Press Release
Contact: Robert Albright |
Phone: 919-549-7500 ext.123 |
CED Accepting Venture 2004 Presenter Applications
Early Application Deadline Slated for Nov. 30
November 3, 2003, Research Triangle Park, NC — The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) is now accepting applications from North Carolina-based companies interested in presenting at CED's 21st annual Venture conference. The early application deadline is Nov. 30.
Scheduled for April 27-28, 2004, in Chapel Hill, NC, Venture 2004 will continue a 21-year tradition of showcasing North Carolina's hottest investment opportunities to hundreds of venture capitalists and financiers from throughout the United States.
Venture 2003 presenter Engineous Software, Inc., a Cary-based provider of integration, automation and design improvement software, closed a $5.8 million Series D round two months after meeting its lead investor, QuestMark, at CED's annual Venture conference in April 2003. Janet Wylie, president and CEO of Engineous, encourages companies to apply to participate in Venture 2004.
“Engineous wanted to participate in the Venture '03 conference because we thought that would be an effective way to get our message out to the largest possible group in a short period of time,” Wylie said. “We were impressed with the quality of the investors who attended and were very pleased that we were able to schedule private meetings with several of them right at the conference. That resulted in having a number of serious investors follow through and gave us the chance to select the one we wanted to partner with.”
The Venture 2004 Selection Committee, which includes professional venture capitalists and angel investors from throughout the Southeast, is seeking high-growth companies from an array of industries and stages that are looking to raise either initial or subsequent rounds of professional equity capital.
Because selection is highly competitive, companies are encouraged to submit their presenter applications as early as possible so that they will have the opportunity to receive full consideration during as many of the selection stages as possible. Venture 2004 has three selection stages, with an early consideration deadline of Nov. 30 and final deadline of Jan. 31. For more information on applying to present, see the Venture 2004 application to present information page.
Since 1999, Venture presenters have raised over $1.5 billion in venture capital. In addition to company presentations, Venture 2004 will include leading industry speakers, extensive networking opportunities and exclusive investor-only events.
About Venture 2004: CED's 21st annual Venture 2004 - Where great minds meet smart money - is scheduled for April 27-28 at The Friday Center in Chapel Hill, NC. Last year's conference, Venture 2003, drew a crowd of more than 850 investors, service professionals, entrepreneurs and others involved in the entrepreneurial funding process from throughout the United States. www.cednc.org/venture
About CED: The Council for Entrepreneurial Development, located in Research Triangle Park, NC, 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. 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. CED is the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 4,000 members representing 1,100 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms. www.cednc.org
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