Nutrition Capital Network
Spring 2008 Investor Meeting
April 17, 2008
New York City, NY

It is always exciting to be in New York. Manhattan evokes a sense of prosperity and industriousness befitting a great financial capital. It was also exciting to be in New York at the Grand Hyatt hotel to welcome new and returning investors to NCN II, the second Investor Meeting hosted by Nutrition Capital Network and our first on the East Coast.

There were 22 new Presenting Companies at NCN II, each carefully screened by our selection committee from a pool of 82 qualified applicants. Presenters included six companies in proprietary ingredients, two in medical food, two in convenience food, four in beverages and three innovative supplement companies. In addition, there was a leading organic fiber company, a raw food pioneer, an innovative packaging company, an up-and-coming oral care company, a hemp food company, a natural cleaning products company, and even a carbon offset company. Companies of scale included one firm grossing over $60 million and four others in the $10-30 million sales range, in addition to a number of early-stage companies doubling their revenues and well past the proof-of-concept phase.

The audience included a broad range of professional investors from private equity and venture firms focused on health, nutrition and food; strategic investors from the food, food ingredients and healthcare fields; and a smattering of private individual or angel investors.

The morning consisted of 10-minute company presentations to a full auditorium of 110 people. After lunch, well-attended breakout sessions allowed for one-on-one meetings between Investors and Companies. Organizing multiple breakout sessions in a single afternoon is an art rather than a science, and one that NCN is still trying to perfect. Inevitably there’s more competition to see some companies than others. In feedback, one investor described the breakouts as ‘terrific’ and another as ‘a bit frenetic’.

One Presenting Company likely expressed a view shared by many, saying they “would have liked more time to meet with investors in private.

One solution might be to extend the meeting to two days. But feedback indicated that while the action packed 10-hour format can make for a pretty long day, it was well favored as an efficient use of time.

One point on which Presenting Companies were uniformly satisfied was the application and preparation process, which was described as efficient, well organized and easy. Thanks go to Mike Dovbish, executive director of NCN, for his presentation and profile templates, cogent communications and a streamlined review process.

The NCN Workbook containing four-page profiles and contacts of all Presenting Companies proved a valuable takeaway item for Investors. Several attendees said they would like the opportunity to review the handbook a few more days prior to the meeting in order to be better prepared. While we appreciate this request, NCN policy remains to keep the list of Presenting Companies under wraps until just before the event so that everyone starts out on an even playing field.

Happily, the general level of satisfaction among Investors and Presenters combined was either good (71%) or excellent (29%). Most Companies reported serious interest from 6 or 7 Investors. And when asked how many Companies they actually met to talk with during the day, Investors reported between 3 and 12.

Networking occasions included the welcome dinner at the hotel the night prior to the meeting (about 100 attending), breakfast the following morning, lunch, and an informal gathering at the bar to conclude the event, unwind, chat, and exchange views. Quality of the networking was described as excellent by 29% of respondents and good by 71%.

One interesting realization was that of the 22 companies selected to present, 8 were founded or owned by women, notably disproportionate to norms in other industries that attract venture and equity financing.

Presenting Companies expressed a desire for NCN to find ways to keep them in touch with Investors: “Continue to put together meetings and keep a log of what companies would fit with certain investors and introduce (them),” advised one presenter. This is just what we’ll be doing with the launch of our series of quarterly virtual meetings at which NCN will present 8-10 companies seeking capital in a special webcast format.

Overall we at NCN were pleased with the turnout and result of NCN II. While the ultimate outcome in terms of real transactions resulting from deal flow will take some time to realize, NCN’s definition of success is measured by more than just pure transaction and financing numbers. Presenters and Investors both conveyed that they learned a great deal from the event and from the opportunity to interact with peers and potential partners in a relatively intimate setting.

NCN’s broader mission of accelerating the growth and influence of the nutrition industry and its impact on healthcare and the fitness and well being of the world’s population is shared by virtually everyone in the NCN community. We look forward to swelling our ranks and increasing the flow of investors and entrepreneurs so that together we can achieve shared business objectives and this global mission.

—Grant Ferrier, NCN Principal
info@nutritioncapital.com

What Investors Valued at NCN II

"The 10-minute company presentations. A quick and effective way to sort out companies at a high level.”

"The book, the networking--not just [with] companies, but also other investors.”

"Meeting the other investors, both strategics and private equity firms. Outstanding networking opportunity for those in the industry.”

What Presenters Valued at NCN II

"It brought together a group of investors that were new to [us] and would have been difficult to source on our own. Additionally, the inclusion of the major food companies was great as it gave us access to the key people.”

"Refining our core message and value proposition, cleaning up supporting materials, meeting great companies and investors, exposure to new products and business ideas.”

Nutrition Capital Network
Fall 2007 Investor Meeting
October 17, 2007
San Francisco, Calif.

The Nutrition Capital Network Fall 2007 Investor meeting on October 17, 2007 was a great success, with 24 companies presenting business plans to 59 registered individuals from 48 investment funds and strategic investors. Counting staff and sponsors, we had close to 110 attendees on the day. After brief introductions, company presentations started at about 8.15 a.m. and finished at 12.45 pm. Each presenter was given 10 minutes, and while almost all originally believed it would be insufficient, only two or three ran over their allotted time. Thanks go to Mike Dovbish, director of NCN’s Investment Camp, for streamlining the presentations and rehearsing the companies, and to Tom Aarts, NCN principal, for chairing the morning’s activities.

Investors almost uniformly commented on our evaluation forms that they were impressed with both the quality of the companies and the timing and structure of the morning's events. The vast majority of attendees rated the presenting companies as either excellent or good, and even investors well versed in the nutrition industry said they were pleased to meet several interesting new faces. Presenters clearly enjoyed the opportunity to get in front of motivated, high-caliber investors and network with other CEOs.

A luncheon panel discussion by our lead sponsor HSBC followed the presentations and proved to be of greatest value to the assembled entrepreneurs. Investor panelists gave frank assessments of what they look for in an investment, favorite sectors, stages and even personalities and management teams. Timing, trajectories and exits were also discussed.

The afternoon was devoted to group and one-on-one discussions: Of the 24 companies about a third had 8-12 investors sign up for meetings; another third had about 4-8, and the remaining third had 1-3. However, there were also a number of hallway conversations, so the level of interest was likely greater than these numbers indicate. What emerged clearly were general preferences. Scale was the most obvious, as many professional investors generally lack interest in early-stage companies. Similarly they were attracted to the more ambitious plans. In general the strategic investors understandably were drawn to firms reflecting their own interests and experience. They were also somewhat more drawn to ingredient suppliers and those companies with a proprietary position.

We received word from at least two presenters that they thought a closing likely. About half of the presenters had been fairly seriously trying to raise money before the meeting, so any initial success may not be solely ascribed to NCN, but presenter feedback left no doubt as to the value of having 50 qualified investors as a captive audience.

Finally, we wish you good health, success and prosperity for the remainder of 2007 and 2008 and remind you of our mission to connect investors, entrepreneurs and growth companies and to maximize the flow of capital from motivated, value-added investors to the companies that can best make use of it. As always I invite your input and look forward to supporting your growth in 2008 and beyond.

—Grant Ferrier, NCN Principal
info@nutritioncapital.com

What Investors Valued at NCN I

We distributed evaluation forms after NCN’s Fall 2007 Investor Meeting and got some encouraging feedback:

"Standardized and clear expressions of need from exciting young companies and the entrepreneurs behind them.”

"Meeting 24 companies in a day, some quite interesting and all looking for money.”

"Seeing several companies at one time, in one place.”
"Getting great connections”


What Presenters Valued at NCN I

”It was very educational for us—both finding out what investors were out there and what they may be looking for. It was also helpful to see other presenters and what they were offering.”

"The opportunity to be in discussions with three interested companies as we ramp up production look for strategic partners.”

"Accessibility to potential investors and being in a like-minded environment to network with other companies.”

"Meeting so many relevant investors in one shot and seeing great companies and people too.”

"The opportunity to get in front of a large number of investors of varied background.”