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15 companies to make pitch at Venture Forum
An expanded two-day program will allow for more wheelin´ and dealin´ at this year´s Intermountain Venture Forum, set to begin Wednesday at the Boise Centre on The Grove.
Julie Howard
The Idaho Statesman
The annual event this year also will allow the public to listen to presentations offered by 15 companies from six regional states as they pitch their business plans — and expectations for growth — to a panel of venture capitalists, attorneys and business leaders.
The idea behind the changes is to provide a more educational experience for entrepreneurs, said event chairman Nick Miller, a partner with the law firm Hawley Troxell Ennis & Hawley.
“No one´s going to write a check on the spot,” said Miller, explaining that companies use the forum to initiate relationships with venture capital firms and get the process of funding started. “We´re just trying to create the opportunity.”
Four Boise companies — Accounting Solutions, The Lynn Companies, Provizio and Telemetric — will be presenters. Other companies presenting business plans range from an all-terrain skate company from Washington (GateSkate) to a Salt Lake City business that makes tissue-engineered orthopedic implants.
Companies were screened by a committee. More than 40 companies from eight intermountain states applied to present at the forum.
“The process is part art, part science,” said Christopher Volk, co-chair of the selection committee. “Sometimes, an idea is just not viable. The team they have is critical, and part of the criteria was about what stage of business they´re in.”
The committee looked for companies with well-defined business plans, solid marketable products and a clear idea of realistic capital requirements for financing the business, Volk said.
The forum is not just for businesses presenting their plans. This year´s format also is geared to attract others interested in the process of entrepreneurialism.
John O´Donnell, who heads a high-tech incubator, is traveling from Bozeman, Mont., to make contacts with a variety of professionals who will attend the forum. O´Donnell´s hope is that he can bring some of that expertise back to Bozeman.
“We continue to build out our network of investors and other types of service providers that might be of value to our start-up ventures in Bozeman,” said O´Donnell, executive director of the Technology Venture Center Inc., an organization that promotes high-tech growth in Bozeman. “We do not have any venture capital firms in Montana, and there are very few corporate securities attorneys, marketing and IT consultants that cater to the high-tech sector.”
O´Donnell also will be a panelist for a discussion on how to find and retain top talent. Attendees can listen in on several panel discussions on:
• Successful angel investing.
• Recruiting — landing and keeping top talent.
• Executive round-table: “If I were to start a company today…”
• VCs — how to get funded in today´s environment.
• Small Business Innovative Research Grants.
Joe Daltoso, former chairman/CEO of Micron Electronics, will offer the welcome address Wednesday, and Len Jordan, former senior vice president for RealNetworks, will provide the keynote luncheon address.
The program will start at 8 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and ends at noon Thursday.
To offer story ideas or comments, contact Julie Howard
[email protected] or 373-6618
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