The Connecticut Venture Group has changed its name to Crossroads Venture Group, and it has a new website: www.cvg.org. I first learned of CVG in 1995, when I helped run the Business Formation Network at Norwalk Community College.
CVG has been instrumental in promoting venture funding in our state.
I've gone to their Crossroads Venture Fair, their networking events and their presentations for entrepreneurs. Every time, I learned something new and met amazing people -- investors, lawyers, accountants and potential clients. A few times, I was fortunate enough to attend their boot camps for entrepreneurs along with my clients. The boot camps were set up to help people know how to make a good pitch to investors.
A couple of times, I got to be a judge, screening the applications to present at the venture fair. That was absolutely fascinating. I couldn't believe how many people failed to follow directions when filling out their applications to present. It made me wonder if people were actually reading the questions.
Over time, the organization has morphed. In the dot-com boom, hundreds of people packed their conferences. And investors were willing to hear pitches from pre-revenue companies. But after the meltdown in 2000, investors became far more picky. And the Crossroads fair only allowed growth stage companies to present.
I'm interested to see what happens to CVG in its new guise and to see if more new ventures can be encouraged in Connecticut. We need something to help our economy get going again.
Showing posts with label CVG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CVG. Show all posts
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Monday, October 26, 2009
Connecticut Venture Group Events
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009
CVG Workshop for Entrepreneurs
This Wednesday, the Connecticut Venture Group is giving a workshop for entrepreneurs in Stamford, CT, to help them with business planning and with finding capital. The next day, there's one in Hartford on resources available through UCONN. Worth attending, if you're in the area:
http://www.cvg.org/
http://www.cvg.org/
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Friday, January 23, 2009
Angel Funding Forum - Stamford, CT
The Connecticut Venture Group is running a forum for entrepreneurs on how how to attract angel investors. Two of my friends, Andy Hanson and Doug Campbell, are on the panel. They are worth hearing.
Here is the scoop on the event --
http://www.cvg.org/upcoming_events.asp
Here is the scoop on the event --
http://www.cvg.org/upcoming_events.asp
Upcoming Events:
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Saturday, April 19, 2008
Like American Idol for Entrepreneurs
This week I felt as if I were on American Idol. No, not as a contestant, as a judge. I was on a panel of three critics listening to three-minute pitches from entrepreneurs. The panel's job was to help the entrepreneurs get ready to pitch their requests for funding to over 100 investors at the upcoming Crossroads Venture Fair.
I had a yellow grading sheet for each presenter. I had to grade the contestants on specific criteria. Amazingly, most of the presenters never got to some of the points. They mostly got hung up on giving their credentials, describing how great their product or service was or going into the need in the marketplace. Two presenters completely lost me as they dove into the technical aspects of their inventions, complete with diagrams that made no sense.
The judges had to tell these entrepreneurs how to improve their presentations. What amazed me was how they looked so eager to hang on every word we said. Sometimes I thought I sounded like Simon, telling people that I couldn't understand what their business was.
But some of the ideas for new businesses were really good. I hope that the entrepreneurs learned from the experience and will do well at Crossroads.
Here is a rundown of the point we had to grade on:
Product/service - what do you do?
Market - what's the size of the market?
Competitive Analysis - Is the product unique?
Finance -- how will you make money?
Management - Do you have the talent to meet your goals?
Funding -- what do you need? how will you use it?
Crossroads is run by the Connecticut Venture Group. http://www.crossroads-cvg.org/
I had a yellow grading sheet for each presenter. I had to grade the contestants on specific criteria. Amazingly, most of the presenters never got to some of the points. They mostly got hung up on giving their credentials, describing how great their product or service was or going into the need in the marketplace. Two presenters completely lost me as they dove into the technical aspects of their inventions, complete with diagrams that made no sense.
The judges had to tell these entrepreneurs how to improve their presentations. What amazed me was how they looked so eager to hang on every word we said. Sometimes I thought I sounded like Simon, telling people that I couldn't understand what their business was.
But some of the ideas for new businesses were really good. I hope that the entrepreneurs learned from the experience and will do well at Crossroads.
Here is a rundown of the point we had to grade on:
Product/service - what do you do?
Market - what's the size of the market?
Competitive Analysis - Is the product unique?
Finance -- how will you make money?
Management - Do you have the talent to meet your goals?
Funding -- what do you need? how will you use it?
Crossroads is run by the Connecticut Venture Group. http://www.crossroads-cvg.org/
Friday, January 25, 2008
What I Learned at the Connecticut Venture Group - 1
Last night I attended the Connecticut Venture Group's ("CVG") forum on venture funding and term sheets. For the next week, I'm going to write about all the things I learned at the meeting.
Entrepreneurship is hot in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Typically, when the economy is disrupted, people turn to starting businesses. The meeting was packed with about 150 entrepreneurs all seeking capital. We did hear from 10 investors (an angel, a banker and eight VCs), who spoke about their areas of interest, their firms and how much they are looking to invest. What amazed me is how much venture capital is available in my area -- millions of dollars. However, each venture capitalist or angel tends to want to invest in specific areas that mesh with their own expertise and their investment criteria. Some want software companies with $5 million in revenue seeking expansion capital. Others want to invest only $500,000 in early stage companies which actually manufacture something and have at least one paying customer. The list goes on.
It's important for anyone seeking capital to be strategic. Discover what the investors want before sending out your plans or executive summaries. One way to do this is to attend meetings like the one I attended or to attend venture fairs. CVG runs the largest venture fair in the Northeast, called Crossroads. I was a judge for last year's event. About half the companies that apply to present are accepted. Go to the CVG's website to learn more about Crossroads and other CVG events.
http://www.cvg.org/
Entrepreneurship is hot in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Typically, when the economy is disrupted, people turn to starting businesses. The meeting was packed with about 150 entrepreneurs all seeking capital. We did hear from 10 investors (an angel, a banker and eight VCs), who spoke about their areas of interest, their firms and how much they are looking to invest. What amazed me is how much venture capital is available in my area -- millions of dollars. However, each venture capitalist or angel tends to want to invest in specific areas that mesh with their own expertise and their investment criteria. Some want software companies with $5 million in revenue seeking expansion capital. Others want to invest only $500,000 in early stage companies which actually manufacture something and have at least one paying customer. The list goes on.
It's important for anyone seeking capital to be strategic. Discover what the investors want before sending out your plans or executive summaries. One way to do this is to attend meetings like the one I attended or to attend venture fairs. CVG runs the largest venture fair in the Northeast, called Crossroads. I was a judge for last year's event. About half the companies that apply to present are accepted. Go to the CVG's website to learn more about Crossroads and other CVG events.
http://www.cvg.org/
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