Send2Press Newswire

Lucy Hood to Deliver Keynote Presentation at Private Capital Network Breakfast Meeting

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:41:20 GMT

LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 10 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Lucy Hood, former president of Fox Mobile Entertainment will deliver a keynote presentation at the Los Angeles Private Capital Network meeting this month. On April 22nd, the event will kick off at 8:30 a.m. at the Custom Hotel where Hood will share recent experiences pioneering mobile business models and also discuss future plans.

Following Hood's presentation, companies will present to Private Capital Network's invitation-only angel investor breakfast meeting.

Private Capital Network is Southern California's fastest growing angel investor association. Headquartered in Huntington Beach, the company is comprised of past and current business leaders from Southern California who are SEC Accredited Investors.

Private Capital Network invests in early stage companies. Their objective is to help talented entrepreneurs to build lasting businesses of significant value and to participate as active investors.

The association achieves this through mentoring and coaching entrepreneurs in businesses where they invest. They serve on their boards, provide contacts, and also aid in strategic planning.

For more information on the Private Capital Network, Los Angeles chapter, please contact Barbara Bickham: Barbra@privatecapitalnetwork.net; or 323-299-3516.

For more information on the Private Capital Network, contact Doug Pennington: doug@privatecapitalnetwork.net; 949-608-7509; or visit: www.privatecapitalnetwork.net.

All trademarks acknowledged.

Copyright © 2008 Send2Press® Newswire, a unit of Neotrope®
TAGS: Send2Press Newswire, Los Angeles Private Capital Network, angel investor association

LBA Group Makes Premier List of the 5,000 Fastest-Growing U.S. Businesses

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:31:25 GMT

GREENVILLE, N.C. - Oct. 29 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- LBA Group, Inc. announces that it has made Inc. magazine's list of the top 5,000 fastest-growing businesses in the nation with a ranking of 3,613 and a three-year sales growth of 80 percent. Inc. 5,000 lists companies, that when put together, represents the backbone of the U.S. economy.

The Inc. 5,000 is an extension of Inc. magazine's annual 500 list. It finds businesses that are too big to grow at the pace required to make the Inc. 500, as well as a host of smaller firms.

"We are honored to be recognized among the cream of U.S. small businesses," Lawrence Behr, CEO of LBA Group, said. "We attribute our success and this notable achievement to the positive attitude, talent and aggressive bent of our employees."

Based in Greenville, N.C., LBA Group (www.lbagroup.com) is a CMSDC certified small disadvantaged Hispanic business. Since 1963, LBA Group and its core companies, Lawrence Behr Associates, Inc. and LBA Technology, Inc., have provided consulting and manufacturing services for broadcasting, radio frequency users, and the wireless telecommunications' industry. Its antenna products are used by broadcasters and governments, worldwide.

Lawrence Behr Associates, Inc. provides consulting, test, project management and design services in communication system coverage, interference and compatibility matters, electromagnetic shielding, radio frequency safety, and collocation of diverse communications facilities.

"We have broad expertise in regulatory and allocation matters, and radio system coverage and path prediction," Behr said. "Our capabilities include the design of radio communication systems, including new broadband technologies."

LBA Technology, Inc. designs and manufactures sophisticated antenna tuning and coupling systems, as well as transmission system integration, for the low, medium and high frequency radio frequency bands at power levels to 1,000,000 watts. They supply major components for the Voice of America and high-power multiplexed medium wave antenna systems for other international broadcasters. They also manufacture transportable transmitting stations for military and civilian use.

"To be part of this list is truly an honor," Behr added.

Inc.com is a daily resource for entrepreneurs. It delivers advice, tools, breaking news, and rich multi-media to help business owners and CEOs start, run, and grow their businesses more successfully. Information and advice covers virtually every business and management task, including marketing, sales, finding capital, and people management.

"The Inc. 5,000 provides the most comprehensive look ever at the most important part of the economy - the entrepreneurial part," Inc. 5,000 Project Manager, Jim Melloan, said. "The expansion of the list has allowed us to tell the stories of larger companies, older companies, and a wealth of companies in industries like Manufacturing and Construction that are underreported in the business media."

The list features a profile for each company, mostly based on interviews with management. And, it is searchable according to numerous criteria including industry, city, state, region, and year founded.

Methodology was based on revenue growth measurement from 2003 through 2006. As of December 31, 2006, to qualify, companies had to be U.S.-based and privately held, independent - not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies -and have had at least $200,000 in revenue in 2003, and $2 million in 2006.

The 2007 Inc. 5,000, as revealed online at www.inc.com, reported median revenue of $9.4 million and median three-year growth of 140 percent.

Complete information on this year's Inc. 5,000 can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000.

Investors Evaluate Early Stage Companies through Online Videos at PlanHeaven

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 22:59:00 GMT

SEATTLE, Wash. - June 21 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- PlanHeaven.com announced today that it has launched an online marketplace showcasing video pitches from early stage companies to a nationwide audience of angel investors. The focus on online video combined with other communication tools differentiates PlanHeaven.com from similar services.

"A large number of early stage companies have tremendous difficulty obtaining funding, not because they are bad opportunities, but simply because there isn't enough infrastructure to efficiently match the right opportunities with the right angel investors," said founder and CEO Larry Peterson.

Angel investing accounts in total for almost as much money invested annually as all venture capital funds combined, but angel investments fund ten times as many companies.

"It's largely a numbers game. The more exposure to the investment community an entrepreneur can get the better. PlanHeaven allows entrepreneurs to cast a 'wide net' to catch the right angels locally and nationwide," explained Mr. Peterson.

Already 21 early stage companies have listed on the website from a variety of industries. All visitors see the list of companies but they must register as an accredited investor (no charge) before being able to see details and access additional features.

Entrepreneurs can get listed for a fee of $49/month.

About PlanHeaven
PlanHeaven.com was founded in 2007 by a Seattle based entrepreneur and an angel investor. The website (www.planheaven.com) uses online video pitches and communication tools to foster communication, feedback, and investment connections between early stage companies and angel investors.

Copyright © 2007 Send2Press® Newswire, a unit of Neotrope®
TAGS: Send2Press Newswire, PlanHeaven early stage companies, locate angel investors

Infrastruct Security, Inc. Exceeds $20 Million Annual Revenue with New Round of Financing

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:30:00 GMT

HOUSTON, Texas - June 4 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Infrastruct Security, Inc. (www.infrastructsecurity.com) announces that its latest round of financing has pushed the company over the $20 million mark and helped the company meet its initial business goals within its first year of operation.

Part of the proceeds from this $3 million second round of financing were used to merge with Dowley Security, based in Oklahoma City. This merger takes Infrastruct Security to a $20 million+ company with offices in Houston, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Phoenix, plus a new office opening in Baton Rouge, LA. The Dowley merger also positions Infrastruct for its second major business goal - dominating both the Gulf Coast region and the petrochemical niche.

"Our plan has always been to start dominating Houston, then the region and then a niche and to crest over the $20 million mark," says Daniel Weiss, CEO & President of Infrastruct Security, Inc. "Now we have the size and the niche. We have met two big goals for the company six months earlier than expected."

In June, 2006, Infrastruct was formed with the contribution of General Cabling and Security (GCS), founder and CEO Weiss's second security startup. In the first round of financing, featuring investors Murphree Venture Partners, Stonehendge, Jeminson and Louisiana Fund, GCS merged into a new company, Infrastruct Security. Since that time, Infrastruct has made one major acquisition, Monarch Security in November 2006, and three smaller acquisitions. These pushed the company into the $14 million range and positioned them as one of the dominant players in the region.

Although Infrastruct has grown considerably through its acquisitions, Weiss stresses that the company still generates 70 percent of its revenue from organic sales and recurring revenue. "The Infrastruct Security model is unique: We are an integrator that produces monthly recurring revenue (RMR); we do not live and die for the next big project," he notes.

Now that the initial goals have been met, the company looks forward to the next phase of development. "Infrastruct Security was started to dominate this region and the petrochemical niche," Weiss says. "The Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, triangle make up the petrochemical heart of the United States. We are now the most dominant provider in this niche and region. With the passage of the chemical security bills and the development of real enforcement for this niche, Infrastruct Security is at the right place at the right time."

About Infrastruct Security
From the fence line to the boardroom, Infrastruct Security, Inc. is a leader in providing unique, turnkey security solutions that are specifically designed for both large- and mid-sized commercial and industrial sites. They have the certification to perform vulnerability assessments of chemical facilities as mandated by the 2007 Homeland Security Bill. Infrastruct Security, Inc.'s IS3 process methodology is comprised of IC - Consultation; Is - Systems; and IS - Ongoing Service.

Company website: www.infrastructsecurity.com

Copyright © 2007 Send2Press® Newswire, a unit of Neotrope®
TAGS: Send2Press Newswire, turnkey security solutions, Infrastruct Security Inc

Social Network Technology and VoIP Provider YFonGlobal Raises Second Angel Round for a Total of $1.8 Million

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 13:30:00 GMT

Angel Investors 'Matching Funds' Offer Sparks Interest from Wider Investment Community

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Mar. 21 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- YFonGlobal, a leading-edge provider of turnkey social network marketing technology, reports raising its second angel round of funding for a total of $1.8 million with an opportunity to raise $2.1 million from one angel investor's matching funds offer. YFonGlobal leaders say they plan to use these funds to expand sales and marketing of their wyndstorm(TM) social network software geared towards associations, political organizations and campaigns, small businesses, or virtual companies such as a marketing company managing a viral marketing program, or other groups with a common affinity.

wyndstorm(TM) is a hosted social networking platform that can be easily rolled out and rapidly scaled-with over 50 features-including billing & payment processing for downloaded content, click-to-call a buddy, and management of viral marketing campaigns.

Lawrence A. McLernon, former CEO, LCI International, a long distance service provider, who later sold to QWEST Communications Corp., now YFonGlobal's Chairman says, "Within the next year, I predict that CEO Marian Sabety's vision for wyndstorm, YFonGlobal's flagship collaboration and social network application, will be realized. wyndstorm will be an industry leader in content sharing and mobile collaboration, becoming the "go-to" solution for connecting online communities. wyndstorm is already demonstrating to be the easiest, most flexible and robust backbone for social network marketing management. Awareness of wyndstorm has grown fast because of wyndstorm's smart integration of several online communications and collaboration technologies --making it the right product, at the right place, at the right time," McLernon continued.

YFonGlobal angel investors include telecommunications and information technology luminaries such as:

Patrick A. Gross is the founder of American Management Systems, now part of CGI. Pat serves on the Board of Directors of Capital One, Hibernia National Bank, Computer Career Education Corporation, Mobius Management Systems, Inc. Liquidity Services, Inc., as well as the Aspen Institute.

John Hibbard, Telstra Global Wholesale's former Managing Director, was responsible for the international carrier business worldwide for Australia's largest telephone company. John is on the Executive Board of the Pacific Telecommunications Council and was Chairman of the Australia Japan Cable.

Thomas Hudson is Chairman of Connectivity Solutions, and the former Chairman and CEO of Computer Network Technology Corporation (CNT), acquired by McDATA. Tom serves on the Board of Directors of McData, as well as Incentra, Plato Learning Software, Ciprico, and Lawson Software.

Richard T. Liebhaber, is the former SVP Network Operations and member of the Board of Directors of MCI. Dick now serves on the Board of Directors of JDSU, Cogent Communications, Avici and ILOG, all NASDAQ-listed.

wyndstorm's second customer is reported to be a 1.6 million subscriber base targeting university students who seek a private social network to research, collaborate and learn together on a worldwide basis in a safe and protected environment. Key industries that have expressed interest are advertising agencies who care to outsource, but still retain control over branding and message management of a client's social network; associations who desire to invest in a high impact, yet cost-effective member benefit with potential for recurring revenue, as well as large corporations with strong brand communities.

About YFonGlobal, LLC
YFonGlobal, a Washington D.C.-based company, provides turnkey social networking technology tightly integrated with Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) IP network solutions for affinity marketing leaders. Using their wyndstorm(TM) hosted application, clients can rapidly tailor and privately brand their custom social network by selecting among over 22 pre-built, pre-tested function modules. wyndstorm(TM) provides search, state-of-the-art network security, click-to-call, and other value-add features that provide high value collaboration and programming for private brand marketing.

For more information about YFonGlobal, LLC, visit www.yfonglobal.com.

Text provided by an agency, Nancy Rose & Assoc. - PR, on behalf of the news source.

Copyright © 2007 Send2Press® Newswire, a unit of Neotrope®
TAGS: Send2Press Newswire, wyndstorm social networking platform, YFonGlobal LLC

Napatech Receives USD 7.5 Million Venture Capital Funding

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 17:15:00 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - Mar. 7 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Napatech today announced the investment of USD 7.5 million from existing investors Ferd Venture and Northzone Ventures. Napatech is the market leader in programmable high-speed Ethernet network adapters.

"We are very pleased with the acceptance that Napatech has achieved in the market since our acquisition of the Xyratex adapter business one year ago, internally the acquisition has also been a smooth ride," says Henrik Brill Jensen, CEO, "This new substantial funding allows us to further profit on the market interest shown in our products and to accelerate our world wide sales efforts."

Napatech's solutions enable OEM customers to scale network monitoring appliances, traffic analyzers and recorders, testers and security products to the rapidly growing Ethernet speeds and traffic load. The solutions enable many applications by offloading CPU/memory and bus architectures.

"The Napatech product portfolio of both 1Gb and 10Gb adaptors and the strong market presence especially in the USA enterprise market, positions Napatech ideally to move into new interesting areas like the government sector for security & traffic monitoring solutions alongside its current market segments," says Bjorn Erik Reinseth, partner in Ferd Venture. "The new funding is aimed at increasing the sales presence in several geographies and to secure that our valued OEM customers can continue to be served with world class support even during the rapid growth ahead."

"Having supported Napatech since the inception I am personally pleased that Napatech has made it to market leadership in intelligent network adapters, and it is extremely satisfying to enable customers to scale their solutions and reinforce their market leadership," says Gregers Kronborg, general partner in Northzone Ventures. "I would like to congratulate the whole Napatech team with the achievement, and at the same time challenge them to address new opportunities with OEM customers being the leaders within their respective application solutions."

Napatech's product portfolio includes 1Gb and 10Gb platforms that offer real-time deep packet inspection solutions for network management, traffic analysis and recording, security applications and a toolbox enabling customers to implement their own proprietary intellectual property on the network adapter.

The round was led by existing investors Northzone Ventures and Ferd Venture. The employees and invited investors with relations to Napatech will also be invited to invest on the same conditions as the lead investors.

About Napatech
Founded in 2003, Napatech develops, produces and markets programmable and intelligent Ethernet adapters. The core idea is off-loading real-time/streaming traffic and payload analysis and control applications traditionally implemented in software or proprietary hardware. Napatech experience a huge growth in the demand for intelligent and programmable adapters as Ethernet speeds increase. The current PC architecture limits the amount of bandwidth that can be handled by the PCI bus and CPU/memory. Napatech offers its products to OEM customers. In 2006 Napatech acquired and successfully integrated the network adapter business of Xyratex (Nasdaq: XRTX). Napatech has marketing and R&D offices in Mountain View, California and Copenhagen, Denmark. Napatech is a 2004 Tornado100 Winner. Napatech is funded by Northzone Ventures, Ferd Venture, SeedCapital and a group of business angels with vast experience within networking.

For further information, please visit www.napatech.com.

About Ferd Venture
Ferd Venture is part of the Ferd Group, which is one of Norway's leading investment companies. Ferd Venture primarily invests in Nordic ICT companies that are seeking capital for further commercialisation and growth, and which have the potential to sustain long-term competitive advantage. Ferd Venture has a team of 6 investment professionals based out of offices in Oslo, and has significant funds available for new investments. The current portfolio consists of 11 companies: Affitech, Bone Support, Cinevation, Colibria, HELP Forsikring, Marical, Mohive, Nacre, Napatech, Ship Equip and Vensafe.

For further information, please visit www.ferdventure.no.

About Northzone
Northzone Ventures, a leading Nordic technology VC, was established in 1996. Northzone Ventures consists of 11 people and offices in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo. Northzone is actively engaged in about 25 Scandinavian technology companies. Current and past portfolio companies include Pricerunner, Asetek, Enigma Semiconductor, Speakanet, Funcom, Lastminute.com, Revolt, Mamut, Nextgentel, Stepstone and Trolltech.

For further information, please visit www.northzone.com.

For additional information please contact:

Napatech is a trademark used under license by Napatech A/S. All other logos, brand names and product names are trademarks of their respective companies.

Text provided by the news source.

Copyright © 2007 Send2Press® Newswire, a unit of Neotrope®
TAGS: Send2Press Newswire, Napatech Inc, intelligent Ethernet adapters

CADFORCE, Inc. Announces $3.1 Million in Venture Capital Financing

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 20:49:00 GMT

Louisiana Ventures, LP and Rincon Venture Partners Invest In Los Angeles-based Architectural Services Firm in Series B Round

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Dec. 1 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- CADFORCE, the Los Angeles-based global leader in outsourced architectural services, today announced that it has raised $3.1 million in a Series B funding round. Louisiana Ventures, LP, of Bossier City, Louisiana led the round with a $1.5 million investment. This follows Rincon Venture Partners' August 2005 Series A, bringing the total capital investment in CADFORCE to just under $5 million. Rincon and the Tech Coast Angels also participated in the Series B. In addition, CADFORCE's Board of Directors has chosen to keep the Series B round open for additional investment of $1.4 million.

The financing will be primarily used to sustain the growth of systems, personnel, and infrastructure in CADFORCE's Los Angeles headquarters and three facilities in India. CADFORCE currently has 45 employees in the United States and approximately 150 in Kolkata and Hyderabad, India. The number of employees in the United States is projected to increase to 100 by the end of 2007, as CADFORCE expands to new domestic markets.

Joining CADFORCE's Board of Directors from the new investor group will be Ross Barrett, Managing Partner of Louisiana Ventures and John Klein, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (NASDAQ: CTSH).

"Our decision to invest in CADFORCE was a particularly strategic one, given that the largest domestic reconstruction project in American history is currently taking place on Gulf Coast soil," said Ross Barrett, Managing Partner of Louisiana Ventures. "CADFORCE's high quality services, top-level management team, and unique 'blendshore' business model position it to be the premier provider of round-the-clock architectural services for New Orleans' rebuilding efforts."

Barrett's sentiment is shared by other investors:

"CADFORCE offers a client-focused approach that combines the innovative thinking of American architects with significant cost savings derived from the capabilities of its offshore drafting facilities," said John Klein. "This model is similar to many other companies in which I have been involved, and when combined with high quality it has proven to be a winning strategy. I predict great things for CADFORCE, because it has successfully laid the groundwork for the creation of a new, multi-billion dollar market."

Jim Andelman, General Partner of Rincon Venture Partners, concurs. "We're proud to invest in CADFORCE," he said. "The company has emerged as the clear industry leader due to a first-class management team that is adept at strategic and aggressive expansion, accentuates customer service, and knows how to attract the best and brightest minds from all fields. We're looking forward to a long and productive relationship with CADFORCE."

"With our recent infusion of capital, we are now poised to dominate a multi-billion dollar industry that is undergoing a global transformation," said Bob Vanech, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CADFORCE. "The demand we are currently experiencing has surpassed all of our projections, as architects are coming to us from every corner of the US."

About CADFORCE

CADFORCE is the global leader in outsourced architectural services. CADFORCE uses a unique, client-driven blendshore project delivery approach, with drafting facilities in India collaborating with a US-based architectural team. Now in its fourth year of operation, CADFORCE provides exceptional construction document production and cutting-edge CAD and BIM support services for architects and homebuilders nationwide. In an industry known for razor-thin margins, CADFORCE saves architects and homebuilders as much as 75% of their production costs on construction documents and other CAD work.

CADFORCE has over 350 customers in over 30 states, including the majority of publicly-traded homebuilders and architects of all sizes. CADFORCE specializes in production of construction documents in Autodesk's (NYSE: ADSK) family of CAD software including Architectural Desktop, AutoCAD and Revit, and also supports other software platforms.

In addition to its headquarters in Los Angeles and three facilities in India, CADFORCE operates regional sales offices in New York; Chicago; Boston; Portland; San Francisco; Miami; Denver; Atlanta; Dallas; Houston; Washington, DC; Wisconsin and Virginia. CADFORCE expects to continue growing its national presence and expanding its offshore facilities within the next year.

For more information visit www.cadforce.com or call (310) 437-6300.

Copyright © 2006 Send2Press® Newswire, a unit of Neotrope®
TAGS: Send2Press Newswire, outsourced architectural services, Cadforce Los Angeles

Epeius Biotechnologies Corporation Receives $400,000 Grant to Support Gene Therapy Trials for Pancreatic Cancer

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 16:07:00 GMT

SAN MARINO, CA - June 19 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Epeius Biotechnologies Corporation announced today that the Company has been awarded a $400,000 grant by the Lazarex Cancer Foundation to expand and support ongoing cancer gene therapy clinical trials for advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Rexin-G(TM) is the world's first targeted injectable gene therapy vector to be approved for use in clinical trials in the USA and abroad. When injected intravenously, Rexin-G(TM) seeks out and destroys metastatic cancer, without the systemic toxicity generally associated with chemotherapy.

Rexin-G recently gained Orphan Drug status as an effective treatment for pancreatic cancer in the United States, and is currently available in clinical trials in Rochester MN.

In a statement to the press, Ms. Dana Dornsife, President of the Lazarex Cancer Foundation said: "We are pleased to provide Epeius Biotechnologies Corporation the funds needed to expedite the development of such promising genetic medicines, which - by improving both the survival and the quality of life - provide cancer patients with more quality time."

More information: http://www.epeiusbiotech.com

Crescent Diagnostics Secures Venture Capital Financing Investment to Advance the Development of its Novel Bone Quality Test

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 15:28:00 GMT

LONDON, UK - June 13 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Crescent Diagnostics Ltd. (Crescent), a privately held company developing a new test for bone health, today announced the completion of a GBP 550,000 (Euros 800,000) funding round. Seroba BioVentures (Seroba), a Dublin-based specialist life science venture capital firm led the round in conjunction with a number of private investors.

Crescent, founded in 2004, is a development stage diagnostic company focused on advancing its Bone Quality Test (BQT), discovered through the work of Dr. Mark Towler and Prof. Declan Lyons at the Materials and Surface Science Institute, University of Limerick, Ireland. BQT is a novel method of assessing osteoporosis fracture risk and drug response simply by examining the human fingernail. The current gold standard method involves exposing the patient to expensive x-ray based DEXA scans.

In preliminary clinical studies, Crescent has shown that its BQT was a better predictor of fracture risk than DEXA. Awareness of bone quality as an important factor in bone health and in determining risk of bone fractures is growing. Current tests do not adequately evaluate this factor. A definitive test for bone quality would offer an important new tool. The market opportunity is significant as one in two women and one in four men in the USA over 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture (US based National Osteoporosis Foundation).

The BQT exploits a simple non-invasive technique called Raman spectrometry to carry out the analysis. Dr. Towler and his group have discovered that the keratin in fingernail structure could be a surrogate marker for collagen in bone structure. This discovery addresses the problems of accessibility and accuracy in current tests for osteoporosis and bone fracture risk. BQT has applications in drug and food supplement marketing support as a biomarker for monitoring patients during and after treatment. The company's first pharmaceutical research drug monitoring deal was signed in July 2005. Crescent is currently exploring a number of other potential corporate partnerships.

The company now plans to conduct additional human clinical trials alone and in conjunction with partners to continue the development and validation of the BQT. Crescent will also continue its R&D efforts through its Irish-based subsidiary.

"We are delighted to attract new capital from Seroba, a successful venture capital investor," said Ernest Poku, CEO and Founder of Crescent "we believe we have a truly novel test and this financing will allow us to pursue our development and commercialization strategy." Mr Poku continued, "There are significant limitations in relation to costs, prediction ability and availability associated with the existing tests and we believe there is a real opportunity for a new simple, accurate non-invasive test like BQT to grow the market."

As part of the financing, Alan O'Connell, Partner from Seroba will join the board of directors. Dr. O'Connell commenting on the investment said, "We are pleased to have led this financing round for Crescent. The BQT is a novel approach that offers new opportunities in monitoring bone health and has a large number of potential commercial applications. We look forward to working with Ernie and his team to maximize the value of the opportunity."

About Crescent Diagnostics:

Crescent Diagnostics is redefining the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis by developing a novel biomarker based on assessing human fingernail structure as a surrogate marker for bone structure. A bone quality marker could be a simpler, more accurate way of assessing bone fracture risk than current methods. Crescent Diagnostics is based in Limerick, Ireland and London, UK. For more information visit www.crescentds.com

About Seroba BioVentures Limited:

Seroba BioVentures is the manager of The Irish BioScience Venture Capital Fund, Ireland's first venture capital fund exclusively dedicated to the life science and medical technologies sectors on the island of Ireland. Seroba provides support to promising start-up and early-stage life science and medical technology companies arising from leading Irish research institutes, universities, research hospitals and existing companies. For more information visit www.seroba.ie

Authernative, Inc. Raises $2.5 Million in Series A Funding to Extend Its Position as Emerging Provider of User Authentication and Identity Management Solutions

Wed, 12 Apr 2006 16:09:00 GMT

REDWOOD CITY, CA - April 12 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Authernative, Inc., the developer of innovative user authentication and identity management technologies, has raised $2.5 Million in Series A financing from venture capital and distinguished private investors including First Round Capital, WS Investments, Dave Duffield, Peggy Taylor, Ron Conway, and Scott Seligman.

As cyber crime continues to proliferate, hindering e-business confidence and fueling regulatory pressure, organizations are compelled to protect their digital assets and users from unauthorized access, identity theft & transaction risks with stronger forms of authentication than conventional passwords. Correspondingly, new challenges arise as user authentication and identity management requirements continue to expand beyond enterprise constituencies to the mass consumer level, further widening the security, usability, and affordability gap between password-only systems and advanced authentication solutions.

Authernative's innovative user authentication & identity management technologies enable organizations to meet these challenges with advanced forms of authentication that are less costly and easier to use, deploy, and support than the currently available strong authentication offerings.

AuthGuard(TM), the company's user authentication product, provides a flexible multi-level security authentication console, which offers a range of patent-pending multi-factor, multi-channel, and mutual authentication technologies to best address the security and usability requirements of users. The authentication solution is further complemented by PassEnabler(TM), an integrated modularized secure authorization, administration, and auditing suite providing a complete off-the-shelf identity management solution.

Authernative innovative solutions can bring significant value to consumer service providers, enterprises, ASPs, and small & medium businesses seeking to:

* provide personalized levels of security and ease of use specific to the user's needs or company's policies without any devices or downloads

* offer the similar high level of security found in hardware-based authenticators while preserving the cost-effective electronic mass deployment and the ease of use, typical of passwords

* provide multiple authentication options ranging from passwords to advanced authentication methods

* empower users with visible and tangible authentication security giving them control and reassurance that their identity and transactions are secure

* protect against Phishing, Trojans, Man-in-the-Middle and other types of attacks

* provide advanced auditing, administration, and user self-service capabilities to address compliance with mandatory regulations including FFIEC, GLBA, SOX, HIPAA, and the upcoming Specter-Leahy Bill, Financial Data Protection Act, and Data Accountability and Trust Act

The funds will go toward building awareness and expanding sales of AuthGuard(TM) and PassEnabler(TM) solutions in the market.

About Authernative:

Authernative develops, markets, and sells innovative patent-pending software security solutions offering comprehensive user identity and access management (I&AM) capabilities over electronic networks including strong authentication, authorization, administration, and auditing (AAAA). The company's products are used to prevent unauthorized access to confidential data, identity theft, and financial loss.

They allow businesses to lower the cost of providing, deploying, and managing strong user authentication and authorization capabilities for enabling e-commerce, regulatory compliance, secure business communications and transactions with customers, suppliers, and employees.

More information: http://www.authernative.com

LFR Communications, Inc. dba Graphcard.com to Raise $5,000,000 Via Private Placement

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 15:00:00 GMT

LAUREL, MD (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- LFR Communications, Inc. dba www.graphcard.com; "Graphcard" or the "Company" is pleased to announce its private placement of 5,000,000 units at $1.00 per unit for total proceeds of $5,000,000.

Each unit is comprised of one common share (the "Shares") at $1.00 per common share (the "Offering"). Insiders will subscribe for a significant portion of the Offering. The Offering is expected to close on or before April 30th 2007.

The proceeds will be used to accelerate sales, marketing efforts, working capital in the United States and to customize our payment gateway to be used for local payments in selected countries.

The private placement is subject to final approval.

About Graphcard:

Graphcard acts as a means of payment for 250 million (1/3) internet users in over 260 countries who don't have access to traditional credit cards. The market is projected to be one third of the world's 750 million internet users.

THE SECURITIES OFFERED HEREBY HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE "ACT"), THE SECURITIES LAWS OF THE STATE OF MARYLAND, OR UNDER THE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY OTHER STATE OR JURISDICTION IN RELIANCE UPON THE EXEMPTIONS FROM REGISTRATION PROVIDED BY THE ACT AND REGULATION D RULE 506 PROMULGATED THEREUNDER, AND THE COMPARABLE EXEMPTIONS FROM REGISTRATION PROVIDED BY OTHER APPLICABLE SECURITIES LAWS.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements contained in this document which are not historical fact are forward-looking statements based upon management's current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements.

For more information, contact:

George Oluwaboro, cpa Chief Financial Officer

Catherine Berruer, Vice president

of LFR Communications, Inc. dba GRAPHCARD.COM

+1-301-368-9245
+1-301-483-0923 (FAX)
investors @ graphcard.net

http://www.graphcard.com/learnmore/

Napatech Receives $5 Million Venture Capital Funding

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 15:42:00 GMT

ARCHIVAL CONTENT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark and MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Napatech today announced the investment of $5 million from Ferd Venture, Northzone Ventures and DTU Innovation. Napatech is the leader in programmable high speed Ethernet network adapters. The investment coincides with Napatech's acquisition of the network adapter business of storage solution leader Xyratex.

"We are very pleased with the confidence in Napatech's business opportunity shown by the investors, and I in particular welcome the new investor Ferd Venture," says Henrik Brill Jensen, CEO, "The funding enables us specifically to acquire the adapter business of Xyratex and to react effectively to the demand we experience in the market."

Napatech's solutions enable OEM customers to scale network monitoring appliances, traffic analysers and recorders, testers and security products to the rapidly growing Ethernet speeds and traffic load. The solutions enable many applications by off-loading CPU/memory and bus architectures.

"The network traffic is growing at a pace three times faster than the CPU capacity. As more companies move to gigabit networks there will be an increasing need for programmable network adapters to offload the CPU and Napatech is a strong company in this market," says Bjorn Erik Reinseth, partner in Ferd Venture.

"This dual transaction solidifies Napatech's position in the market to the great advantage of the customers," says Gregers Kronborg, general partner in Northzone Ventures, "The strategy to specialize in programmable network adapter platforms that supports a multitude of OEM customers is being widely accepted and leveraged."

Napatech's product portfolio includes a 1Gb and a 10Gb platform that offer solutions for network management, traffic analysis and recording, security applications and a toolbox enabling customers to implement their own proprietary intellectual property on the network adapter.

The round was led by Ferd Venture. As Nordic early stage ICT investors Ferd Venture and existing investor Northzone Ventures put emphasis on working closely with the founders and management to develop the company. The existing investor DTU Innovation, which is a fund related to the Danish Technical University, also participated in the round.

Private investor, and formerly co-founder and COO of the Danish public networking company Olicom, Kurt Nybroe-Nielsen will continue as chairman of Napatech. Bjorn Erik Reinseth from Ferd Ventures will join the board. Gregers Kronborg, formerly co-founder of Danish cable broadband start-up COCOM that was acquired by Cisco in 1999, continues on the board as vice-chairman. Also continuing on the board is co-founder and CTO of Napatech Jens Christophersen, formerly lead architect with COCOM and Cisco. Finally, Erik Norup, former director of marketing in Cisco will continue to serve on the board of Napatech.

About Napatech

Founded in 2003, Napatech produces programmable and intelligent Ethernet adapters. The core idea is off-loading real-time/streaming traffic and payload analysis and control applications traditionally implemented in software or proprietary hardware. Napatech expects a huge growth in the demand for intelligent and programmable adapters as Ethernet speeds increase. The current PC architecture limits the amount of bandwidth that can be handled by the PCI bus and CPU/memory. Napatech offers its products to OEM customers. Napatech has marketing and R&D offices in Mountain View, California and Copenhagen, Denmark. Napatech is a 2004 Tornado100 Winner. Napatech is funded by Northzone Ventures, Ferd Venture, DTU-Innovation and a group of business angels with vast experience within networking. http://www.napatech.com

About Ferd Venture

Ferd Venture is part of Ferd, which is one of Norway's leading investment companies. Ferd Venture primarily invests in Nordic technology-based companies that are seeking capital for further commercialisation and growth, and which have the potential to sustain long-term competitive market advantage. Ferd Venture has a team of 6 investment professionals based out of offices in Oslo, and has significant capital reserves available for new investments. The current portfolio consist of 10 companies including Affitech, Bone Support, Cinevation, Colibria, Forbrukerforsikring, Genkey, Marical, Mohive, Nacre and Vensafe.

For further information, please visit www.ferdventure.no.

About Northzone

Northzone Ventures, the venture capital management company, was established in 1996. Northzone Ventures has a team of 10 people and offices in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo. Northzone is actively engaged in about 20 Scandinavian technology companies. Current and past portfolio companies include Pricerunner, Asetek, Enigma Semiconductor, Speakanet, Funcom, Lastminute.com, Mamut, Nextgentel, Stepstone and Trolltech.

For further information, please visit www.northzone.com.

About DTU Innovation

DTU Innovation is a pre-seed venture company. DTU Innovation has 100 MDKK under management. The funds are partly government money and partly venture money from a group of the largest Danish companies.

For further information, please visit www.dtu-innovation.dk.

InSciTek Secures $2 Million in Additional Funding from Enhanced Capital Partners LLC

Tue, 28 Feb 2006 15:03:00 GMT

Total investment in company exceeds $16 million

FAIRPORT, NY (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Further demonstrating its emerging leadership in the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) marketplace, InSciTek Microsystems Inc. (www.inscitek.com) announced today that it has received a $2 million investment from Enhanced Capital Partners LLC.

With this additional funding, total investment in InSciTek has exceeded $16 million, which the company is leveraging to bolster its proven Allworx product line and its sales and marketing operations (www.allworx.com).

Enhanced Capital Partners LLC officials stated that it made this investment because InSciTek/Allworx is well-positioned for tremendous growth due to its cutting-edge communication solutions and the fact that an outstanding management team composed of seasoned Fortune 500 executives leads the company.

"InSciTek is delighted that Enhanced Capital has made this investment in our company. I believe it is a reflection of the growing excitement for VoIP communications within the small business market," said George Daddis Jr., president and CEO, InSciTek. "This latest round of funding further exemplifies the confidence investors have in our business model, in our growing product portfolio, in our technology and in our strategy for future growth."

About InSciTek/Allworx

Founded in 1998, InSciTek Microsystems Inc. (www.inscitek.com) is a multi-million-dollar company based in Fairport, N.Y. Its experienced engineers - specializing in imaging, systems monitoring and communications applications - apply hardware and software expertise to help a range of businesses develop high-performance, cost-effective products that are strong, smart and easy to use. The company's consulting division provides high-end product development technology consulting to Fortune 500 and other companies.

Allworx - InSciTek's product division - provides a complete, feature-rich Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and PC network system that allows small- and medium-sized businesses to make a low-cost, no-risk transition to VoIP - at their own pace and without disruption to existing operations. Allworx offers a powerful combination of traditional and Internet-telephone capabilities that enables customers to improve productivity and to save money. For more information, visit www.allworx.com or call 1-866-ALLWORX (255-9679).

About Enhanced Capital Partners

Enhanced Capital Partners LLC (www.enhancedcapital.net), formed in 1999, is a national investment firm specializing in state-specific investments in small and emerging companies with its private investment funds. The company's goal is to promote the growth and expansion of small businesses, while attaining significant returns for its investors by mentoring and leveraging additional private equity for its portfolio companies through its partnerships.

Enhanced Capital Partners LLC made the InSciTek investment from its New York Capital Fund. The company also has established investment funds in Alabama, Colorado, Louisiana, Texas and Washington, D.C.

Point to Point, Inc. Announces Emergence from Bankruptcy; Components of Bankruptcy Financing

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 11:46:00 GMT

KANSAS CITY, MO (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Point to Point, Inc. (formerly known as Point to Point Business Development, Inc.) announced that it will emerge from bankruptcy today.

The reorganization plan includes a line of credit arranged through AGS Capital LLC, a private equity firm located in Indianapolis, IN. Alan Symons, Chairman of the Board for AGS Capital said, "We are very excited about Point to Point and its on line e-procurement platform. Based on our knowledge of the marketplace Point to Point is poised to become a major player in the B2B procurement space." Under the terms of its financing Point to Point will relocate its corporate headquarters to Indianapolis, allowing it to take advantage of AGS Capital's management resources.

Point to Point reached agreement with its creditors to share future profits with its creditors for three years.

Scott J. Weaver, President, said, "I wish to thank the many individuals, including our customers, suppliers and employees who have worked so hard to reach this most important milestone. Point to Point can now move forward without the costs and burdens of bankruptcy, well-positioned to take advantage of our procurement, payment processing and 'push' technologies."

About Point to Point, Inc.

Point to Point (P2P) is an emerging leader in e-procurement services including maintenance repair and operations (MRO) spend, storeroom and inventory management, centralized payment processing, and centralized controls. As part of its service offering, P2P owns and hosts its own e-commerce platform. This "Private Trading Exchange (PTX)" bridges customers to their suppliers through an electronic portal reducing the internal costs and waste associated with indirect spend such as purchase orders, invoices, and checks. Centralized payment processing is performed by pushing all payments electronically.

Point to Point Construction Management, Inc., offers a similar PTX to new home builders bridging them to their sub contractors. The platform improve controls reduces costs and through its "One Click Electronic Lien Release" technology builders are able to effectively manage liens in a way never before able. Centralized payment processing is performed by pushing all payments electronically.

Additional information on Point to Point, Inc. is available at www.p2pmro.com.

Contact: Scott J. Weaver, President, scott.weaver@mrosoup.com, 317-895-2700.

CADFORCE Secures $1.7 Million in Series A Funding Led By Santa Barbara-Based Venture Capital Firm, Rincon Venture Partners

Wed, 15 Feb 2006 20:35:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES, CA (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- CADFORCE, Inc. (www.cadforce.com), a Los Angeles-based provider of outsourced CAD drafting services for architects and homebuilders, has secured a $1.7 million Series A round of financing led by Rincon Venture Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm, based in Santa Barbara, CA. The Series A round also included members of Southern California's Tech Coast Angels, and a handful of other industry insiders. Douglas Webster, Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions at MCI, and Jim Andelman, General Partner at Rincon Venture Partners, will join Robert Vanech, Chief Executive Officer of CADFORCE, on the Board.

CADFORCE provides specialized technology-based services including drafting, production of construction documents, and photo-realistic renderings for architects, homebuilders, engineers, and others who use CAD software. The Company has deployed a unique, around-the-clock, "blend-shore" execution model; its drafting facility, located in Calcutta, India, collaborates with the quality control team in the United States. Leveraging a web-based, technology-transfer platform, advances in broadband communication, and a highly talented and cost-effective offshore labor pool, CADFORCE saves architects and homebuilders as much as 70% of their production costs for construction documents and other CAD work.

The company intends to use the proceeds to scale its operations and infrastructure so that it can effectively respond to the tremendous market demand. CADFORCE offers superb quality drafting and practices fanatical customer service. Currently, the Company is growing its domestic and off-shore operations, building its quality control teams, and improving its technology infrastructure.

"CADFORCE is attacking a multi-billion dollar market opportunity that is virtually untapped, and providing its customers with a high-quality, low-cost service that they desperately need," said Andelman. "Combined with a management team that has proven that it can execute aggressive growth plans, recruit top talent, and maintain a relentless focus on customer service, these attributes make us very excited about this investment. We're pleased to be supporting CADFORCE's ongoing success."

The projected annual market for CADFORCE's service exceeds $10 billion, according to the American Institute of Architects and the US Department of Labor, and only a fraction of one percent of this work is currently being done offshore. "The demand that we see for our service surpasses all projections and my greatest expectations," said Vanech. Previously Chairman, Vanech became the CEO in May, 2005.

About CADFORCE Inc.

CADFORCE is the national leader in outsourced drafting for architects, engineers, and homebuilders. In an industry known for razor-thin margins, CADFORCE is returning significant profits to its clients through decreasing construction document costs. Over the past three years, the Company has sustained double-digit, organic growth through successful customer acquisition. Today, CADFORCE has over 350 customers in over 30 states including the majority of publicly-traded homebuilders. CADFORCE specializes in production of construction documents in Autodesk's [NASDAQ: ADSK] Architectural Desktop and all versions of AutoCAD.

In addition to its headquarters in Los Angeles, CA, CADFORCE operates regional sales offices in New York, Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, Miami, Denver, Phoenix, and Washington, DC. The Company expects to continue growing its national presence and expand its offshore facilities within the next year. CADFORCE plans to raise a significant round of Series B financing later in 2006 to continue its rapid growth through strategic acquisitions.

For more information please visit www.cadforce.com or call 310.437.6305.

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