Show Me the Money

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 2, 2007

Information Contact: Rick Ritter (208) 562-3700

Show Me the Money

Seven Idaho companies will participate in TechLaunch 4.0 in Boise July 11-12. Companies advanced to the state level from regional competitions held earlier this summer.

TechLaunch, in its fourth year, gives Idaho entrepreneurs the opportunity to practice their pitch in front of a murder board, comprised of 5 representatives from various sectors of the financing food chain. Judges include a venture capitalist, venture leasing agent, an Angel investor, a commercial banker and an SBA 504 lender.

?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?Ö‚ÄúTechLaunch is a unique event for Idaho businesses,?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?Ǭù notes Rick Ritter, CEO/President of Idaho TechConnect, one of the founding partners of TechLaunch. ?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?Ö‚ÄúBecause TechLaunch is an educational effort, entrepreneurs are allowed to ?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?ã?ìpitch?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢ their company and include ?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?ã?ìthe ask?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢ ?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Ǩ?ì how much capital they are looking for, how the funds will be used, etc. Unlike the actual pitch to venture capital or angel groups, the audience does not have to be accredited investors. It?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢s a fantastic opportunity to learn what not to do, if you want to successfully seek funding for your company.?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?Ǭù

This year?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢s competition features companies across an array of industries ?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Ǩ?ì online social communities to software and consulting to hardware. The companies will compete for a $10,000 prize, graciously provided by the Idaho National Lab. ?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?Ö‚ÄúWe?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢re excited to be able to partner with the state in enabling the continued operation of TechLaunch,?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?Ǭù said Tom Harrison, INL?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢s Director of Technology Transfer. In addition, a People?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢s Choice award will be given to a company selected by the audience.

The two-day event, features a full day of workshops on financing options, the due diligence process and the art of the pitch. The ?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?ã?ìtheory?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢ will then be put into ?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?ã?ìpractice?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢ on the second day with the company presentations.

For more information and to register, please visit www.idahotechconnect.com.

About Idaho TechConnect
Idaho TechConnect is the state?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢s first and only private-public non-profit organization focused solely on technology ?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Ǩ?ì its development, transfer and commercialization ?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Ǩ?ì all of which impact the state?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢s economy. Formalized in April 2006 as a statewide entity, Idaho TechConnect, bridges the gap between ideas, research and patents and the enabling people, money and facilities. Four regional offices assist Idaho entrepreneurs and businesses in turning ideas into products, establishing and growing R&D programs, seeking funding and competing in the global marketplace. More information is available at www.idahotechconnect.com

About TechLaunch
TechLaunch, an annual event, is organized by Idaho TechConnect, the Idaho National Laboratory, the Idaho Economic Development Association, the Idaho Office of Science and Technology and private and public organizations throughout the state. This educational event brings together science and technology companies, government agencies, economic development professionals and investors to learn about the ?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?ã?ìfinancing food chain?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢. To date, 22 companies have participated in TechLaunch, garnering $12.6 million in R&D and investment capital.

TechLaunch 1.0 (2004)
Clearwater AX International, Genesee
ECO Research, Nampa*
GamerZunion, Spokane
Gemini Life Sciences, Rexburg
Smartplugs, Sandpoint
ZoMag, Nampa

TechLaunch 2.0 (2005)
Beckmer Products, Nampa
Bully Dog Technologies, American Falls*
Control Capture, Rexburg
Medical Express, Coeur d?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢Alene
RiskSecure, Nampa
Specialty Village, Sandpoint
Triaxiom Fitness, Nampa

TechLaunch 3.0 (2006)
Ascension Snowboards, Post Falls
Banshee Riverboards, Nampa
Dittmar Development, Spokane
Forest Robots, LLC, Moscow
Homeland Resources, Idaho Falls
Microbial Vac Systems, Jerome
Neoreef, Nampa
Optimal Solutions, Idaho Falls*
Visual Strings, Nampa

* Winner

TechLaunch 4.0 Business Summaries

Check a Biz
Nampa, Idaho Presenter: J. Glerum, President
Date Founded: February 2005 Website: www.checkabiz.com
Customers have all sorts of opinions and valuable feedback about the businesses they use. Shouldn’t those businesses have an easy way to ask their customers what they thought? Check a Biz thinks so too. Check a Biz offers businesses easy-to-use online tools to solicit customer feedback, monitor the feedback as it streams in, and then communicate with those customers about their feedback after the sale.
GoSleepGo
Moscow, Idaho Presenter: Scott Falconer, CEO
Date Founded: February 2006 Website: www.GoSleepGo.com

GoSleepGo is a travel oriented website and web content creation service, created by Scott Falconer and JR Pelkola. In its first year of operation, GoSleepGo quickly grew into a source for young travelers worldwide seeking destination information that ranges from swanky, just-opened restaurants to caves and hiking trails. Users at GoSleepGo are as at home sipping wine at a gallery opening as they swinging from a rope into a lake.

Ivus Industries, Inc.
Moscow, Idaho Presenter: David G. Alexander, PhD
Date Founded: 2006 Website: www.ivusinc.com

Ivus Industries?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢ patent pending Flashpoint Charging SystemTM uses an emerging energy storage technology that can replace rechargeable batteries in a wide range of products in the lighting, power tools, toys and hand-held appliance markets. Ivus?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢ rechargeable products can be fully recharged in 2 minutes, last 10+ years without a battery replacement and provide excellent performance. The greater market in which Ivus?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢ will operate is within the $50 billion rechargeable battery market. Ivus will position itself within several smaller markets to build product recognition, revenue and strategic partnerships. The first product to market is a professional grade, highly reliable, rechargeable flashlight. Ivus has a signed letter of intent with a major U.S. Northwest law enforcement uniform and equipment distributor to sell and promote the Ivus flashlight. Gross revenue within two years is projected to be $5 million.

Meth Lab Cleanup, LLC
Post Falls, Idaho Presenter: Julie Mazzuca, Principle
Date Founded: 2005 Website: www.methlabcleanup.com

Meth Lab Cleanup, LLC (MLCC) is a certified clandestine drug lab (CDL) training, testing and decontamination company offering quality services nationwide. The unique business structure allows the company to access subcontractors certified in MLCC protocols across the US; united in setting industry standards. MLCC utilizes state-of-the-art methodologies to provide our clients with customized methods to solve even their most complex illegal drug lab cleanup issues.

OKOS Solutions
Idaho Falls, Idaho Presenter: Hari Polu, President &
Date Founded: 2005 Founder
Licensed INL technology January 2007 Website: www.okos.com

OKOS was founded by entrepreneur Hari Polu in to provide ?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Ǩ?ì i) Scientific & systems
engineering solutions and ii) Software Development Services. Systems solutions are focused on nondestructive Ultrasonic Imaging, RADAR & LADAR applications, and high speed high rate digitizers. Software services are provided through turnkey in-house project development or on-site staff augmentation of highly experience software and engineering personnel. OKOS is currently providing technical support and equipment for inspection of nuclear fuel being manufactured for the Dept. of Energy?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢s Advanced Test Reactor, both in Idaho and Lynchburg, VA, and expects to hire additional engineering staff at its Idaho Falls location this year.

Pronetos
Boise, Idaho Presenter: Chris Blanchard, CEO
Date Founded: February 20007 Website: www.pronetos.com

Pronetos is an online community of scholars and an academic publisher. An intuitively designed, real-time, web-based community platform, Pronetos facilitates mass collaboration. The software allows scholars to post content, provide peer reviews of online content and ultimately, combine content with works of others in their field to create custom monographs, textbooks, e-books and academic journals.

U2ML
Boise, Idaho Presenter: Jason Christensen, Chief Architect
Date Founded: December 2006

U2ML provides software and consulting services to meet the needs of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Fortune 100 companies have spent significant amounts of money to bring their systems to compliance. U2ML utilizes a unique set of expertise to virtually eliminate the need to rewrite applications in order to gather data lineage. Their solution can scale from a single financial database for a mid-sized plumbing company to a Fortune 100 retailer employing thousands of U2ML?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢s devices. U2ML?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢s solution has the ability to generate millions of dollars per customer in both revenue and cost savings.

-end-

Share This