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SPRINGBOARD: SOUTHEAST 2002 PROVIDES SHOWCASE AND ACCESS TO CAPITAL FOR REGION'S WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
Council For Entrepreneurial Development And Partners To Launch Regional Forum With 'Venture Capital Tune-Up' and Reception April 16
April 15, 2002, Research Triangle Park, NC - Springboard Enterprises and regional co-sponsor Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) are seeking women entrepreneurs from across the Southeast for a first-ever regional forum designed to unlock the door to sources of venture capital funding.
Springboard: Southeast 2002, scheduled for Sept. 27, 2002, at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will showcase 20 women-led companies to an audience of corporate, venture and angel investors. The forum is the eighth in a nationwide series of forums sponsored by Springboard Enterprises, which together have raised more than $650 million in equity capital for presenting companies.
Springboard and CED will launch the forum Tuesday, April 16, 2002, with a "VC Tune-Up" from 3:30 p.m.-6:15 p.m. at the Paul J. Rizzo Conference Center, followed by a reception at the DuBose House from 6:15 p.m.-7:30 p.m. The tune-up session will provide potential applicants with a basic understanding of equity markets and the process of raising venture capital.
The goal of the Springboard forums is to provide women entrepreneurs with greater access to financing networks that have long been closed off to them. Women own nearly 40 percent of all businesses in the United States, but secure less than 5 percent of all venture capital funds invested in new businesses, according to a report by the National Commission on Entrepreneurship.
"We are excited to join with Springboard Enterprises in sponsoring Springboard: Southeast 2002," said Monica Doss, president of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development. "As one of the Southeast's leading entrepreneurial support organizations, CED is acutely aware of the obstacles faced by women entrepreneurs in obtaining the funding they need. Springboard is an effective, efficient way to assist women-led companies with high growth potential and at the same time facilitate new investment opportunities for venture capital firms, angels, and other investors."
Hugh L. McColl Jr., former chairman and chief executive of Bank of America, is honorary chairman for Springboard: Southeast 2002. Co-chairpersons for the Springboard: Southeast 2002 forum include Pamela S. Lewis, president-elect of Queens College in Charlotte and former dean of the McColl School of Business at Queens; Sallie Shuping Russell, partner, Intersouth Partners, Research Triangle Park; and Alan Taetle, partner, Noro-Mosely Partners in Atlanta.
Entrepreneurial support organizations throughout the Southeast are joining with CED in supporting the forum. Additional partners for Springboard: Southeast 2002 will be announced at the launch event April 16.
For more information about Springboard: Southeast 2002 or for an application to present, please visit www.springboard2000.org. The application deadline is May 24.
For more information or to register to attend the Springboard: Southeast 2002 VC Tune-Up, please RSVP online to Helena Lawrence at hlawrence@cednc.org.
About Springboard Enterprises
Springboard Enterprises is a national, non-profit venture dedicated to increasing women's participation in the equity capital markets as both entrepreneurs and investors. Springboard Enterprises' unique programming includes targeted education and coaching programs, strategic connections with investors and business development professionals, community building efforts and venture capital forums that showcase women entrepreneurs.
About CED
The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (www.cednc.org), located in Research Triangle Park, N.C., is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1984 to stimulate the creation and growth of high-impact companies in the greater Research Triangle region. As one of the nation's oldest and largest entrepreneurial support organizations, CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, seminars, workshops and monthly programs on entrepreneurial management and finance.