After weeks of preparation, two groups of highly skilled panelists in the alternative energy and retail business sectors have been named to critique the presentations of Revolution Energy and NextChoice. These two companies were recently selected to present their products to the panels and live audience to gain feedback and insight on marketability and finance strategies at the NH High Tech Council’s Entrepreneur Forum on Wednesday, May 18, 2011.
Revolution Energy is a leading provider of alternative energy in the State of New Hampshire and recent recipient of a grant through the Green Launching Pad program. NextChoice™ offers flexible, intelligent, automated smart self-service solutions for the restaurant, grocery, casino and stadium sectors to drastically reduce customer wait time in lines and to improve the customer experience.
The event will be held at the FIRST headquarters located at 200 Bedford Street, Manchester, New Hampshire from 5:20pm until 8:30 pm. The cost for the event is only $25 for NHHTC members, $30 for non-members, and only $10 for students. Individuals can register at NHHTC.org.
The Forum includes a cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres and networking opportunities, as well as a “sky dive pitch” from PoKos Communications. PoKos creates and delivers Social Messaging™, a new text, broadcast and brand marketing software platform for smart phones. Social Messaging enables users to make new connections and enrich their lives, while providing companies and agencies with the first mobile brand marketing solution to reach and engage in continuous conversations with targeted groups. PoKos is based in Portsmouth, NH.
The Revolution Energy Paneilists Include:
M. Curtis Whittaker has been a shareholder of Rath, Young, and Pignatelli since 1991. Curt heads the firm’s Energy Practice Group, and is a member of the Corporate/Business Law Group.
John Harper is the founder and manager of Birch Tree Capital, which offers demonstrated financing expertise for renewable power generation projects. Since 1990, John Harper has been a developer, lender, and equity advisor in arranging, extending, and advising in financing of several gigawatts of power projects.
Tony Grappone is a partner in the Boston. office of Novogradac & Company LLP where he specializes in providing accounting, tax and consulting services to developers, syndicators and investors of projects that qualify for a variety of tax credit programs.
NextChoise Panelists are:
Eduardo Alvarez is an MIT Sloan graduate who has conducted product development research with the MIT media lab and IDEO. He is co-author of MIT best-seller “Design-Inspired Innovation” published in 2006 by World Scientific. He is founder and president of VIGIX.
Randy Dow has over 30 years of Information Systems experience with well over 20 years in strategic and management roles. Randy is currently a co-founder and Managing Partner for BDP Technology Solutions LLC based out of Concord, NH, a systems consulting and Integration Company.
Tim Sweeney serves as Business Development Manager for Telequip Corporation, Salem, NH. Telequip is a subsidiary of Crane Payment Solutions a division of Crane, Co (NYSE:CR). Telequip and its sister companies NRI, Cash Code and Money Controls provide both stand-alone and OEM cash handling products.
About Revolution Energy: Revolution Energy (RE) is a leading provider of alternative energy in the State of New Hampshire. Located in Dover, RE was founded in 2008 with one mission – to make alternative energy affordable. The model is simple: RE installs renewable energy/retrofits existing energy systems and then sells the power generated back to the business in which the site is located. After the completion of the power purchase agreement (PPA), the business can take ownership of the system, and the system continues to generate significant cost savings, as power is no longer purchased from Revolution. Mike Behrman and Clay Mitchell, co-founders of the company, will make the presentation. rev-en.com
About NextChoice: NextChoice™ offers flexible, intelligent, automated smart self-service solutions for the restaurant, grocery, casino and stadium sectors. Designed for easy, flexible and fast integration into busy, large-scale enterprises, NextChoice offers complete, centrally managed, self-service solutions that are scalable and offer high availability with minimal maintenance. Because NextChoice solutions are designed around an open architecture, they work seamlessly with legacy platforms and point-of-sale (POS) systems, and accommodate new technologies easily and quickly, while providing rapid return on investment. Founded in 2003, the company is privately-owned and located in Dover. Dick Andersen, the company president, will make the presentation. nextchoice.com
The NHHTC holds three Entrepreneur Forums per year where attendees discover how to present a plan to potential investors or gain valuable feedback on specific topics. These events are designed to attract attendees that include entrepreneurs who are developing a business idea or have an interest in the subject matter of the presenters, members of the financial and investment community, and students.
Each of the presenting companies is given 15 minutes to present its business plan and receive feedback from a panel of experts and the audience. Typically, panelists include at least one investor (angel, venture capitalist, corporate investor, or financial institution) appropriate for the stage of the company and the amount of capital sought. Other panelists are chosen for their familiarity with the industry, technology, market place or strategic issues being addressed.
The panel acts as venture advisors for an evening and provides feedback and potential solutions to challenges faced by entrepreneurial companies based on their own professional experiences and expertise. These business challenges are those encountered by most entrepreneurial companies – including financial, marketing and sales, technology, operations, management, growth, diversification, and more.
To learn more about the event, go to NHHTC.org or call 603.935-8951. Attendance is limited given space constraints.