21 firms to court venture capitalists at Wayne Brown Institute funding conference in Salt Lake City

Landing a slice of the venture capital pie is a little like winning the lottery.

But for several companies heading to Salt Lake City this week, nothing is left to chance.

Many early-stage companies looking for money turn to the Wayne Brown Institute http://www.venturecapital.org/ , a Salt Lake-based nonprofit that helps businesses find funding.

Only one in three companies that turn to the institute for help are accepted. Those that make the cut are put through an intensive four-month program in which companies learn the art of presenting a business opportunity to potential investors.

"Presentation skills are extremely important, because investors want to know very quickly if this is an opportunity," said Brad Bertoch, president and chief executive officer of the Wayne Brown Institute. "If you don’t present it right, no one will know. Even though a lot of the companies think that initially they can do this, it’s amazing how much work has to go into these presentations."

By Dave Anderton
Deseret Morning News

Full Story: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600108703,00.html