L.A. tech firm elevating art of the business meeting.

A small Los Angeles firm is taking the business meeting to the next plane, and building a blue-chip list of global clients in the process.

Interactive Video Technologies claims that it offers a firm's managers and employees, no matter how many and no matter how remote, the ability to communicate in real time.

"Our software makes it possible to create very customized podcasts and Webcasts and distribute these to any size audience," said IVT Chief Executive Greg Pulier. IVT can create tailor-made presentations for customer communication, sales, investor relations and training. Its MediaPlafform program can produce, edit, distribute and archive Webcasts.

Part of the appeal of the program is its relative simplicity, Pulier said.

"IVT's Studio Software can be used by anyone who uses PowerPoint to create very sophisticated, interactive presentations."

Pulier, who looks more like a soft-rock singer than a high-tech media player, is a true believer when it comes to upgrading the information flow. He calls the ability to use the Web and podcasts a "must-have" item for any mid-sized to large-sized corporation, and his message has gotten through.

Among IVT's clients are Cisco Systems Inc., IBM Corp., Halliburton Energy Services Group, Deloitte and Touche USA LLP and Ernst and Young LLP. International accounts include British Telecom Group and Akamai Technologies Inc.

"Webcasting and podcasting are changing the culture of how organizations disseminate information," Pulier said.

Despite its international scope, IVT is still a fairly small company with just 25 employees and contractors scattered in offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, New Jersey and northern California. Pulier said the firm has spent around $40 million since its founding about seven years ago during the dot-com boom. He admits the company overspent, however, and has spent the last several years restructuring and only recently begun to turn a profit.

A $5 million investment from Monitor Ventures Services LLC in May has provided a big boost.

"We were interested in putting in more capital than they were necessarily looking for at this stage," said Monitor's Chief Executive and founder Teymour Boutros-Ghali. "We made a commitment to provide them with up to $5 million, but that would depend on market conditions and the deployment of IVT's business."

There have been several other recent investments in the multimedia corporate Webcasting field, including a $5.3 million second round of funding announced by MediaPublisher Inc. The investment was led by Storm Ventures LLC, with participation from the Angels Forum, the Halo Fund, and Garage Technology Ventures. Another multimedia Webcasting developer, Accordent Technologies Inc., received $4 million in a first round of funding led by TVC Ventures LLC in March.

So far, Monitor's boss is satisfied with the results.

"They're adding blue chip clients to their roster every day and growing the business significantly," said Boutros-Ghali, who is no stranger to blue chip-level clients. He's the nephew of former United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

BY DAN COX

Staff Reporter