We want to congratulate Unparalleled Energy, the winner of last week’s Phoenix CrowdPitch!

We had the opportunity to have a Q&A session with Cary Lovins about the company and the experience they had presenting at this event:

• FundingUniverse – Tell us a little about your company.
• Cary – We produce the world’s only protein bread, an energy drink (which tastes fantastic and lowers cholesterol and tryglercides), and a delicious energy/protein bar.  After receiving the funding we need, we will launch our products to over 5 Billion people.

• FundingUniverse – That’s impressive.  How did you get started?
• Cary – I have always been good at formulating things.  I made the ingredient list for three other energy drinks.  Two years ago, I started another healthy energy drink.  It translated very poorly in other countries, so I sold it.  I then created another energy drink.  4 months later, I created the protein bread and the energy/protein bar.

• FundingUniverse – Why do you feel your product is unique?
• Cary – Our products are the only ones like them in the world and cannot be reformulated.

• FundingUniverse – What funding challenges did you face as you were trying to get your idea off the ground?
• Cary – I had no challenges really, I used all of my own money from the sale of the other company.  I am now just having a problem with getting an investor to make the product.

• FundingUniverse – How did you hear about FundingUniverse and the Phoenix CrowdPitch event?
• Cary – While online looking for angel investors.  Thanks to a gentleman in your company named Darren, I was penciled into CrowdPitch.  I honestly believe Darren is a true asset to your company and should be commended.

• FundingUniverse – Describe your experience pitching your idea in front of a live audience and panel of experts at the CrowdPitch event.
• Cary – I loved pitching the idea, because I truly believe in my products and want the world to be a healthier place.  My heart and my mind are 150% committed to this.  However, it was very scary and I had never done anything like that
  before.  I really did not know whether to look at the panel or the crowd.

• FundingUniverse – Did you get any new insights or ideas from the Q&A portion of the event?
• Cary – Everyone loved the product and the pitch, however I could have spoken a little louder.  The other companies I heard received a lot of help though.

• FundingUniverse – How does it feel to know that those in attendance liked your idea and gave their “funny money” to you?
• Cary – It made me feel great to have complete strangers enjoy my products.  The funny money is an excellent way to determine the winner by being unanimous.

• FundingUniverse – What is the next step for your business?
• Cary – Upon completion of funding, we will begin filling our orders to get these three products out to the world and have people eating healthy food that is very good for them.

Thanks again to Unparalleled Energy and all the other companies that pitched at this event.  We are already looking forward to similar upcoming events in Utah, Seattle, Portland, and San Diego (to name a few).

If you are in the Phoenix area, get excited.

FundingUniverse is expanding every day and we are taking Arizona by storm!  One of our first orders of business is the Phoenix CrowdPitch this Wednesday, October 28th.  This FREE event will bring pitching to a whole new level as the best-of-the-best entrepreneurs pitch their big ideas to a panel of expert investors and a live audience (think Shark Tank meets American Idol!)

Everyone (including the audience) will get to invest play money into the company of their choice, and the winner will get some fabulous prizes.

It is all topped off with a FREE networking luncheon.  You can’t go wrong!

To RSVP and for more information go HERE

Click HERE to watch the podcast discussing what FundingUniverse is doing to bring entrepreneurs and investors together in the Phoenix Area.

FundingUniverse’s next Utah CrowdPitch event will be a little bit different than most.  We will be focusing on social entrepreneurship, and we’re looking specifically for profit-based social ventures that aim to improve our community.  There are two criteria that every pitching company must meet:

1 – You must be a viable, for-profit company

2 – Your business model must benefit the Utah community by solving local social problems, for example:

• Green energy and environmental solutions
• Local sustainable agriculture & small-scale agri-products processing
• Address social and economic problems using private sector approaches as an alternative or complement to non-profit approaches
• An organization set up to incubate, mentor, and create more for-profit companies run by minority or women entrepreneurs.

The rest of the event will go the same as our other CrowdPitch events

• Entrepreneurs pitching their business to a panel of experts & a live audience, with feedback from the experts (think “Shark Tank” meets “American Idol”)
• Everyone “investing” $100 of Monopoly money into the company of their choice
• The winner will be awarded the opportunity to pitch to Innoventures Capital Partners.
• It will all be topped off with a free networking luncheon for all in attendance!

We have a great panel of experts set for this event, and if you want to apply to pitch or RSVP as a spectator (both free!) go HERE!

When & Where:

• November 4th
• 11:30 am – 1:30 pm MDT
• Lone Peak & Red Pine Rooms
• Karen Gail Miller Conference Center
• 9750 S 300 W
• Sandy, UT

This past Tuesday (October 6) FundingUniverse hosted another SpeedPitch event in Utah, with a record number of investors and entrepreneurs in attendance

Investors from The Utah Angels, Staker Ventures, BYU Center for Entrepreneurship, University Venture Fund, Utah Fund of Funds, Innoventures Capital Partners, Park City and Olympus Angels, and Blue Diamond Capital were represented, among others.

During each of nine rounds, the presenting companies had 4 minutes to pitch their idea, followed by 3 minutes of Q&A. The investors voted and the three favorite companies were invited to do a second round of Q&A with the entire group. The companies chosen this time were Zoobies, Dr. Tim’s, and Heated Coating.

The event concluded with a networking luncheon catered by Tucanos Brazilian Grill. It was a great success and we wish everyone the best of luck as they move forward in the funding process!

FundingUniverse has always been known as a great source for connecting entrepreneurs with active VC’s, angel investors and other lending sources. We’re passionate about helping people get their ideas off the ground, but the people we connect are also very passionate. Here are some of our favorite quotes collected from both entrepreneurs and investors. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin, where we will continue to post new quotes as we collect them.

-“FundingUniverse continues to be a great source of deal flow for me. I’ve become a regular at the SpeedPitch events over the past couple of years and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon!”
Damon Kirchmeier—investor

-”The speedpitch got us in front of more investors in 90 minutes than we had gotten in front of the entire year prior. We landed our first meeting just 30 minutes after leaving the event. Anyone who is seeking funds and has absolute confidence in their idea needs to prepare for and attend a speedpitch event.”
-Alan Martin, Founder / CEO
CampusBookRentals.com

-“The UtahAngels have attended SpeedPitch since the beginning, and six of us were there yesterday! Typically, we invite one or two of the SpeedPitchers to present at our monthly meeting. Thank you FundingUniverse.”
Scott Frazier, Utah Angels

-”For a small company needing capital infusion, the SpeedPitch event was invaluable. Not only were we able to establish productive contacts within the investor community, but we also refined our investor pitch. The process of preparing for and participating in the rapid-fire presentation format challenged us to clearly articulate why Simplifile represents a compelling investment opportunity. Very worthwhile.”
-Rob Moore, Simplifile

-“I have been extremely impressed with the quality of the pitches I have heard through FundingUniverse. The coaching received from FundingUniverse helped entrepreneurs deliver their pitch in a clear and cohesive manner.”
R. Andrus, Investor

-“We walked away with $375,000! FundingUniverse helped us with our pitch and put us in front of the right investors to get a deal done quickly. We had 10-12 investors that were interested in our investment opportunity. It was a great experience.”
N. Alder, Entrepreneur

-”Funding Universe’s virtual/real-world hybrid method of introducing entrepreneurs to investors is more personal, more interactive, and more effective than any other method I have seen.”
D. Thorpe, Investor

-”Funding had been the biggest obstacle to starting our business when we inquired into the services that Funding Universe offered. It took time but we were able to find the investors we needed and start our business even during a world financial crisis. The most important contribution that Funding Universe gave us was the ability to understand and approach investors, which helped us make the changes we needed to move forward.”
S. Walker, Entrepreneur

As a result of some confusion between our Speedpitch and LivePitch events, we’ve changed the name of our LivePitch events to CrowdPitch.

What is a CrowdPitch?

Well… have any of you seen the new TV show on ABC called SharkTank? Well, the CrowdPitch event is a nice mix between SharkTank and American Idol. Essentially, 4-5 companies pitch their business to both a panel of 4-5 investors and a live audience of 100-200 other business owners. After the presentation, the panel will provide real-time feedback (Simon Cowell style) to the entrepreneur.

In addition, the audience plays a large role in the event: we give each member of the audience $100 of monopoly money that they can “invest” in their favorite presentation. After all the “investments” have been made, we count up the monopoly money and provide a nice $2-$5k prize pack to the winner!

What is the difference between CrowdPitch and Speedpitch?

This is a question that we get asked on a regular basis. The main difference between the 2 events is the audience. The Crowdpitch event is intended to attract a large audience — networking is an important component of the event. However, the Speedpitch event is a very exclusive/intimate event where only the 6-10 presenting companies, the 20-45 investors, and a handful of select sponsors are invited/allowed to attend.

Coming to a place near you…

I guess that I should let you know that we have announced our events for the remainder of the year and, if you are in the west, it’s likely we’ll be coming to a location near you! (If you’re out East — don’t worry, we’ll be coming their soon enough). Here is a brief overview:

September 30 – Denver – CrowdPitch
October 7 – Utah – SpeedPitch
October 14 – Boise – CrowdPitch
October 28 – Phoenix – CrowdPitch
November 4 – Utah – Social Entrepreneurship CrowdPitch
November 18 – Seattle – CrowdPitch
December 2 – Utah – SpeedPitch
December 16 – Portland – CrowdPitch

If you are interested in being a part of any of these events, let us know (send an email to members “at” fundinguniverse.com).

Last Wednesday FundingUniverse had the opportunity to team up with Portland Ten, NedSpace, and Stoel Rives to host Lunch 2.0 Portland Livepitch in Portland, Oregon.  Every couple of months we host a similar event and this, like the rest, was a great success.

The following five companies were selected to present their ideas to our panel of experts and a live audience during the two-hour event:

• Bright Neighbor
• BioAlgene
• Optical Specialist
• Spiritworks Software
• JourneyGym

The panel of experts included Ashleigh Williams from Willamette Venture Group, Eric Pozzo from Oregon Angel Fund, Todd Bauman from Stoel Rives, Carolyn Duncan from Portland Ten, and FundingUniverse’s very own Brock Blake.  Each member of the panel as well as the audience was given play money to invest in the company of their choice.

JourneyGym was chosen as the winner of this event.  Their pitch peaked the interest of all in attendance and as the winners, they were offered the following prizes:

• $500 of legal services from Stoel Rives
• $2500 in funding consulting from FundingUniverse
• 5 Startup Workouts and a Startup Checkup from Portland Ten

All five companies that presented were given the invaluable opportunity to practice pitching their idea as well as get great feedback from the experts.  They were also put in front of Angel Investors and VCs looking for the next big idea.

John from JourneyGym said

“I just wanted to write to thank you for scheduling the . . . Livepitch even this past Wednesday.  We appreciated the opportunity to be involved and were excited to have had JourneyGym win.  We of course look forward to working with you on your evaluation of our fundability as we work to complete our subsequent round of financing.”

The other four companies had similar things to say and all had a great experience at this event.  Stay tuned for info about other Livepitch, Speedpitch, and online Speedpitch events happening in the near future!

As many of you already know, each month, FundingUniverse hosts an “Online Speedpitch Event”.  This event is one of the best opportunities for entrepreneurs across the nation to get exposure to real, legitimate, active angel investors and VC’s.  For investors, this serves as an excellent way to get access to quality, pre-screened deal flow.

Yesterday’s event featured five top-notch companies:

1. Olive Medical – based in Utah
2. 2 Chicks with Chocolate – based in New Jersey
3. Snowlist.com – based in Utah
4. TuneToad – based in Texas
5. Xtreme Whitetail Technologies - based in Iowa

We were excited to see each of the presenters from this month’s event gain meaningful contacts from investors to help them in their fundraising efforts.

If you are an entrepreneur seeking opportunities to pitch to qualified, accredited investors, please register on our home page to be considered as a presenter for our monthly Online Speedpitch Event.

If you are an accredited investor looking for a higher quality of deal flow, click here to register as an investor on FundingUniverse.com and we will ensure that you are invited to participate in our next Online Speedpitch Event.

The business community united to show their support of entrepreneurism last week in anticipation of the announcement of the first annual Utah Angel Investor of the Year. After narrowing the field to the 3 finalists of Scott Frazier, Nobu Mutaguchi, and Alan Hall; the capacity crowd applauded as Scott Frazier was named the 2009 Angel Investor of the Year.

As Frazier accepted his award, it was easy to see why he has been so successful in his business career. He quickly shifted the attention from himself and pointed out several colleagues who have also made significant contributions to the entrepreneurial community here in Utah. Frazier said, “If they were giving this award out for being good at specific aspects of investing, there are many others who are more qualified than me.”

Along with the Investor of the Year Award, we thought it was fitting to recognize an individual who may not be making significant monetary contributions to entrepreneurs, but provides significant guidance and education to help them fulfill their dreams. Though many were qualified to win this award, Greg Warnock stood out for his years of mentorship through Junto, Mercato Partners and other worthwhile endeavors.

It was incredible to see the business community come together to recognize these individuals and support the entrepreneurial spirit here in Utah. While we were expecting anywhere from 150-200, we were pleased to see almost 300 in attendance and packing the room to the limit. Next year we will definitely have to find a bigger venue to host the luncheon.