From software that manages product referrals to a prescription cream that aids female sexual enhancement, eight products took center stage Tuesday at the 17th annual Colorado Capital Conference at the Marriott City Center.
A total of 250 investors, executives and entrepreneurs were on hand to learn how to attract capital, find a company to invest in and network. The event was hosted by the Rockies Venture Club.
Six businesses seeking “angel” funding – investments of generally less than $1 million – were given a chance to showcase their companies and products to a roomful of venture capitalists in two break out sessions during the day-long event. Two other companies seeking several million in capital also made presentations.
Venture-capital financing is making a rebound in Colorado after a slump at the beginning of the decade.
“The angel market is definitely coming back,” said Lu Cordova, founder and president emeritus of CTEK, a nonprofit that runs a network of community-based venture centers. She also chairs its angel group. “There are probably more good companies out there than we’re willing to invest in. Angel (investors) still remember losing half to one-third of their net wealth in the last five years.”
The Rockies Venture Club chose six companies out of 55 applicants to give 10-minute presentations, followed by questions and feedback from four angel investors, including Cordova.
“We need $250,000 in increments for the $1 million we’re asking for,” said Bonnie Kaake, president of Lakewood-based TBK Medical LLC, maker of ValoxA, a sexual-enhancement aid for women. “We’re asking for this funding for marketing, administration, clinical trials. We want to make sure doctors … have more confidence and are ready to prescribe it.”
Several of the panelists asked Kaake and others for more financial details, saying they needed the numbers to know if the company and product would be worth the investment. Steven Musick, owner and chief executive of Destiny Capital Corp. in Golden, said the lack of financial and management detail in some of the presentations didn’t hurt the companies but raised more questions.
“It’s not a death sentence,” he said. “One of the hardest parts is to take the essence of what (the company) is and make it congeal. It’s a good test.”
Although Lee Taylor of Progressive GaitWays LLC has been in business for seven years, he made his pitch for $900,000 so he could hire a sales staff and increase development and manufacturing. The Telluride medical-device company is trying to market its orthotic undergarment and strapping system, TheraTogs, to doctors and therapists rehabilitating patients with conditions such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy or the aftereffects of a stroke.
“We broke $1 million in sales (for this year) prior to May with no sales staff,” said Taylor, Progressive’s CEO. “Until the second quarter of 2005, sales exceeded expectations.”
Vern Swanson, an independent investor from Englewood, said Denver’s References- Online Inc. was one of the more “intriguing” companies he listened to. The company, which sells software to manage a company’s product referrals, is looking for $1.25 million for sales and marketing efforts.
“I can see it working in the marketplace,” Swanson said of the product. “It was one of the most polished presentations.”
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-820-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
Among the field
Eight companies presented their goods and services at Tuesday’s venture-capital session, including:
Altec Internationale, Lakewood – Software to evaluate, test and train foreign flight crews and traffic controllers for aviation exams in English
American Environmental Products, Fort Collins – Light bulbs that mimic natural sunlight.
Soft360, Denver – Web-based software to manage corporate security and computer functions using a mobile device.
Uzed.com, Westminster – Allows consumers to sell online their unwanted CDs, DVDs and video games.
Velocity Logistics, Denver – Automation and global tracking for mail, baggage and cargo.
KIMBERLY JOHNSON
