Press Release
Contact: Robert Albright |
Phone: 919-549-7500 ext.123 |
Venture 2005 Panel to Highlight Area Financing Successes
Featured Panel Held on First Day of CED’s 22nd Annual Venture Conference in Pinehurst
March 29, 2005, Research Triangle Park, NC – The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) today announced details on a featured panel at Venture 2005 showcasing investors who have successfully invested in area companies. Scheduled for April 26-27, 2005, at Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, NC, Venture 2005 will continue a 22-year tradition of showcasing North Carolina's top investment opportunities to hundreds of venture capitalists and financiers from throughout the United States.
The featured panel, “Success Stories From Out-of-Area Investors: Financing Research Triangle Companies,” will be held April 26 during the first afternoon of Venture 2005. Panel speakers include:
- Dennis Dougherty, General Partner, Intersouth Partners (panel moderator)
- Brenda Gavin, Managing Partner, Quaker BioVentures
- Terry McGuire, Co-Founder and Managing General Partner, Polaris Venture Partners
Panelists will discuss strategies for sourcing deals and share their experiences working with North Carolina companies. They will also highlight changes in the local entrepreneurial community over the last decade-and-a-half, as well as their perspective on working with Research Triangle start-ups.
“Terry and Brenda have been two of the most active out of state investors in this region for over 15 years,” said Dougherty, who founded Durham-based Intersouth Partners in 1985. “We’ve seen how this region has progressed as an attractive area for investing in entrepreneurial companies. We look forward to sharing these success stories and lessons-learned with Venture 2005 attendees.”
Most recently, Philadelphia-based Quaker BioVentures has invested locally in Biolex, and Boston-based Polaris Venture Partners has invested locally in Art.com, Athenix and Integrian.
In addition to this featured panel, Venture 2005 will offer over 30 company presentations, keynote comments from entertainment and media pioneer Robert L. Johnson, extensive networking opportunities and exclusive investor-only events all at the renowned Pinehurst Resort. Conference registration and Pinehurst Resort accommodation details are available at www.cednc.org/venture.
About Venture 2005: CED's 22nd annual Venture conference Where Great Minds Meet Smart Money is scheduled for April 26-27 at Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, NC. Last year's conference, Venture 2004, drew a crowd of more than 800 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, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2004, is the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 3,500 members representing 1,000 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms. www.cednc.org
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