Angel and Venture Capital Investors Teach the Secrets of “How to Pitch” to Entrepreneurs in Miami

March 14, 2005 (PRLEAP.COM) Business News
Miami, Florida (March 4, 2005) – On March 23, 2005, leading Venture Capital and Angel investors are set to speak and coach entrepreneurs at the FundingPost “Miami Pitching Workshop” event sponsored by Holland + Knight. While most events only allow start-ups to network with investors, this event allows entrepreneurs to pitch their companies to early-stage investors and received helpful feedback from Angels and Venture Capitalists. The FundingPost Event Calendar and registration information are online at: http://www.fundingpost.com/events.asp

After completing four successful events in the same format in New York City and Philadelphia, FundingPost is bringing the “Pitching Workshop” model to Miami to help local start-ups get the kind of constructive critiques they need to be successful in achieving funding.

At the breakfast presentation, the panelists will discuss what they look for in a successful entrepreneurial company pitch. Then each of the thirty companies in attendance will have the opportunity to give their own two minute “elevator pitch.” After the session, FundingPost will provide each start-up company with feedback from the investors. The panelists for the event include:

• John McCarty, Associate, Peachtree Equity Partners
• Peter Hairston, President, New World Angels
• Matthew E. Cole, Partner, North Bay Equity Partners
• Michael Greeley, Managing General Partner, IDG Ventures
• Moderator: Harvey Goldman, Partner, Holland & Knight

The four panelists scheduled to speak at the event have distinguished backgrounds in the field of Angel and Venture Capital investing. John McCarty joined Peachtree as an Associate in July 2004. Prior to joining Peachtree, Mr. McCarty was an Associate with The Breckenridge Group and an Analyst in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group with Credit Suisse First Boston, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and Banc of America Securities in New York.

Michael A. Greeley founded the IDG Ventures Boston office in September 2001 and serves as a Managing General Partner. Prior to joining IDG Ventures, he was with Polaris Venture Partners, where he focused on both early and later stage financings for emerging growth companies. Mr. Greeley also served for over five years as Senior Vice President and Founding Partner of GCC Investments, a successful $200 million private equity fund. Mr. Greeley currently serves on the boards of BlueTarp, MicroCHIPS and Protein Forest.

“These events have been so successful because both the entrepreneurs and the investors see the value of the exchange,” said Joe Rubin, Director, FundingPost. “The economy for early-stage investing is on the up-swing. Our investor panel in Miami is excited to see the new dealflow in these early companies, and the entrepreneurs are finding the investors’ tips and responses helpful for improving and refining their pitches.”

For more information on the Miami Pitching Workshop and other FundingPost events, contact Keith Henry at 203-659-6649 or visit the FundingPost website at http://www.fundingpost.com/events.asp

ABOUT FUNDINGPOST:
FundingPost is an entrepreneur and investor network reaching more than 60,000 executives and 6,000 Venture Capital and Angel Investors across the nation each month.

For over four years FundingPost has worked with thousands of Angel and Venture Capital Investors and Entrepreneurs. FundingPost has hosted over 4,000 CEOs and 500 Venture Funds at events in 15 cities nationwide, as well as providing a quarterly Dealflow magazine and a deal-exchange Website that has, on average, seen an introduction of an Investor to an Entrepreneur every business day since its inception. FundingPost’s mission to reach investors and entrepreneurs in every medium possible – both online and offline, and it is experiencing strong growth as the venture capital markets continue to improve worldwide.