InvestMidwest Panel Selects 30 Firms to Present at Venture Capital Forum in April.ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Thirty entrepreneurial growth companies from twelve Midwestern states are busy preparing for a unique opportunity to take their businesses to the next level following the news that they have captured a coveted cov·et v. cov·et·ed, cov·et·ing, cov·ets v.tr. 1. To feel blameworthy desire for (that which is another's). See Synonyms at envy. 2. To wish for longingly. See Synonyms at desire. spot as presenters at the 7th Annual InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum. Set for April 5-6, 2006 at A.G. Edwards National Headquarters in St. Louis, the event provides a chance for presenters to share their business plans with an audience of the nation's top 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. , corporate and private investors, and investment bankers. The applicants were reviewed by a panel of experts in order to narrow the field to those firms that have been invited to present at the event. This year's selected presenters include companies from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wisconsin. Ten of the presenting companies are from the St. Louis area. They include Agillis Systems, Inc.; Clearent, LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control ; GetwellQuick; Gridlogix; iMobileAccess Technologies; ISTO ISTO Information Science & Technology Office (DARPA) ISTO Industry Standards and Technology Organization (IEEE) ISTO Information Sciences Technology Office Technologies; Kereos; Lori Coulter, LLC; Procelerate Technologies; and Somark Innovations. Like last year, InvestMidwest will have two separate industry tracks of companies presenting concurrently: a life sciences track and a technology/general business track. Specifically, the companies selected to present represent industries that vary from information technology and healthcare to biotechnology and fashion. "We are very pleased with the response for this year's Forum, both in terms of the number of applicants and the diversity of industries and business solutions they represent," noted 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. "We look forward to once again providing regional and national investors with a front row seat to hear about a series of exceptional investment opportunities." The early registration deadline for investors who want to attend the Forum is March 24th. Details regarding the registration process and fees are available at www.investmidwestforum.com. Since its first Forum, held in St. Louis in May 2000, InvestMidwest has helped generate more than $250 million in equity investments for innovative entrepreneurial growth companies and has grown into the Midwest's premier annual venture capital forum. InvestMidwest's mission is to provide access to equity capital for emerging, privately held companies privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. seeking venture funds from $1 million to $20 million. Nearly half of the presenters from the 2005 event have raised funding totaling more than $50 million since participating in the forum. Selection of presenting companies is based on: a company's business purpose, management team, products or services, marketing strategy, market opportunity and financial summary. The selection committee looks for growth-oriented companies that show potential to generate $20 million in annual revenue growth within five years. Among this year's presenters are companies offering products or services that could dramatically impact the healthcare industry, as well as those that are addressing aspects of headline news issues, such as preventing the spread of Mad Cow Disease mad cow disease: see prion. mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) Fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include behavioral changes (e.g. . Examples include St. Louis, Mo.-based Somark Innovations, a biotechnology company that has developed an identification and tracking system that utilizes a unique biocompatible material biocompatible material, n a substance that does not threaten, impede, or adversely affect living tissue. (U.S. Patent Pending) that possesses radio frequency identification-like functionality without the use of a microchip or antenna. The technology can identify and track animals, humans or retail products, but Somark will initially focus on the government mandated livestock market where opportunity exists in the wake of concern over Mad Cow Disease. Inverseon, Inc., based in Overland Park Overland Park, city (1990 pop. 111,790), Johnson co., NE Kans., a residential suburb of Kansas City; inc. 1960. There is printing and publishing, and the manufacture of apparel, aircraft parts, cement, prepared foods, salt, chemicals, marine accessories, and signs. , KS, is a clinical-stage company developing an oral asthma drug that up-regulates beta receptors and has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of asthma in the same way that beta blockers Beta Blockers Definition Beta blockers are medicines that affect the body's response to certain nerve impulses. This, in turn, decreases the force and rate of the heart's contractions, which lowers blood pressure and reduces the heart's demand for did for congestive heart failure congestive heart failure, inability of the heart to expel sufficient blood to keep pace with the metabolic demands of the body. In the healthy individual the heart can tolerate large increases of workload for a considerable length of time. , for which they are now the standard of care. (Information on all this year's presenters is online at www.investmidwestforum.com.) A third of the companies set to participate in this year's event already have venture investment totaling more than $67 million. Half of the presenting companies have angel investment totaling more than $23 million. Walsh notes, "These numbers illustrate the strength and viability of these companies as investment opportunities, and we're looking forward to some great presentations." As another highlight of the 2006 forum, Peter Diamandis Peter H. Diamandis (born 20 May 1961 in Bronx, New York) is considered a key American figure in the development of the personal spaceflight industry, having created many space-related businesses or organizations. , chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of the X Prize Foundation, will share insights from his entrepreneurial experiences as the keynote speaker on Thursday, April 6th. He is now using his prize model to enable technological breakthroughs in other areas, such as energy and environmental management, genomics, nanotechnology, and medicine. The 7th Annual InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum's Founding Sponsors are the Danforth Foundation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Organizational Sponsors are 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, RCGA's Technology Gateway, The Greater 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). Chamber of Commerce, KCSourceLink, and the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC KTEC Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation ). For more information or to register, visit www.investmidwestforum.com or call 314-444-1151. Complete List of Presenters Life Sciences Track Affinex, LLC - Location: Overland Park, KS ApoImmune, Inc. - Location: Louisville, KY CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - Location: Indianapolis, IN ImmunoGenetix - Location: Lenexa, KS Interventional Imaging, Inc. - Location: Cleveland, OH Inverseon, Inc. - Locations: Overland Park, KS and San Francisco, CA ISTO Technologies - Location: St. Louis, Mo. Kereos - Location: Saint Louis, MO MedAccuracy, LLC - Location: Lenexa, KS Microvi Biotech LLC - Location: Overland Park, MO NanoBio Corporation - Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan Rigen, Inc. - Location: Oklahoma City, OK Selexys Pharmaceuticals Corp. - Location: Oklahoma City, OK Somark Innovations - Location: St. Louis, MO Symphony Medical, Inc. - Location: Eden Prairie, MN ZyStor Therapeutics, Inc. - Location: Milwaukee, Wisc. Technology Track Agilis Systems, Inc. - Location: St. Louis, Mo. Akoya, Inc. - Location: Peoria, IL Blue River Operation, Inc. - Location: Lenexa, KS Clearent, LLC - Location: St. Louis, MO Dynamic Broadband, Inc. - Location: Cedar Rapids, IA Embrace Pet Insurance - Location: Chagrin Falls, OH GetWellQuick - Location: St. Louis, MO Gridlogix - Location: Saint Louis, MO iMobile Technologies (IMAT) - Location: Saint Louis, MO Lori Coulter TrueMeasure - Location: Saint Louis, MO Mindtrust LLC - Location: Kansas City, MO Procelerate Technologies - Location: Saint Louis, MO RemitPro LLC - Location: Omaha, NE Smartvue Corporation - Location: Nashville, TN Additional information on each of the presenters listed above is available on the InvestMidwest website at: www.investmidwestforum.com. |
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