Montana companies seek investors, connections at Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association conference at Big Sky, Montana

A Montana software entrepreneur sporting a suit jacket over a gray T-shirt stood before representatives of many venture capitalist firms in the Rocky Mountain region and asked a question.

"What do Virgin America, Harvard University and Playboy have in common?"

The answer wasn’t a punchline. It was Michael FitzGerald’s company Submittable http://www.submittable.com/ , based in Missoula. His question launched into the heart of his presentation at the fifth annual Venture Capital in the Rockies fall conference.

FitzGerald was there pitching Submittable — a software company that manages digital submissions, such as resumes or novels — to the gathered investors in hope of raising money to further develop the company.

The VCIR conference held Wednesday through Friday was the first held in Big Sky by the Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association http://www.rockymountainvca.com/ . Big Sky last hosted a venture capital conference about five years ago, said conference chairman John O’Donnell.

JASON BACAJ, Chronicle Staff Writer

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