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

Tampa, Florida (March 9, 2005) – On March 22, 2005, leading Venture Capital and Angel investors are set to speak and coach entrepreneurs at the FundingPost “Tampa 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 Tampa 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
• Tate A. Garrett, Senior VP, Advantage Capital
• Al Rossiter, Angel Investor
• Moderator: Louis Conti, Partner, Holland & Knight

The three 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.

Tate A. Garrett joined Advantage in 1999 and is an experienced venture capitalist, entrepreneur and business advisor. Prior to joining Advantage Capital Partners, Mr. Garrett was President of TateWen Trading Company. Mr. Garrett also served as a consultant with Gemini Consulting focusing on strategic planning, new business development and operations improvement for major telecommunications companies.

Alan W. Rossiter is the founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise North Florida Corporation in Jacksonville, Florida. Since early 1998, Mr. Rossiter has also served as President of the North Florida Venture Capital Network, Inc. a regional organization dedicated to providing emerging companies with access to early-stage private equity investment capital. In May 2002, Mr. Rossiter led the formation of Springboard Capital, LLC, a venture capital fund targeting early-stage emerging growth companies. Mr. Rossiter also serves as a Member of Logix3 Board of Directors.

“We are excited to be bringing this event format to Tampa. The Pitching Workshops have been 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 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 Tampa 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 70,000 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.