Monthly Archives: November, 2011

PrintEco Wins Grand Prize at Opportunity Green Conference in Los Angeles

November 14, 2011

PrintEco, a Serra Capital portfolio company, participated in the Opportunity Green Conference in Los Angeles, California, the weekend of November 11-12th.  Being one of 25 selected finalists in their annual start-up competition, PrintEco won first place and took home the grand prize of 25k for branding and marketing work.

The 5th Annual Opportunity Green conference brings together today’s leading companies and visionaries, showcasing the sought-after opportunities, profound innovations and trends accelerating the new green economy.

Opportunity Green 2011 exposed participants to an interdisciplinary cross-section of ideas at the forefront of sustainable business practices through a variety of formats, including creative panels and experiential workshops. From Fortune 500 powerhouses to inventive startups, Opportunity Green attracted over 1000 industry professionals and executive decision-makers from around the globe.

Tim Hoerr Judges Business Plan Competition at Illinois State University

November 14, 2011

Tim Hoerr, CEO of Serra Ventures, was a judge for the business plan competition held at Illinois State University in Normal, IL on Friday, November 11. The business plan competition was a part of the event “Entrepreneurship Day Competition” also known as “E-Day” held at the ISU College of Business.

E-Day consists of a university-wide business plan competition, elevator pitch competition, and this year Mary Leonard, Chief Performance Officer for Coinstar, Inc. – parent company of Redbox, was the keynote speaker. Teams competed for an estimated $18,000.00 in funding and in-kind prizes to help kick start their ventures. Participants and attendees had the opportunity to network and connect with venture capitalists, angel investors, incubator managers, practicing entrepreneurs and business professionals.

Serra Capital Invests In Its Tenth Company

November 10, 2011

Serra Capital is very excited to announce its 10th investment in the company KC BioMedix, Inc. This is also the first company Serra Capital has funded that has been an out of state deal.

KC BioMedix, (“KCB”) is a commercial stage venture backed medical device company developing and selling pulsatile neurostimulation products that address the overwhelming problem of incompetent feeding in premature infants. There are over 500,000 infants born prematurely in the U.S. each year, and as many as 50% are suffering from the inability to breast or bottle feed. Because these patients are not discharged from the neonatal ICU until they achieve 100% oral feeding competency, they create a substantial medical, economic and emotional burden for hospitals, neonatologists, patients and their families. KCB’s first product, the NTrainer System, solves this problem by assessing and treating their dysfunctional oral feeding, accelerating healthy development and enabling them to leave the hospital sooner.

Tim Hoerr enthuses that “Serra Capital is proud to make our tenth investment since our first Fund closing in October of 2010. KC BioMedix represents an exceptional opportunity for our fund’s investors, as it is a later stage enterprise with revenue-generating commercial products in the marketplace.  We are further enthused to extend our fund’s geographic reach to Kansas City, MO.”

Champaign-Urbana Set To Host “Start-Up Weekend”

November 10, 2011

“Start-Up Weekend,” an event designed specifically for individuals interested in jump-starting a business idea, will be hosted in Champaign-Urbana the weekend of November 11, 2011.  C-U is one of 50 communities around the country selected for hosting this event.  The weekend will begin on November 11th and end on November 13th, and will be held on the University of Illinois campus at the Siebel Center.

Startup Weekend is an intense 54 hour event which focuses on building a web or mobile application which could form the basis of a credible business over the course of a weekend. The weekend brings together people with different skill sets, primarily software developers, graphics designers and business people, to build applications and develop a commercial case around them.  Teams will have an opportunity to present their ideas to a panel of judges and an audience on Sunday night, and winners will receive monetary prizes.

There are 125 registered attendees for the Start-Up Weekend, and is open to anyone interested in the local entrepreneurial community. Serra Ventures, LLC, is a sponsor of this event.