NCN V Fall 2009 Investor Meeting
October 20-21, 2009
OMNI San Francisco Hotel

Twenty companies selected from a pool of more than 75 applicants presented their business plans on October 21, 2009 at The Omni Hotel in San Francisco, the venue for Nutrition Capital Network’s annual Fall Investor Meeting. This year, the meeting included three Presenting Companies of significant scale which were seeking not investment but rather acquisition or other exit opportunities. Among those seeking investment were healthy food companies, an IP-protected dietary supplement company, a gluten-free ingredient supplier, sports nutrition company, DTC home meal replacement business, manufacturer of healthy frozen treats, and novel delivery beverage company.

Sixty six investors attended from 46 organizations. NCN V welcomed two new sponsors into the Network: Venable LLP, a  600-attorney firm focused on corporate and business law, and  Roth Capital Partners, which came on board as an NCN Investment Banking Partner. Venable and Roth joined Goodwin Procter LLP and Poms & Associates Insurance Brokers as NCN Sponsors for this year’s Fall event.

New to the NCN Investor Meeting was a post-luncheon 20-minute Investor Roundtable that addressed what investors in the nutrition industry value most. NCN Principal Greg Horn of Pegasus Capital Advisors joined Matthew Mitchell, Director of Business Development for Coca-Cola (an NCN Cornerstone Investor), and Wolfgang Reichenberger, General Partner of Inventages Venture Capital (an NCN Founder’s Circle member), in critiquing the presentations and offering guidance. Their main points are summarized below:

• Be concise about what your company does
• Be honest (in general and about where you are in terms of your company positioning)
• Describe in detail your competitive advantage and barriers to competition (but don't badmouth competition).
• Explain the strengths of your management team.
• Be sure to explain your "proof of concept," especially if you're an early-stage company.
• Clearly define how much money you're looking for and your use of proceeds.
• Think about it answering the question "Why would a buyer be excited about my product?"
• Think from an investor's perspective.

The smaller scale of the Omni Hotel provided a sympathetic setting for this networking occasion, which received excellent feedback from both Investors and Presenters.

Feedback From NCN V

“There was a great cross section of high-powered attendees. I think that those who haven’t attended an NCN meeting do not really understand the depth and breadth of investors present.
− Maura Mitchell, Managing Partner, Brandology

Loved the comfortable environment. Not sure if it’s just a function of the format, but it was very easy to approach anyone in the event and start a conversation. Much more comfortable/easy than a traditional private equity event.
− Yolanda Ruiz, PCV Fund

This is a truly valuable event for firms considering investments in the nutrition industry. In a single day we got to view more than 20 companies raising capital in natural and organic products, functional food, dietary supplements, nutritional ingredients, and health and wellness and green product categories.

− Private Equity Investor

I have been to a number of industry specific presentations over the years. This conference was clearly the best in terms of the informality and flow of the meetings which afforded the presenters a genuine level of comfort. It also gave us the opportunity to mingle with other emerging companies and share information and potential opportunities in a noncompetitive manner. [Obviously it was also nice to see and meet with the quality of investors there!]
− Presenting Company Executive

Yesterday was the first time I have ever had access to people that actually understood what I was talking about. Moreover, they are the people with the experience, intelligence, and resources to help a company like mine succeed.
− Presenting Company CEO