Published
Saturday, April 22, 2000 in the St. Paul Pioneer Press
NetSuds plans California trip to pitch
ideas
Sheryl Jean / Pioneer Press
Matt Noah, the Twin Cities man behind last week's venture capital conference where entrepreneurs had one minute to pitch their businesses to investors, plans to take the idea to California's Silicon Valley.
Last week, more than 500 people attended NetSuds' monthly breakfast, Noah's creation, in Bloomington. Thirty people opted to make 60-second pitches to venture capitalists and other investors.
Noah wants to take a group of Minnesota entrepreneurs to Silicon Valley to tout their start-up stories as a way attract big bucks. This time, Noah said, the entrepreneurs will have more than one minute for their pitches.
So far, 52 companies have said they would like to participate, he said. No price has been determined for the trip, which may include outings such as a San Francisco Giants baseball game.
A group effort like this is an unusual approach to raising capital.
``We will charter a large airplane, book a venue, accept sponsors and invite Silicon Valley venture capitalists to listen to the best of Minnesota start-ups,'' Noah said Monday in an e-mail letter. ``We will also be pitching the entire state of Minnesota -- trying to entice people back to Minnesota to join our work force.''
Noah, an entrepreneur himself, formed NetSuds as a networking group for technology professionals in late 1998. He recently quit his job at ADC Telecommunications' office of technology to expand NetSuds in Spring Park into a larger entrepreneurial services enterprise.
His idea was a big hit last week, attracting about 535 attendees at a cost of $50 a person, or about $26,750. In addition, NetSuds received sponsorship and co-hosting fees from 22 companies, with each paying about $2,000 or more.
Sheryl Jean can be reached at sjean@pioneerpress.com or (651) 228-5576.
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