[BigFrontier]

The 2008 Midwest Venture Summit NOW ACCEPTING BUSINESS PLANS

If you want to land on the pulse of technology business and financing in the Midwest you cannot miss the 2008 Midwest Venture Summit: March 17 -18, 2008, Downtown Chicago, IL

Join us for our expanded two-day summit, March 17-18, 2008. Business plans are now being accepted for the Midwest’s premier gathering of VCs, entrepreneurs, business leaders and angel investors. We’re providing more opportunities for deal making than ever before, with attendees coming from the Greater Midwest: IA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MN, MO, NB, ND, OH, Western PA, SD and WI. If your company is seeking funding from seed to series A or later, you cannot afford to miss one of the biggest assemblages of VCs and investors in the Midwest.

Applications are being taken on a rolling basis, first come, first served. There are a finite number of spaces to present available and the process has two stages.

[b]Submit your business plans at the midwestventuresummit dot com

MVS Mission:
The Midwest Venture Summit (MVS) was founded in 2003 and is the area’s premier venture capital conference, designed to be the meeting place for entrepreneurs and those who can make their visions a reality. To date, companies that participated in our summits have received almost $222 million in VC funding.

[BigFrontier]

Entrepreneurs willing to write and present compelling business plans can receive funding despite the current economic climate

The 2008 Midwest Venture Summit call for business plans, with access to the $70,000 Geras Grant closes January 31st. For more information go to: MidwestVentureSummit.com Midwest Venture Summit 2008 - Illinois Venture Capital Association
Bob Geras Grant to offer startups $70,000 at Midwest Venture Summit in Chicago

ISSUE: The Economy has emerged as the number one topic on American’s minds. In light of the tepid reaction from the Street to President Bush’s “bailout plan,” and the Fed’s dropping of the interest rate, anyone who says our economic mood is not glum is in denial. According to the Tuesday January 22 Wall Street Journal cover story: Credit Scare Spreads in U.S., Abroad, “In particular, start-up and smaller companies are finding that banks are setting higher rates, seeking more collateral or lending smaller amounts.”


ANSWER: While traditional banks have pulled back lending: venture summits offer starts ups and growth companies access to decision makers who evaluate companies on the quality of and the efficacy of their business plans from a potential investor's point of view. For entrepreneurs willing to put in the time to write and present compelling plans, the current economic climate is not a detriment to receiving funding.

HOW: Uber Venture Capitalist Bob Geras is making a $70,000 gift to his choice of the "best" early stage company that presents at the 2008 Midwest Venture Summit in Chicago. Many venture capitalists will be trolling the halls seeking companies in which to invest. While these events are common in other parts of the country, the Midwest Venture Summit is one of the few opportunities for Midwest companies to connect directly with VCs from around the country. To date, companies that presented at the previous Midwest Venture Summits have raised $220 million.

WHO: Bob Geras and Maura O’Hara, Executive Director of the Illinois Venture Capital Association are available to comment on the 2008 Midwest Venture Summit, the general economic climate, and the ways for entrepreneurs to access capital – quickly and more effectively – in a turbulent economic climate.

Call Jessica Secord at BIGfrontier Communications Group in Chicago to book an interview with Bob Geras or Maura O’Hara.

Jessica Secord: (312) 238-9308

[jasaunders]

I'll be there.

Anyone else from the midwest going?