The companies hailed from 8 states and were among 43 startups who presented their business plans to investors at the 13th annual InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum, held April 5 in downtown St. Louis.

Some of the most promising emerging companies clean energy/sustainability fields were showcased at the 13th annual InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum held April 5 in downtown St. Louis. The 2012 InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum featured a total of 43 entrepreneurial growth companies in the life sciences, technology and clean energy sustainability fields. Their representatives spent the past several months preparing to share their business plans with an audience of the nation's top venture capitalists, corporate and private investors, and investment bankers.

"The presenting companies have developed products and services that address many of the global issues making recent headlines, so there was much excitement heading into this year's event," said Chris Walsh, executive director of InvestMidwest. The organization's mission is to provide access to equity capital for emerging, privately held companies seeking venture funds from $1 million to $20 million.

Since its first forum, held in St. Louis in May 2000, InvestMidwest has helped generate over $850 million in investments and acquisitions for innovative growth companies. Because InvestMidwest is such a concentrated opportunity to meet with venture investors, many consider it the Midwest's premier annual venture capital forum.

This year's selected presenters included companies from Kansas, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio and Wisconsin. The applicants were reviewed by a panel of experts, and the companies were selected based on their value, proposition, products/services, financial summaries, management teams and marketing strategies and opportunities.

Among this year's presenters are companies driving the creation of affordable new energy sources. For example, LilyPad EV, located in Overland Park, Kan., is helping to reduce our dependency on gasoline by building a national network of electric vehicle charging stations. The company is the exclusive distributor of Coulomb electric vehicle charging stations in Kansas and Missouri, selling approximately 90 percent of the public -charging stations currently in existence in both states. The complete list of clean energy/sustainability companies who were present at the forum include:

• Algal Scientific Corporation - Location: Plymouth, Michigan
• Arborlight, LLC - Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Atmosphere Recovery, Inc. - Location: Eden Prairie, Minnesota
• C56 Technologies - Location: Middleton, Wisconsin
• Electrochaea - Location: St. Louis, Missouri
• GreenPoint Partners - Location: Chicago, Illinois
• Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technologies - Location: Chicago, Illinois
• IrriGreen, LLC - Location: Eden Prairie, Minnesota
• LilyPad EV - Location: Overland Park, Kansas
• Material Mix, LLC - Location: St. Louis, Missouri
• Midwest Energy Group, Inc. - Location: Carbondale, Illinois
• Navitus Group - Location: Las Cruces, New Mexico
• Xunlight 26 Solar, LLC - Location: Toledo, Ohio



As an additional highlight, the 2012 forum featured presentations by two renowned speakers. Dr. James Bullard, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, served as the breakfast speaker. Dr. Bullard was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Finance in 2011 by Treasury and Risk magazine. Jim McKelvey, a successful entrepreneur and co-founder of the mobile payment company Square, spoke at the luncheon program. Recognized for his work in creating Square and for his role as co-founder of Third Degree Glass Factory, the largest glass art education center in St. Louis, and founder of Mira, a digital publishing company, McKelvey shared his insight on his experiences and gave valuable advice to this year's flourishing enterprises.


The 13th annual InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum was supported by a diverse group of public and corporate sponsors. Organizational sponsors included the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA), Missouri Venture Forum, KCSourceLink and The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.

For more information, visit www.investmidwestforum.com or call 314.444.1151.