Rockies Venture Club Announces MapQuest Founder Simon Greenman to Present Keynote Speech at 16th Annual Colorado Capital Conference

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 2004--

Event Highlights Include Presentations From Eight Emerging Companies Seeking Funding And Entrepreneurial Workshops Featuring Panelists Such as Juan Rodriguez, John Garrett and Terry Gold

“The annual Colorado Capital Conference always features a strong program of speakers, workshops and presentations, but this year's event is truly exceptional”

Rockies Venture Club (RVC), Colorado's premiere entrepreneur networking organization, announced today that the morning keynote speech at the Colorado Capital Conference on May 20 will be given by Simon Greenman, the founder of MapQuest.com.

The morning keynote will be followed by a series of entrepreneurial workshops about topics related to funding and growing successful businesses. The Colorado Capital Conference, the Rocky Mountain region's most important entrepreneurial event of the year, takes place on Thursday, May 20, 2004, from 7:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. at the Marriott City Center, located at 1701 California Street in downtown Denver.

"The annual Colorado Capital Conference always features a strong program of speakers, workshops and presentations, but this year's event is truly exceptional," said Art Harrison, member of the board of directors of Rockies Venture Club. "Simon Greenman is one of the country's most successful entrepreneurs, and we are honored that he will be sharing insights from his outstanding career during the morning keynote. And the panelists for our workshops are also first-rate, allowing attendees to hear from the most experienced experts in the Rocky Mountain Region."

Simon Greenman is a pioneer of digital strategies whose track record of successful entrepreneurism started as a teen with the development of software games and continued with the co-founding of MapQuest.com and Asterand, a leading bioinformatics company. As an entrepreneur, his focus has been on applying innovative digital strategies for competitive advantage, and that continues today as Vice President of Internet Products at Dex Media. Greenman has also held senior management positions at Accenture, RR Donnelley & Sons and Webb Interactive. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BA in Computing & Artificial Intelligence from the University of Sussex, England.

Greenman's morning keynote address will begin at 8:15 a.m., and will be followed by a series of entrepreneurial workshops, panel discussions and presentations segmented into three concurrent tracks: finance, growth and investment:

-- The finance track will include breakout sessions about the following topics:

-- The Funding Process

-- Moderator: Mark Soane, CVCA and Appian Venture Partners

-- Panelists: Juan Rodriguez, Exabyte Corporation; John Garrett, Meritage Private Equity Funds; Tim Enwall, Entrepreneur

-- Creative Financing

-- Moderator: Greg Glissmann, Wells Fargo

-- Panelists: Bob Wendle, Last-Minute-Travel.com; Ed Rand, Tatum CFO Partners; Rick Brennan, Vendere

-- Exit Strategies and Outcomes

-- Moderator: Chris Groll, Holland & Hart

-- Panelists: Don Parsons, Appian Venture Partners; Rob Kaufman, Q Advisors; Mark Flolid, SignalSoft

-- The growth track will include breakout sessions about the following topics:

-- Selecting the Right Markets

-- Moderator: Karla Trippe, Trippe-Marino

-- Panelists: Greg Mesch, Roving Planet; Peter Bryant, TransTech; Jeff Probst, Blue Sun

-- Sales Channels

-- Moderator: Bruce Stouffer, Sopris Group

-- Panelists: Jim Franklin, Decisioneering; Terry Gold, Gold Systems; Mike Reagan, Vericept

-- Responding to Growth

-- Moderator: Kim Pope, Auromira

-- Panelists: Ron Brown, Heidrick & Struggles; Rob Eggbracht, BEW

-- The investment track will feature a series of presentations from eight emerging companies, including six that are seeking angel investment and two that are at the VC stage.

For additional details about the workshops, please visit www.rockiesventureclub.org.

Beginning at lunch, members of the innovation and entrepreneurial community are invited to participate in the kick-off Summit for the new Colorado Entrepreneurial Hothouse Initiative (CEHI) -- a major undertaking led by Rockies Venture Club with active participation from Mayor Hickenlooper's and Governor Owens' administrations that will unify all sectors of the entrepreneurial community and drive targeted, supported initiatives that support entrepreneurism and economic growth. Details of the lunch program and afternoon CEHI Summit will be announced in a subsequent news release.

How to Register

To attend the Colorado Capital Conference, please visit www.rockiesventureclub.org and follow links to the online event registration form. Attendees can also purchase passes on the day of the event in person at the Marriott City Center. Registration for the full-day program is $109 for RVC members and $149 for non-members. Attendees can also register for just the afternoon CEHI Summit for $60.

About Rockies Venture Club

The Rockies Venture Club (RVC) is a non-profit, volunteer organization that celebrates the spirit of entrepreneurship in the Rocky Mountain region. Founded in 1984, RVC is the only networking organization that connects entrepreneurs, service professionals, investors, venture capitalists and other funding sources. The RVC provides a unique open forum where emerging businesses can network with qualified funding sources and professional service providers, and where potential investors can learn of growing businesses through the RVC's presentation series and monthly forums. For more information, contact RVC at 303-831-4174 or www.rockiesventureclub.org.