Company + Investor
SPOTLIGHT I
n 2018, the Company and Investor Spotlight returned to Accelerate: the 19th Annual Conference on Technology Innovation. The Company and Investor Spotlight enables some powerful interaction between entrepreneurs who have been working with Innovate Mississippi, and potential investors and seed fund managers throughout the state who can offer advice and get a chance to take a look at the progress the state’s entrepreneurs are making. “Personally, I got a lot out of the event,” said Ryan Gilbrech, who pitched his company, Meta Games. “It was energizing to hear about the entrepreneurs and investment groups in Mississippi, most of whom I had no idea about before the event.” Vince Jordan, CEO of Lobaki, Inc., was similarly effusive. “We made a number of good connections that we are currently in touch with,” Jordan said. “We’re very pleased that we were asked to present alongside these companies.” In November 2018, nine companies, all of which are in some current stage of raising capital, presented at the Company and Investor Spotlight. The companies included Flowers to the Grave, Torrus, Cattlog, Lobaki, Bac Yeast, Meta Games, CampusKnot and EasyKale. “For the entrepreneurs who pitched, this is an opportunity to let investors and the general public know what they’re up to,” said Tasha Bibb, director of entrepreneurial development for Innovate Mississippi. “It also was an opportunity for investors to get a look at some of the deals that are getting close to launching a fundraising round and for them to share a little knowledge on how to get involved in investing here.” Along with the company pitches, investors participated 82 • Events
in two different panel discussions, one covering the North Mississippi Angel Fund and the other comprising of members of the Bulldog Angel Network. The Bulldog Angel Network panel discussion focused somewhat on the tools they use for remote investing, Bibb said. “They’ve got some interesting tools they’ve developed,” she said. “The manager of that fund lives in Huntsville, and the members are spread out over several counties in North Mississippi, so they’re using some cool tools to collaborate on deals and even view pitches remotely.” Their talk also helped entrepreneurs realize that it’s possible to get investment, even if it is across city or state lines. The North Mississippi Angel Fund members talked about the process of pitching to the fund, Bibb said, including things like how to work through a term sheet, the process of getting an investment and other things entrepreneurs should expect when working with a fund. Between presentations, investors and entrepreneurs could network. “I was able to connect with the investment group in northern Mississippi, who were very impressed with what Meta Games is doing,” Gilbrech said. Bibb says she was excited to see entrepreneurs and investors connecting at last year’s conference, and she expects more of that to happen both at the Mississippi New Venture Challenge in spring 2019 and at the Company and Investor Spotlight scheduled for November 12, 2019, as part of Accelerate: the 20th Annual Conference on Technology Innovation. p
