Signs of life.

Another signal that capital markets are on the rebound: Michael D. Donahue, chairman of the Los Angeles Venture Association's annual Investment Capital Conference, reports that paid reservations are running at more than 50 percent above last year's conference, which drew 380 paid attendees.

Including speakers and other comp attendees, total attendance is tracking toward about 1,000 for the April 27 event, which will be at the Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

Attendance at the event, which is run by LAVA's Investment Capital Association arm, peaked at 1,500 in 2000, said Donahue, of counsel at the West Los Angeles law firm of Richardson & Patel. "It was just a crazed period where everyone was putting together some sort of business plan and trying to make money," he said.

By last year, attendance had fallen to 750.

"Principals of operating companies were staying away out of frustration that the capital was not available," Donahue said. This year, he said, attendance has returned across the board, from capital providers, to services providers to start-up companies themselves.