Rockies Venture Club puts spotlight on start-up ideas

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DENVER – There’s no better place to network between LA and Chicago,” touted John Metzger, president of the Rockies Venture Club (RVC), a Denver-based non-profit organization.

The RVC was founded in 1983 with a mission of connecting the region’s entrepreneurs, service professionals and investors.

Metzger, whose day job is president of Boulder-based public relations firm Metzger Associates, has served as president of the club for a year and a half.

“(RVC) has really blossomed in the past few years,” he said of the 500-member group, attributing its development to the vibrant local economy, an influx of venture capital and the region’s quality of life.

The RVC hosts monthly dinner meetings on the second Tuesday of each month (August excluded) at the Embassy Suites in Downtown Denver.

“The meetings are characterized by a very standard format that is very appealing to both presenting companies and funding companies,” Metzger said.

With an average attendance in excess of 225, the monthly meetings allow local entrepreneurs the chance to make five-minute business plan presentations to a wide range of relevant parties. Usually, such presenters are start-ups looking to build awareness and connect with $500,000 or less in financing, but the meetings also feature occasional slots for the 12-minute presentation by companies in their second round of financing or beyond. Additionally, the meetings offer presentations by prospective deal-makers and assorted RVC members.

“That’s followed by a speaker or a panel with subject matter that’s germane to financing or venture capital,” described RVC Co-founder and Co-chairman James Arkebauer, also president of Denver-based venture banking and investment firm Venture Associates. Prior to the presentations, guests network over drinks and dinner. “At each table at dinner, you get to introduce yourself,” Arkebauer said. “The hidden premise is, if you didn’t bring our calling card, why did you even come?”

Companies and entrepreneurs interested in making a five-minute presentation first submit a business plan to the RVC; presenters generally are chosen about three weeks before the meeting, or two months after submission. “We don’t make any judgments on the business plan,” Arkebauer said of the selection process. Rather, RVC simply screens them to ensure that the presenters are prepared.

“I think the Holy Grail of getting funding is the business plan,” added Metzger. In his eyes, a good plan has a “strong executive summary” that covers both the company’s financial issues and its potential timetable.

The presentations allow potential investors “to kick the tires a little bit before funding,” Metzger said. “(Investors) get a frame of reference, and entrepreneurs get an idea of what other entrepreneurs are doing.” Service professionals, notably lawyers and accountants, also benefit from the networking at the meetings.

According to Metzger, RVC membership “becomes a long-term networking opportunity.” He added, “It may take years” to transform a concept into a corporation, noting that Metzger Associates has been working on a side business, eConference.com, that arose from connections made at an RVC meeting three years ago. “We’re going to be one of those (presenting) companies,” he said.

In addition to the monthly meetings, RVC also hosts a pair of annual events: the full-day Capital Conference in June and the Fall Financing Forum, a “resource trade fair,” according to RVC’s Web site.

One notable RVC success story of late was that of author/entrepreneur (and BCBR Geek News columnist) Peter Kent and his start-up venture, the Denver-based BizBlast.com. A five-minute presentation at an RVC meeting was the starting point in BizBlast.com’s relationship with Softbank Venture Capital, which since invested $4 million into the company.

“Number one, the RVC is the most dynamic forum in the Denver metro area for that type of format,´ said Robert Mulverhill, president and chief executive of Broomfield-based Encynova International, Inc. and a presenter at the 2000 Capital Conference. “It’s very focused on helping entrepreneurs and startup businesses.”

Of his presentation at last month’s conference, Mulverhill said, “It went extremely well,” as it led to four meetings with potential investors the very next week. The RVC meetings provide an unparalleled forum, he added, for sharing “the trials and tribulations of finding your business, finding your money, and telling your story.”

For information on presenting at one of the Rockies Venture Club’s meetings, visit www.rockiesventureclub.com. To cover audiovisual expenses, presentations cost $25 for non-members, but they are free for RVC members. The annual RVC membership fee is $75, and a seat at the monthly dinner meetings runs $30 for members, $40 for non-members.

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