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Area companies prepare for Florida Venture Forum

By Times Staff Writer
Published January 23, 2006

More than 1,100 attendees are expected at the annual Florida Venture Forum conference Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at Sawgrass Marriott Resort in Ponte Vedra Beach.

The meeting features presentations from 25 specially selected Florida companies looking for private equity investors. Among the presenters are five Tampa Bay area businesses: St. Petersburg's CareMedic Systems, and Avalon Healthcare Holdings, Carry A Tune Technologies, Ideal Image Inc. and Skyway Software, all of Tampa.

Now in its 15th year, the conference has attracted more than $823.4-million in venture capital for Florida businesses. Of 19 companies that made presentations a year ago, 14 have closed investment deals totaling about $80-million, a venture forum record.

The opening speaker for this year's conference will be Brian Swette, former chief marketing officer of Pepsi-Cola and former chief operating officer at eBay. Swette left eBay in 2002 and sits on several boards, including Burger King and CBL Partners.

Registration fee for the conference is $499; further information is available at www.floridaventureforum.org In advance of the Ponte Vedra event, the tally of venture investments made in 2005 is to be released today. The quarterly MoneyTree survey, a collaboration among PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association, will include fourth-quarter and year-end figures on venture investing in Florida and nationwide.

[Last modified January 20, 2006, 19:37:02]