NCN hosts two educational event each year at Natural Products Expo West and Expo East. These Investor Forums are designed to make the Expo experience easier and more valuable for investors and to connect exhibitors with potential investors and partners.

Full house at NCN's Investor Forum at Expo West 2013
NCN hosted another successful Investor Forum at Natural Products Expo West on March 8, 2013. The event, featuring a panel of growth companies, investors, and experts including Zico Beverages, Corazonas Foods, Revelry Brands and Venturing & Emerging Brands (Coca-Cola), was standing room only.

For two hours, speakers and panelists held the room's attention on topics such as finding the right investor, valuations, what investors look for, key advice and potential pitfalls. In addition, PCGA's Janica Lane and NCN's Tom Aarts gave market and transaction updates. The list of Expo West exhibitors seeking capital exceeded 50 companies from a variety of industries

The March session, entitled From Financing to Exit - Successful Strategies for Connecting with Investors, featured:

• Updates on recent transaction and financing trends in the nutrition and health & wellness space
• Panel discussion with industry investors and growth companies that have successfully raised capital, moderated by Greg Horn, NCN Principal and Venture Partner, Flagship Ventures
• Investor orientation to the Expo West show floor

As in previous years, registered investors received a list of exhibiting companies seeking capital and present on the tradeshow floor.

Our seasoned industry experts for the panel discussion included: 

• Mark Rampolla, Founder and CEO, ZICO Beverages. Mark has raised over $40MM in 8 years from angels and strategic to fuel ZICO’s growth.
• Ramona Cappello, CEO, Corazonas Foods. Ramona raised $15 million dollars over 6 years at Corazonas Foods before selling the company in 2012.
• Matthew Mitchell, Director of Business Development, Venturing & Emerging Brands (VEB). Matthew has been involved as an investor in industry transactions totaling $2 billion over 15 years.
• Brendan Synnott, Founder, Revelry Brands. Brendan has invested $15M in 5 up-and-coming brands, in addition to raising $5M for Bear Naked before selling it in 2007.

Our industry experts for the market update included:

• Janica Lane, Partner, Partnership Capital Growth
• Grant Ferrier, CEO and Co-Founder, Nutrition Capital Network
• Tom Aarts, Principal and Co-Founder, Nutrition Capital Network
  
  

APPLY TO BE A PRESENTING COMPANY: Companies currently seeking investment or an exit, and who would like to apply to be a presenting company at NCN's Spring 2013 Investor Meeting, are invited to provide company information here. Or contact NCN Executive Director Mike Dovbish on mdovbish@nutritioncapital.com; 415-254-1116.