Montana Delegation attends the National Association of Seed and Venture Capital Annual Conference in Pittsburgh

A former steel town, now an engine of high tech job growth, Pittsburgh, PA, was the site of the 2002 National Association of Seed and Venture Fund annual meeting last week.

In this case, the term "seed investing" isn’t your normal agriculture variety but a term used to describe individuals or groups who invest in early stage companies and research projects. Their goal is to mentor entrepreneurs and build successful companies and receive a healthy return on their investments. Many of the most successful companies in Silicon Valley and other entrepreneurial areas have achieved greatness because of their early stage or seed investors and the influence they had on their development.

Focusing on the success of the Pittsburgh Technology Council, the conference brought together seed and early stage venture fund managers, public policy and tech transfer professionals, economic developers and incubator directors from 40 plus states and several foreign countries to learn about best practices in launching new job growth through building a culture that supports entrepreneurs.

Breakout sessions featured panelist who have been successful in creating regional seed funds in fly-over states, commercialization, building early stage companies and running successful angel networks and early stage funds. Networking was intense among the participants.

The Montana attendees met with several state representatives who had been involved in drafting legislation to foster early stage investing.

Attending from Montana were Lt. Governor Karl Ohs, Brenda Ellias, Deputy Securities Commissioner from Montana, Jon Marchi, Glacier Venture Fund and Liz Harris with Jobs Now, Inc.

In addition, a panel of community champions who worked together to transform Pittsburgh from a steel town to one that is growing high tech jobs at a rate faster than they can be filled, spoke to the importance of taking a long-term approach to economic development, the necessity of working together and leveraging the area’s university assets for the economy.

The NASVF is an international association that tracks the seed and early stage venture industry as well as provides educational seminars for angel investors and entrepreneurs. They are conducting a seminar,"Seed Investing as a Team Sport" sponsored by Tech Ranch, in Bozeman in October 11.

Participants will gain information on:

* Know-how – learn the basics of pricing and structuring seed investments

* Networking opportunities – meet and collaborate with other investors in your region, and with local professionals and advisors who can help you succeed

* Team skills – experience the use of team based approaches for making and managing investments

* Valuable references – receive a manual of essential due diligence questions, an annotated bibliography of the very best resources on seed investing, and a collection of outstanding articles on business planning and Angel investing

To find out more about the NASVF go to http://www.nasvf.org. For more information about the upcoming seminar in Bozeman go to http://www.techranch.org