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Venture Roundtable Program Connects Startups With Investors

It’s San Diego’s version of the hotly contested “American Idol” TV reality show, but with a business and technology twist.

After three rounds — and months — of judging and screening, five Southern California entrepreneurs, including three from San Diego County, step before a panel of about 25 professional investors Feb. 23 seeking cash for their emerging businesses.

But unlike “American Idol,” which has only one big winner, all five of these finalists could finish in the money.

The event, the Convergence Venture Roundtable, is one of four such gatherings hosted each year by Connect, an influential public-private consortium that’s helped some 2,000 businesses get off the ground.

The event is designed to put startups melding a number of technologies (biotech, clean-tech, green energy, medical devices, wireless, etc., hence the term convergence) before the venture capital folks for a little matchmaking.

Innovative Companies Seek Funding

“It’s a chance for emerging companies to get themselves in front of a group of professional investors,” said Ruprecht von Buttlar, director of Connect’s business creation and development program.

“Our community has an incredible number of innovative companies seeking the funding needed to grow,” added event committee Chairman Peter Shaw, head of Procopio Business Advisors LLC and a retired serial chief executive officer in his own right. “What are we going to do to get these innovators more visible to investors, especially those outside of San Diego?”

The five companies that have made it to the VC round are:

Escondido-based Hadronex, which has developed the technology to prevent sewer spills using manhole-to-satellite communications and low-power, low-cost water sensors to convey spill information to civic authorities. The six-year-old company, which has already received $1 million in funding, is seeking $1.25 million to $2.5 million in near-term capital, according to Connect.

San Diego-based LightStream LP, which manufactures ultraviolet light cured fiberglass reinforced resin tubes to reline underground piping, such as municipal sewer pipes. It claims that the tubes can add 50 years to the life expectancy of aging utility pipes. The company, which has received $3.4 million in several rounds of funding, is seeking $3 million in fresh capital, Connect said.

La Jolla-based MicroPower Technologies, which has developed technology to reduce the amount of electricity required to power video surveillance cameras. The three-year-old startup has received $2.6 million in funding, including a Series B round in December. It is seeking $5 million, according to Connect.

QuantumSphere Inc., which is developing nano-scale catalysts used to increase the rate of chemical reactions for making green-generated electric power. The Santa Ana-based company, which has received $20 million, is seeking a $5 million investment, Connect reported.

Wavestate Inc., a Marina Del Rey-based startup that is developing technology to improve the quality of neuro-intensive care. The company’s latest product, a tablet PC device, has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for monitoring electrical silence in induced coma patients during brain surgery. It has received $750,000 in seed funding and is seeking $3 million to $5 million, according to Connect.

Learning Mind-Set of the Market

LightStream President Christopher Mc

Keller, who plans to make the pitch on behalf of his company, said he’s not sure what to expect, but thinks it’ll be instructive, no matter what the outcome for his company.

“Our business plan is to expand to the East Coast with a new facility, so we can put our manufacturing close to our largest markets,” he said, adding that the firm will learn the mind-set of the market at the event. “We are going to need capital to do that, so this is a perfect opportunity to see where we stand right now.”

Participating investors include such large corporations as Qualcomm Inc. and Sony Ventures, as well as more traditional VC firms, such as Athenian Venture Partners, InLab Ventures LLC and Miramar Ventures, all locally based.

Members of Tech Coast Angels and a few independent, high-net-worth individuals are also expected to participate.

The event is scheduled to be held at the law offices of Latham & Watkins LLP, 12636 High Bluff Drive in Carmel Valley.

For details, go to connect.org and follow the links to the venture round table.

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