and-acquisition advice. Needham & Company has an extensive track record of working with emerging growth companies on initial and follow-on public offerings, joint ventures, strategic alliances, private placements, and mergers and acquisitions. In addition, Needham & Company’s equity research and corporate finance professionals are in daily contact with many of the current and potential customers, suppliers and business partners of our portfolio companies.

NCP works closely with the equity research and corporate finance professionals at Needham & Company. These professionals are based in New York City, New York; Menlo Park, California; San Francisco, California; and Boston, Massachusetts. The affiliation with Needham & Company provides our portfolio companies access to an informed and unbiased perspective on the capital markets. It also gives portfolio companies access to Needham & Company’s equity research analysts, with their knowledge of opportunities and developments in their industries involving strategic partners, mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. Needham & Company’s corporate finance and research professionals receive a constant flow of information on developments in the industries they follow. They also have access to many of the senior executives at key suppliers, prospective customers and business partners.

While the entire resources of Needham & Company are freely available to portfolio companies, each of our portfolio companies makes decisions on investment banking services solely in its own best interests. NCP acts as a fiduciary on behalf of its Limited Partners and its obligation is to the best interests of its portfolio companies. Information regarding portfolio companies is held in the strictest confidence by NCP and is not shared with others, including the investment bank, without the permission of the portfolio company. NCP differs from some investment bank-related investment funds in that there is absolutely no obligation placed on portfolio companies to use the investment banking services of Needham & Company.