Applicants Nationwide Apply to Present Their Businesses to Prospective Investors at 6th Annual InvestMidwest.KANSAS CITY Kansas City, two adjacent cities of the same name, one (1990 pop. 149,767), seat of Wyandotte co., NE Kansas (inc. 1859), the other (1990 pop. 435,146), Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties, NW Mo. (inc. 1850). , Mo. -- Applications Received from Record Number of States; Selected Presenting Companies to Be Announced To be announced (TBA) A contract for the purchase or sale of an MBS to be delivered at an agreed-upon future date but does not include a specified pool number and number of pools or precise amount to be delivered. Mid-March Applicants from more states than in any previous year want venture capitalists Venture Capitalist An investor who provides capital to either start-up ventures or support small companies who wish to expand but do not have access to public funding. Notes: Venture capitalists usually expect higher returns for the additional risks taken. , angel investors An individual who invests his or her own money in a private company, which is typically a startup. An angel investor is not an employee or member of a bank, venture capital firm or other financial institution that normally makes such investments. and investment bankers to learn about their high-growth companies at the 2005 InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum. "We received more than 80 applications from 17 states throughout the continental United States United States territory, including the adjacent territorial waters, located within North America between Canada and Mexico. Also called CONUS. and Hawaii," said Chris Walsh Chris Walsh (born December 12, 1968 in Cleveland, Ohio), is a former American football wide receiver who played 11 seasons in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at Stanford University. , Executive Director of InvestMidwest, the Midwest's premier venture capital forum. "The geographic reach that these applicants represent is broader than any other year in InvestMidwest's six-year history." Applications for InvestMidwest, which provides a venue for high-growth companies to present their businesses to prospective investors, were received from companies based in Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota North Dakota, state in the N central United States. It is bordered by Minnesota, across the Red River of the North (E), South Dakota (S), Montana (W), and the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (N). , Nebraska, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. "It's gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. that the entrepreneurial community recognizes that InvestMidwest provides them a great platform to reach investors in search of good opportunities," Ms. Walsh said. A committee representing legal, business management, investment and banking firms is screening applications to select as many as 30 firms to present at the April 21-22 forum, which will be in Kansas City this year. Presenters are chosen based upon their potential to generate $20 million in annual revenue growth within five years, their management teams, products or services, marketing strategies, market opportunities and financial summaries. Firms selected will receive presentation guidelines and guidance to ensure that presenters meet the forum's professional presentation standards. InvestMidwest is expected to announce the companies selected to present by mid-March. "With two tracks presenting concurrently this year for the first time - a life sciences track and an information technology and general business track - we are able to increase the number of presenters by as much as 50 percent over previous years," Ms. Walsh said. "Our dual-track approach will help venture capitalists focus on growth companies that represent their specific areas of interest for investment." Attending the 2005 InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum will be venture capitalists from the prestigious Kauffman Fellows Program. "The Kauffman Fellows Program's representation at InvestMidwest adds tremendous power to this year's event," said Ms. Walsh. "Kauffman Fellows hold solid positions in prominent venture capital firms Name Location Founding date Managing Partners/Directors Specialty Capital managed 5AM Ventures Menlo Park, CA; Waltham, MA 2002 John Diekman, PhD (managing partner), Scott Rocklage, PhD (managing partner), Andrew Schwab (managing partner) life sciences $200M [1] on both the East and West coasts as well as in top firms here in the Midwest and elsewhere in the world." Founded in 1984 by the Kauffman Foundation but now an independent educational institute, the Kauffman Fellows Program, www.kauffmanfellows.org, provides a 24-month full immersion education in the venture capital field for emerging venture capital leaders. More than 20 venture firms have already committed to attend, including: 3i Granite Global Ventures Aberdare Ventures Highland Capital Partners Battelle Ventures MPM Capital Blueprint Ventures New Enterprise Associates Cardinal Partners Onset Ventures Centennial Ventures Prism Venture Partners Copan US RiverVest Venture Partners Domain Associates Spray Venture Partners Draper Fisher Jurvetson S.R. One EDF Ventures The Angels' Forum/The Halo Funds Emergence Capital Partners VIMAC Ventures Ms. Walsh noted that more angel investors than ever before also are expected to attend the 2005 InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum. Since the first InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum in May 2000, presenting companies have raised more than $200 million in equity investments. The 2005 InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum's Founding Sponsors are the Kauffman Foundation and the Danforth Foundation. Organizational Sponsors are the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, KCSourceLink, the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC KTEC Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation ), the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association The Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA) is the chamber of commerce and primary economic development agency for Metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri. The St. Louis RCGA has three primary roles: 1) to serve as the regional chamber of commerce for over 4,000 member (RCGA RCGA St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association RCGA Royal Canadian Golf Association ), Missouri Venture Forum and RCGA's Technology Gateway Council. For more information or to make reservations to attend InvestMidwest, visit www.investmidwestforum.com or call 314.444.1151. |
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