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Fourth Annual Smartstart Venture Forum® Awards Presented
ALBANY, NY (10/12/2004 - Twenty companies earned the opportunity to make eight-minute presentations to an audience of potential angel and institutional investors, venture capitalists and others at the 4th Annual SmartStart Venture Forum®. Two companies were selected among 20 participants for awards at the conclusion of the event. Awards were given for best presentation and Most Likely to be Funded.
WineISIT.com Corporation, a direct marketing and information company offering Customer Relationship Management (CRM) services, from Amherst in western New York State (www.wineisit.com), was honored as Most Likely to be Funded. Urovalve, a medical device development company from Newark, N.J. (www.urovalve.com), was chosen for the Best Presentation.
Selection of the award winners was made by eight members from the venture capital community, Paul Evans and Patrick Wheeler from Adirondack Venture Fund; A. David Kocen, Stonehenge Capital Corporation; Fred Morris, Brook Venture Funds; Jennifer Tegan, Cayuga Venture Fund, Cian Robinson, Robinson Ventures, and Pamela Silverstein, Virtual Recall, Inc.
This year’s program drew more than 225 attendees from across the Northeast, with more than 60 investors present. The keynote address for the program was given by Dr. Leo Schowalter, President and CEO of Crystal IS, whose company recently received $5 million in venture capital finding. Crystal IS presented at both the 2002 and 2003 SmartStart Venture Forums. The Investor Roundtable panel, presented on Wednesday evening, featured Matt Harris of Village Ventures in Williamstown, MA; Jennifer Tegan of Cayuga Venture Fund II in Ithaca, NY; and Nick Smirensky, director of Alternative Investments with the New York State Common Retirement Fund.
The high quality of the presenting companies, the investor turnout, and response from the companies that presented indicates that we’ll get companies funded, said Richard Honen, president of the Empire State Venture Group. There was definitely an upturn in activity, investors this year were looking for companies that they could fund. I had investors leaving the event telling me that they felt they had found companies they could fund, Honen said.
Empire State Venture Group, Inc.SM is a collaboration between the Science and Technology Law Center® at Albany Law School and other organizations in the private and public sectors to promote the development, success, expansion and general welfare of technology entrepreneurship in the Northeast.