The Second Annual Columbia Venture Showcase
The Second Annual Columbia Venture Showcase, sponsored by the Lang Center and Columbia Technology Ventures was held on the evening of May 18th at the Offices of Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt LLC, located in the Lipstick building in mid-town New York. A group of over thirty, many from the investment community, came together to listen to nine entrepreneurs, including newly selected Lang Fund portfolio companies, present their three-minute pitch. The event concluded with networking, providing investors and presenting entrepreneurs the opportunity to meet, offer feedback and make business connections.
The event was created in response to students asking for additional support post graduation to launch their ventures. "In no other time in history have we had the opportunity to connect truly amazing, driven and talented people together to do extraordinary things," said Entrepreneur in Residence Professor Clifford Schorer. "The current economy is an opportunity to tap into that pool of innovative talent and make a real difference in the market."
Nearly half in attendance were representatives of the investment community including NYC Seed, Golden Seeds, NY Angels, RRE Ventures and Milestone Venture Partners. Lang Fund recipient Arlyn Davich '09 presented PayPerks, an employee perks program, to the participants. "Raising capital for early stage businesses can be time consuming. It was great to have a broad spectrum of VCs not just present, but sitting down and captivated. My presentation led to some great follow up conversations for PayPerks." Davich commented. "Columbia does a great job attracting a motivated group of investors."
Bernhard Keppler was invited to present by David Lerner of Columbia Technology Ventures. Keppler is the CEO NLP International Corporation, a software company that uses an application to extract clinical codes from typed or dictated free text medical narratives and converts the data into computerized clinical information. "The introductions during the networking session were most helpful to me. I look forward to meeting several interested investor groups after this event," said Keppler.
"We understand the real challenge to sustaining and growing your business begins after you graduate," said Professor Murray Low, Director of The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center. "We want to lend our ongoing support and guidance as you continue on your entrepreneurial path."
The Lang Center and Columbia Technology Ventures wishes to thank Edward G. Reitler, Esq and the Offices of Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt LLC for hosting this event.