KALAMAZOO ? A panel discussion featuring local entrepreneurs and venture capitalists will follow a series of business pitches for technology-based innovations at the July 5 Kalamazoo Venture Tuesday program, presented by Southwest Michigan First.
The 9 a.m. ? noon event is free and open to individuals interested in venture capital development. It will be held at the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center located at 4717 Campus Dr. in Western Michigan University?s Business Technology and Research Park. The business plan portion of the program occurs from 9-11 a.m., followed by the panel discussion and a networking luncheon.
The panel discussion, entitled Successful Exit Strategies & Returns, features panelists from around the Midwest. Participants are: Teri Willey, Arch Development Partners of Chicago; Dennis Costello, Triathlon Ventures of Cincinnati; Mike DeVries, EDF Ventures and Dwight Carlson, Coherix, both of Ann Arbor; and Tom Collet, ProNai, a tenant at the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center. The presentation is part of an expanded program launched in January and designed to draw new venture capital interest into the state and the region. According to Lindsey, the new format is also intended to leverage relationships that will spur new business creation in technology-based arenas.
The series is hosted by the Kalamazoo Bank Consortium for Innovation, a formal association of eleven bank executives from Kalamazoo County who have come together to assist Southwest Michigan First in its economic development efforts. The events are sponsored by Miller Canfield, Michigan Public Radio, the City of Kalamazoo, and Arch Development Partners
Business plan presentations at the July 5 event will be made by the following new businesses:
Sordal Incorporated – is a chemical engineering company based in Holland, Michigan that has developed a very light weight, non-flammable insulation material based on NASA patented technologies licensed to Sordal since 2000. Sordal is currently seeking to raise first round funding ($10 million) to start manufacturing operations in 2006 in West Michigan in the $50 billion insulation marketplace. Sordal has received numerous awards such as ?2005 Top 50 Companies to Watch in Michigan, SBAM?s 2002 and 2004 Innovation of the Year, US Small Business Administration?s ?Tibbett?s Award? and Sordal?s CEO Dale Danver is a finalist for the ?2005 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.?
AKOYA, Inc. ? Delivers the leading cost management software solution for highly engineered direct material parts. Akoyas first product, CostPoint, enables large manufacturing cmopanies to quickly identify cost reduction opportuntiies withint their direct material parts base. This solution replaces the current best pracices for direct materials cost management, which are labor intensive, time consuming and inefficient. CostPoint is based on top-down feature based analytical technology originally developed and deployed by 6 Sigma teams at Caterpillar. Current developemtn is enhanced through relationships with leading analytical research universities for data mining and knowledge management.
Stirling Technology, Inc. is the manufacturer of the UltimateAir RecoupAerator, the state-of-the-art energy recovery ventilator . The UltimateAir RecoupAerator has achieved the top score in energy recovery performance in several industry tests, including Home Ventilation Institute standards. Stirling Technology is quickly penetrating the US market with its aggressive marketing and sales strategy and aims to reach a strong presence on the market by the end of 2006. Stirling Technology is committed to producing the world’s most efficient and user-friendly energy recovery ventilator, both residential and commercial and to becoming a leader in the US and international markets.
Scientific Intake – A class II medical device for Weight Loss. This device physically decreases the human oral cavity, reducing bite size and rate of ingestion. Simulating a condition often found in individuals with low body mass index called torus palatinus, the patented device slows eating speed, enhances savoring, precludes gulping and triggers the user?s physiological satiety response. It is custom made from a self taken oral impression and only worn while eating. It is non-invasive, has no moving parts, is comfortable and safe.
COHERIX – The problems which the company has addressed boil down to two issues: how to measure precision parts more accurately than existing mechanical devices are capable of doing, and how to develop measurement applications quickly, easily, and inexpensively. The company?s patented ShaPix (Digital Holographic Imaging) approach, in the market for ten years, is currently being used by product and process development laboratories, enabling them to improve performance and shorten the time to market.
For more information, contact Gail Lindsey, Southwest Michigan First?s director of equity investments, at [email protected]
