2012 Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition and Early Stage Venture Capital Conference – Record Breaking Attendance!

TAMPA & ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On May 10, 2012, the Florida Venture Forum hosted its Second Annual Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition and Fifth Annual Early Stage Venture Capital Conference at the Reunion Resort in Orlando, Florida.

“The competitors represented today have practiced extensively and really touched on the key points in their presentations.”

The Collegiate Business Plan Competition hosted six great competitors representing six great universities from throughout the state of Florida. Competitors pitched for 10 minutes followed by a Q & A session in front of a panel of judges. The students made exceptional pitches which was indicative of the caliber of competitors and the coaching that each university provided. Pat Schneider, Program Director with the Florida Venture Forum stated, “The competitors represented today have practiced extensively and really touched on the key points in their presentations.”

The winner of the Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition was Tomas Diaz and Sachin Jaitly with flexReceipts representing Rollins College.

Seventeen companies presented at the Early Stage Conference to an audience of investors, venture capitalists and service professionals. The annual event brings selected companies together with sources of capital through formal presentations and networking.

The presenting companies represented a variety of industries and locations throughout the state of Florida. The Conference attendees filled out surveys and voted on the best overall company. This year’s winner was Aidan Augustin, Co-Founder/CEO of Feathr. Feathr is a multi-platform smartphone application that replaces paper business cards with interactive digital cards integrated with tools for contact management.

The Florida Venture Forum is Florida’s premier statewide support group for venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. As an entrepreneurial networking group, the Florida Venture Forum educates entrepreneurs and assists them in identifying sources of venture capital.

Join the Florida Venture Forum for the 29^th Annual Florida Venture Capital Conference January 31-February 1, 2013 at the Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra, Florida.