Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: CED Announces Presenters for Angel Investor Retreat and Start-Up Speed Dating at 25th Annual Venture Conference

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Abstract:
Leading Southeast, Mid-Atlantic Venture Conference Provides Unique Opportunities for Young Companies Seeking Exposure with Investors

CED Announces Presenters for Angel Investor Retreat and Start-Up Speed Dating at 25th Annual Venture Conference

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC | Posted on April 4th, 2008

The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) announced today that it has selected eight young companies to present at its Angel Retreat, and twelve young companies to participate in its Start-Up Speed Dating. Both programs are part of CED's 25th Annual Venture Conference and present unique opportunities for young start-ups to gain exposure to and experience with the investment community.

Scheduled for April 16-18, 2008, at Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club in Durham, N.C., CED's 25th annual Venture conference will showcase the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic's top investment opportunities to hundreds of venture capitalists and financiers from throughout the United States.

The Angel Investor Retreat will be held from 9-12am on April 17th, where these eight pre-screened, early-stage companies will have the opportunity to present to an audience of angel and early-stage investors. The retreat is dedicated to showcasing companies from across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic seeking seed-stage funding from angel and early-stage investors. Presenting companies represent the region's top seed-stage companies, focusing on a diverse range of industries and growth strategies.

That same afternoon, another group of twelve young companies will have an even more unique opportunity to "speed date" with investors interested in getting a sneak peak at tomorrow's hot companies. Each company will engage in an intense 1.5 hour fast-paced program. They will give a three minute "elevator pitch" to their first group of 2-3 investors, receive approximately two minutes of feedback, rotate to a new set of investors, and repeat the process.

"Last year's start-up speed dating was easily the best event I have participated in as a very early-stage entrepreneur," explained Vince Coyner, entrepreneur and 2007 CED Venture Speed Dating participant. "During that one hour, I received more insightful, direct and effective feedback than I had received from a wide range of conversations with VCs and participation in other events. We walked in thinking we were ready. By the end of that one hour session, we actually were."

"Both of these programs are geared toward giving young companies exposure and feedback from investors they might not be getting on their own," explained Marty E. Hackney, Angel Investor Retreat Chair and Director of ECU's Entrepreneurial Initiative. "Last year was the first year for our Start-Up Speed Dating program and it was a smashing success. We are thrilled to give a entirely new group of young companies this exciting opportunity once again."

Companies selected to present at the Angel Retreat include:

Arbovax, Inc. (Raleigh, N.C., www.arbovax.com) A vaccine technology platform that modifies arthropod-borne viruses.

Countervail Corporation (Charlotte, N.C., www.countervailcorp.com) Commercialization of antidotes for nerve gas and pesticide.

Galaxy Diagnostics, Inc. (Chapel Hill, N.C., www.galaxydx.com) Infectious disease diagnostics.

Maestro Music, Inc. (Atlanta, G.A., www.getmaestro.com) Social and interactive music portal.

Nomad Innovations, LLC (Louisville, K.Y., www.nomadinnovations.com) Broadcast-quality connectivity solutions utilizing wireless broadband networks.

TerraBuilt Corporation International (Middleburg, V.A., www.terrabuilt.com) Patented new sustainable building technology.

NanoVector, Inc. (Raleigh, NC) Commercializing a patent pending nanoparticle drug delivery system.

Floorazzo Tile (Siler City, N.C., www.floorazzo.com) A tile manufacturing company.

Companies selected to participate in Start-Up Speed Dating include:

3F, LLC (Raleigh, N.C., www.3fonline.com) 3F, LLC created a high performance fiber for industrial, structural and ballistic protection.

AtomFan.com (Durham, N.C.) AtomFan.com delivers user-selected sports video highlights to fantasy sport fans.

Blue Angel Optics (Durham, N.C., www.blueangeloptics.com) Blue Angel Optics' multi-spectral imaging systems are a revolutionary sensor platform with numerous applications in the military, surveillance, process control, and medical diagnostics.

Caralight, Inc. (Cary, N.C., www.caralight.com) Caralight, Inc. is developing a photochemical system that uses ultraviolet (UV) light to destroy dioxin-furan compounds present in the air emissions of certain industrial facilities.

Contactology (Durham, N.C., www.contactology.com) Contactology is a contact management and campaign delivery technology that allows customers to send and track email marketing messages to permission-based lists while using standard email readers like Microsoft® Outlook to compose the message.

DevScale (Holly Springs, N.C., www.devscale.com) DevScale provides technology enabling on-demand, scalable and virtual development test environments.

iCustom.net (Apex, N.C., www.icustom.net) iCustom.net is an online mass-customization platform that helps designers launch their business quickly and cost effectively and allows customers to receive products customized or personalized to their preference, by connecting customers, designers and manufacturers into an ecommerce network.

Pathfinder Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Durham, N.C.) Pathfinder Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a science-driven, market focused firm that invents and licenses novel, clinical-stage drug candidates for viral infections and related cancers.

PRKL8.com, Inc. (Cary, N.C., www.PRKL8.com) PRKL8.com is an Internet-based personalization and content delivery service.

Rau Learning Systems, Inc. (Durham, N.C., www.raulearning.com) BrainFlips is the world's best online flashcard software, revitalizing one of the most familiar, time-tested, and scientifically proven learning tools to create the most effective method of memorization currently available.

Science Learning Resources, Inc (Carrboro, N.C., www.science-learning.com) Science Learning Resources develops and markets innovative multimedia science education products for elementary through college level students.

Sirga Advanced Biopharma Inc. (Research Triangle Park, N.C.) Sirga Advanced Biopharma Inc. (SirgaAB) is an early-stage drug discovery and development company, focusing on small molecule drugs to treat HIV, other infectious diseases, and drug resistant diseases through a novel mechanism to block ribnucleaic acid (RNA) function at the cellular level.

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About Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED)
The Council for Entrepreneurial Development, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1984 to stimulate the creation and growth of high-impact companies in the Research Triangle, North Carolina and Southeast region. Since 2001, CED has helped triangle-area companies raise over $2.6 billion in venture capital. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, seminars, workshops and programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. CED is the largest and oldest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 5,000 members representing over 1,100 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms.

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Crossroads Public Relations
Shawn Ramsey
919-621-0737

or
Council for Entrepreneurial Development
Cassandra Cranston
Senior Manager, Marketing and Communications
919-226-0460

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