Conference Focuses on the Three Forms of Capital to Increase Job Creation in Western North Carolina; Over $2 Billion in Investor Capital, Workshops on Effective Sales and Marketing, and Increasing Research Grants for Entrepreneurs.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- AdvantageWest's Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council announced the 3rd Annual Carolina Connect Entrepreneur and Capital Conference on September 8, 2005 at the Renaissance Hotel in Asheville.

The conference will concentrate on helping entrepreneurs get more private investor capital, increase sales revenue and learn more about the process of partnering for research grants. There will be three breakout sessions per topic on investment capital, sales and marketing, and technology transfer and research grants. Panelist highlights include David Worrell, a writer from Entrepreneur Magazine, Casey Porto, Director of Tech Transfer from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Asheville native Doug Ellis, CEO of DecisionPoint International in Charlotte, N.C.

The Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council (BREC) has arranged for over two billion dollars of private equity investor capital to meet with the entrepreneurs of western North Carolina. Firms such as Clearstone Capital from Silicon Valley, Calif., Noro-Moseley, the largest and oldest venture capital firm in the southeast from Atlanta, Ga., Aurora Funds from Research Triangle Park, N.C., Wakefield Funds from Charlotte and over thirty angel investment funds from the southeast will participate.

Two western North Carolina companies have been chosen to present their business plans to the audience full of investors.

--Genesis Molecular Discovery - An Asheville-based molecular design company founded by Dr. Jeff Schmitt, the former Chief Scientist of Targacept. Genesis Molecular Discovery was the first company from western North Carolina to receive financial support from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

--SmartBand Technologies - An Enka, N.C.-based technology company that has a patent on a plasma based antennae for communications devices. The founders of SmartBand Technologies met and formed the company at the first Carolina Connect in 2003.

There are three major keynote speakers throughout the day. The morning keynote is a "conversation" interview with Tom Fisher, the Vice President of Information Technology of Qualcomm, a San Diego, Calif., -based wireless communications company. Fisher is a graduate of UNC Charlotte, former Chief Technology Officer of eBay and Gateway Computers. The topic will be "Success and Sacrifice" about the passion and hard work it takes to help the company reach the top.

The lunch keynote will be Jim Armstrong, Managing Partner of Clearstone Capital, a $650 million venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley, Calif. Armstrong is a former resident of Asheville and former partner of Austin Ventures in Austin, Texas. Forbes Magazine lists Armstrong as one of the "Top 50 Venture Capitalists in America".

The final keynote panel will be "The State of the State's Economy and the Role of Western North Carolina". This panel will be moderated by Chris William, host of "Carolina Business Review" in Charlotte. The panel will discuss the progress of western North Carolina in the knowledge economy within the pro-business state of North Carolina.

BREC has lined up an impressive list of corporate sponsors for Carolina Connect, including:

Title Sponsor- Womble Caryle Sandridge & Rice - North Carolina's largest corporate legal firm with offices in Asheville, N.C., Greenville, S.C., Atlanta, Ga., and through out the Southeast.

Program Sponsors- Grant Thornton- Chicago, Ill.,-based accounting firm with offices in Charlotte and throughout North Carolina.

eGlobalDesign- Asheville based e-marketing and design firm

Breakout Sponsors-

Qualcomm - San Diego, CA based wireless communications company listed in the Fortune 500.

KemperStrategy- Asheville based sales and marketing consulting firm.

ESI Advisors - Asheville based merger, acquisition and consulting firm.

BUILDERadius - Asheville based software company for the building construction and permit industries.

RBC Centura - Rocky Mount, NC based bank with an increasing focus on small business.

LocalTechWire- A web based newsletter that covers technology industry news in the southeast.

Business Wire - The most comprehensive commercial news wire service, utilizing proprietary multimedia delivery systems and affiliations with more than 60 key news services.

Jim Roberts, Executive Director of AdvantageWest's Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council and Blue Ridge Angel Investors Network said "Carolina Connect is a crucial part of our efforts to get investors interested in western North Carolina. This conference has played a big part of new company formation, capital investment and last year led to over $130,000 of new sales and partnerships for our entrepreneurs. According to a recent report, the amount of private equity capital investment in WNC increased by 63% in 2004 over the previous year."

Chris Derrick of Womble Carlyle and this year's Chairman of the conference said "Womble Carlyle has served as the title sponsor of the Carolina Connect Conference every year of its existence, and we are especially pleased to have that honor again this year. The Carolina Connect Conference has proven to be a primary means for bringing investment capital to the region's entrepreneurs, and Jim has lined up an impressive list of representatives from the nation's leading venture capital firms and angel funds to attend and present at this year's conference."

The $45 early registration fee for the conference is meant to make the event affordable for all entrepreneurs of all industries in western North Carolina, east Tennessee and upstate South Carolina. The interested attendees can find registration information online at www.ncmtns.biz/carolinaconnect.shtml. A special discounted rate at the Renaissance Hotel is available for those who identify themselves as Carolina Connect Conference attendees.

For more details, contact Jim Roberts at: 828-273-9862 or [e-mail] To RSVP Contact Pam Lewis at: [e-mail].