McLean, VA –May 2, 2011 The Mid-Atlantic Venture Association announced today the 32 companies selected to present at this year’s Capital Connection conference on May 12-13 in Washington, DC. Companies selected to present at this year’s 2 day conference were chosen from hundreds of applicants and include a variety of technology sectors including social media, clean technology, health IT, web applications, cloud computing, and more. 

Carter Griffin, general partner of Updata Partners and 2011 Capital Connection co-chair said, “This year’s group of applicants is one of the strongest in Capital Connection’s 10+ year history.  This is a testament to the caliber of companies that have previously come through Capital Connection from both in and out of our of our region such as LivingSocial, OPOWER, Blackboard, and more.  The 2011 presenters are game-changing companies in a variety of sectors that will appeal to all types of investors from angel to late stage.”  Also serving as co-chairs for this year’s conference are Deric Emry, general partner, ABS Capital Partners and Sever Totia, principal, Edison Ventures.

Pascal Luck, managing director of Core Capital Partners and co-chair for this year’s selection committee, said “From eCommerce to cleantech to healthcare IT to social media deals, the diversity of opportunities and breadth of industries represented in this year’s applicants submitted were impressive.”  He went on to say, “If startup and growth activity are leading indicators of the health of the region we should be poised for better things to come.”

Companies that apply are subjected to an extensive review of the quality of product or service solution, scalability of the enterprise, potential market, experience and relevant abilities of the management team, and technical and domain expertise. The overall line-up of companies offers insight into a variety of sectors and stage of company development and their technologies. At the conference, each company will have an eight-minute slot to present to the full conference of attendees, including an audience of investors and advisors, as well as the opportunity to exhibit and schedule on-site meetings.

The 2011 selected companies include:

AccuStrata
Activate Systems
AFrame Digital, Inc.
AppTap
Big Lead Sports (Fantasy Sports Ventures)
Capital Schools, Inc.
Company.com Corp.
CustomerFirst Renewables LLC
DataRoket
DeepMile Networks
Envictus
Etek International Corporation
Everbridge, Inc
GeoIQ
Grodo
Healthcare Interactive
Heatwave Interactive
Hivetrader
Kadoo
LiveComplete Inc
mPortal Inc
Netuitive
NUBISio, INC.
Oculis Labs
OLO
Ozmosis, Inc.
Preparis
TelStar Hosted Services, Inc
Univa Corporation
WellAWARE Systems
WorkForce Software, Inc.
Zlago

Growth /Later Stage Companies Showcased

The 32 early through expansion stage companies competitively selected will be joined throughout the day’s programming by select later staged growth companies, who will share their company’s success story with conference attendees.  These invited companies have demonstrated success in the marketplace, generating annual revenues between $30M-$1B, and are on a significant growth trajectory.

Seed Stage Companies to Present at TechBUZZ

For those who want to see some of the earliest of ideas and companies in formation, this year has added TechBUZZ, a mini-conference, immediately preceding Capital Connection.   Designed to be particularly appealing to angel investors, this First Look/Fast Pitch format will provide rapid fire snapshot that spotlights some of the more emerging technologies across the region. 

Top Tier Programming for Everyone!

In addition to this year’s stellar lineup of presenting companies, attendees will hear from Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, Paul DePodesta, subject matter for Michael Lewis’ book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, and vice president of player development for the New York Mets, Jonathan Grayer, chairman & CEO, Weld North LLC; former CEO, Kaplan, Inc as well as leading industry panelists from mobility, various stages of capital, and education.

Capital Connection^TM and MAVA

As it has done for more than 20 years, Capital Connection ‘11 will bring together the broad community of entrepreneurial companies and potential partners to help further enhance business and economic growth. MAVA’s flagship event, Capital Connection ‘11, is scheduled for May 12 & 13 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC. Opinion leaders from business and government will be on the program along with leading technology companies at all growth stages that will be showcasing their capabilities to a nationwide audience of investors, advisors, partners, and entrepreneurs.  Registration is open and available at www.capitalconnection.org.   

The Mid-Atlantic Venture Association represents the full spectrum of capital sources, entrepreneurs, and their strategic partners. MAVA provides a wide range of programs, information and forums designed to stimulate company growth, facilitate quality deal flow, encourage collaboration, and foster relationships between entrepreneurs, investors, strategic partners and customers. For more information, please visit www.mava.org.

# # #