By Beth Berselli Washington Post Staff
Writer
It may sound a bit like Perry Mason meets Walt Disney,
but Kenneth J. Lopez thinks his Alexandria company, Animators at Law
Inc., is an investor's dream come true.
The 29-year-old lawyer's pitch: His two-year-old
company sells the right product -- computer-animated videos that present
complex legal material in a compelling way. It employs the right
people -- attorneys and artists with legal expertise. It targets
a specialized audience -- lawyers looking for an affordable, easy-to-use
tool in cases ranging from murder to malpractice.
"Computer animation will be to courtrooms
of the future what photographs are now," predicted Lopez, a former Justice
Department attorney. "Who doesn't like watching movies?" Alas,
all that's stopping Lopez and his partners from realizing their Wall
Street dreams is cash -- $4 million, to be exact. The company needs
the money to expand its operations; it has more business than it can
handle.
Lopez set about finding that money yesterday at
the first day of the Mid-Atlantic Venture Fair, a two-day exposition
at the Sheraton Premiere at Tysons Corner that brings together entrepreneurs
and investors.
He was joined by 95 other companies hoping to score
some gold, including 40 from Virginia and 24 from Maryland. They showed
off their gadgets and bright ideas to more than 80 venture capital firms
from around the country.
The annual fair is a kind of mating ritual between
entrepreneurs and investors, but it's conducted in a science fair-type
atmosphere instead of a trendy nightclub. There's a lot of schmoozing,
a lot of networking and, most important, a lot of salesmanship.
All that can be tiring. "My voice is going to be
dead by the end of the day," Lopez said. "It's been nonstop." Nevertheless,
he said he's pleased with the results so far. "A guy who just did an
IPO for a competitor came by and said, `Hey, I made a lot of money last
time, let's do this again,'" Lopez said. "I got his business card."
Companies hawking their goods included high-tech
start-ups with barely a business plan and established government contractors
that have been in business for a decade or more; CEOs ranged from recent
college graduates to telecommunications industry veterans.
"We're seeing more 28-year-old entrepreneurs
than ever before," said the event's chairman, Frank A. Adams of Maryland's
Grotech Capital Group.
There were companies that sold birth control for
termites, online services targeted at women business owners, and electronic
hand-held gadgets called "Jerry the Pharmacist" that remind patients
when to take their medication. There were companies that run Caribbean-theme
restaurants, develop tests to identify prostate cancer cells and allow
people to check their e-mail over the phone.
As is usual these days, high-tech companies dominated
the day -- 57 of the 95 firms are involved in software, Internet or
communications work.
The entrepreneurs share the hope of convincing venture
capitalists that they're destined to become the next Yahoo Inc. or UUNet
Technologies Inc., a graduate of the fair.
According to organizers, the seven-year-old fair
has helped raise more than $1.3 billion for companies in the region.
Of the 95 firms attending, 61 were designated as
"presenters," meaning that their executives got to give a 10-minute
talk to investors. For the most part, these firms already have received
institutional funding, while the remaining companies there were simply
"exhibitors" that haven't yet won that kind of backing.
Charles W. Newhall III of New Enterprise Associates,
a Baltimore-based venture capital firm, estimated that 60 percent to
70 percent of past presenters received additional funding, and about
15 percent of them eventually went public. The 1995 class of presenters
alone raised more than $250 million. Newhall said the robust economy,
coupled with a stock market that has been strong so far this year despite
recent turbulence, makes this a particularly good time for companies
looking for money.
"The venture firms have money," he said.
According to Venture Capital Journal, the pool of venture capital in
the mid-Atlantic region grew almost four-fold in the last 11 years,
from $1.29 billion in 1985 to $4.72 billion last year.
That's music to Ted Hooban's ears. The 26-year-old
CEO is looking for $2.5 million in funding for his Arlington company,
SuperSonic Boom. The 18-month-old company sells custom-made compact
discs over its Internet site.
Another company exhibiting its goods was HT Medical
Systems Inc. The 10-year-old Rockville firm says it is expanding its
business to make one-of-a-kind virtual reality devices that simulate
various types of surgery and thus allow for realistic rehearsal without
risk to patients.
"We're trying to create the flight simulator
for medicine," said Richard Stacey, vice president of marketing. HT
Medical Systems is looking for $3 million to produce the devices' prototypes
and get them to market.
The venture capital fair traditionally rotates between
Philadelphia and Baltimore. This year marks the first time it has come
to Tysons Corner.
Just getting invited is tough, organizers said.
It's a "highly selective" process, said Grotech's Adam, with about 600
companies applying this year.
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Animators at Law
National Headquarters
814 King Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
800.337.7697
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