Early Registration Deadline Approaching for 7th Annual InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum; Investor Firms Encouraged to Register Now to Secure a Spot at This Year's Event.

ST. LOUIS -- InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum today issued a reminder that investor firms interested in attending this year's event have just four more days to reserve their spots to take advantage of the early registration savings before the deadline. Firms are encouraged to visit www.investmidwestforum.com on or before March 24 to fill out their registration forms.

Set for April 5-6 at A.G. Edwards National Headquarters in St. Louis, the 7th annual InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum will bring together 30 emerging, privately held companies from across the Midwest who will present their business plans to an assembly of regional and national venture capitalists, corporate and private investors and investment bankers. To date, more than 40 investment firms have already signed up to attend this year's event.

"InvestMidwest is an incredible opportunity for representatives from investor firms to quickly get an overview of some of the Midwest's most promising early-stage companies and to network with some of the most active players in the venture capital business," notes Chris Walsh, executive director of InvestMidwest.

In addition to securing a spot at the forum, those who register for the event prior to the early registration deadline will also enjoy a discount on their registration fees. The cost is $350 for registrations made now through March 24, $400 for registrations made after March 24 and before April 5 and $500 for registrations made during the event on April 5 or 6.

This year's event will feature a special keynote presentation from X Prize Chairman and CEO Peter H. Diamandis. In his address titled, "X Prize -- Igniting the Personal Spaceflight Revolution," Mr. Diamandis will share his views on how competition has the potential to unleash progress and how he is using his proactive prize model to enable heroes and technological breakthroughs in other areas including energy, the environment, genomics, nanotechnology, medicine and the social arena.

Underwritten by the Danforth Foundation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and supported by a diverse group of public and corporate sponsors, InvestMidwest attracts applicants from throughout the Midwest who have launched entrepreneurial growth companies in technology, life sciences and related industries. Since its first forum almost six years ago, InvestMidwest has helped generate more than $250 million in equity investments for presenting companies and has grown into the Midwest's premier annual venture capital forum. Nearly half of the presenters from the 2005 event have raised funding totaling more than $50 million since participating in the forum.

Organizational Sponsors for the 7th Annual InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum are the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA), Missouri Venture Forum, RCGA's Technology Gateway, The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, KCSourceLink, and the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC). For more information or to register to attend the event, visit www.investmidwestforum.com or call 314-444-1151.