Featured Wine Professional Member: Mike Conway of Latah Creek Wine Cellars

The Conway Family:  Ellena, Natalie and Mike

At our ZINO Life Investment Forum last week at the beautiful Pan Pacific Hotel, during the Awards Reception, we featured ZINO Society Wine Professional Member, Latah Creek Wine Cellars pouring a selection of their current releases. I particularly liked the Monarch Red Blend.  I asked Mike Conway, the Winemaker/Owner to answer a few questions about Latah Creek Wine Cellars that I would like to share with you here:

• How long has your winery been in business?  First production was in 1982 – opened our tasting room in 1983
• How many total wine cases did you produce last year? 16,000 cases
• What style(s) of wine do you produce?  70% off our production is light and fruity whites: Riesling, Muscat and Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. The balance is reds primarily Sangiovese and Merlot with a new Monarch Red blend and a few, small lot Monarch Series Reserve Reds.
• What made you decide to get into the wine business?  My first experience in wine dates back to 1972. After departing the Air Force, I restarted my college studies in central California, this time majoring in Microbiology. At the same time I was able to get a night shift job at the Gallo Winery in their Microbiology lab. My job there was to monitor the bottling lines and finished products for sterility. At this time in the wine industry there was a change going on; pasteurization and preservatives were being replaced by the brand new technology of sterile microfiltration. Three years later, with degree in hand, I accepted a position at the neighboring Franzia Bros. Winery and eventually became their head Microbiologist. The experience gained over the past five years gave me the confidence and opportunity to move northward to the Parducci Winery in Mendocino County where I oversaw the installation and use of their first sterile filtration system. It was during my three years at Parducci that I actually got involved in winemaking and where I realized a future in wine was possible. In 1980 my wife and I decided to make a bold move; go even further north to an almost unknown wine region - Washington State. At that time this fledgling wine industry had only 18 wineries. The rest is history.
• Share a funny, real life experience you have faced in the wine business.  I have this happen all the time, the last time just a few nights ago. We were at a nice restaurant in town and ordered an unknown-to-us bottle of wine from their “specials” list. The waitress brought the wine, unscrewed the top, and served me an “approval” sample. It was quite nice but I made the mistake of making a “screw top” comment. She went on for about five minutes elaborating on the benefits of screw tops: the wines age better, they are easier to open, etc., etc., etc. Not wanting to embarrass her, nothing was said about our being in the wine business. Unfortunately there was a friend of ours at the same restaurant who told her who we were. She came back to us with her shoulders shrugged, apologizing profusely for her misinformation. We have decided we should now have a “winemaker dining here” disclaimer when we first sit down at a restaurant.

• What ratings have any of your wines received? And from which experts?  Latah Creek’s wines have received numerous awards and accolades over the years, the most prestigious being three different Latah Creek wines selected in The Wine Spectator Magazine’s TOP 100 Wines of the Year in a three year period. We have also been given recognition as producing one of the Best Rieslings in the state year after year.

The Buzz from the ZINO Life Sciences Forum

Sarah Nowakowski

(The following blog post was reposted from an Xconomy Seattle blog post yesterday morning written by Sarah Nowakowski, who is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington and works for ZINO Society part-time as an intern.)

There was a great buzz yesterday at ZINO Life: Life Sciences Investment Forum where 14 biotech and life sciences companies pitched to a room full of eager investors. Many exciting technologies were on display, including Empowering Engineering Technologies‘ ExoWalk—the 2010 ZINO Life fund recipient—as well as Cerevast Therapeutics’ ClotBust-ER. All presenters delivered energetic and compelling presentations that demonstrated the persistent enthusiasm and innovation that continues to propel the vibrant life sciences sector of Seattle.

Chris Rivera of the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association reminded the attendees that the No. 1 challenge facing entrepreneurs today is access to capital. The event was a great example of how angel investment groups, such as ZINO Society, are diligently working to bring entrepreneurs and investors together. Following dealflow presentations this afternoon, Cathi Hatch, the CEO of the ZINO Society, announced four finalists were selected by investors:

1. David Hatton of Aseptica—Aseptica’s technology prevents catheter related infections.

2. Michael Hite of Impel NeuroPharma—Impel is developing a novel drug delivery device to enable central nervous system drugs to bypass the blood-brain barrier,

3. Steve Baird of S-Ray Incorporated—S-Ray owns a unique way of using ultrasound to detect cracks and cavities in teeth, without radiation.

4. Paul Hagen of VacuPractor—VacuPractor is a revolutionary device for lower back pain.

Following due diligence, one of these companies will be awarded a $25,000 investment from the combined ZINO 2011 Annual Angel Fund.

Paul Hagen (VacuPractor) was selected by the audience for Best Presentation and he and Steve Baird (S-Ray) tied for Best Investment Opportunity.

Optimism filled the conference room at the Pan Pacific Hotel as Rivera reflected on the trends in the Seattle life sciences industry, one of the top five job sectors that have demonstrated continued growth, even in the face of the recent economic climate. Alan Smith of Fenwick & West delved further into the current financial climate for biotech in Seattle by probing the panel of prominent faces in Seattle’s life sciences sector. The group included Rivera; John Bowers, senior vice president of SonoSite; Tom Clement, the chairman & founder of Pathway Medical Technologies; and David Schubert, president and chief business officer, Accelerator Corporation.

The dynamic discussion reflected on the difficulty to get funded and the need to ‘de-risk’ investment opportunities by demonstrating more than proof of concept to investors, in addition to the importance of maintaining realistic expectations for the timeline for return on investment following investment in life sciences companies. This pragmatic advice was, however, secondary to the panels’ confidence in the community. They reiterated that Seattle is a hotbed for innovation, cool technologies, and fantastic ideas. In reference to comparing Seattle’s innovative life sciences sector to the nation and worldwide communities, Schubert emphatically stated that, “Seattle is at the top of ANY pyramid you want to put it on.”

Sarah Nowakowski is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington.

A Toast to Robin!

Kristie Lanum, Sarah Nowakowski, Cathi Hatch,
Robin Moore, Mary Holmes

As the ZINO Team all scurries around handling the last minute details for ZINO Life Investment Forum tomorrow afternoon, we took a few moments to toast our outgoing Marketing and Events Director, Robin Moore and thank her for her positive attitude, team spirit and just down-to-earth, get-it-done mentality.  Robin has worked with ZINO Society for the past year and a half and will be sorely missed as she takes a great new marketing position with Jones Lang LaSalle.  Good luck, Robin!  We look forward to a celebration lunch with you AFTER ZINO Life!

ZINO Life just two days away!

The ZINO Society team has been working very hard over the past few weeks to put together our upcoming ZINO Life Investment Forum which will occur this coming Tuesday, March 8th at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Seattle.  I want to recognize them with a big THANK YOU for all their efforts to produce what I know will be a fascinating and productive angel investment forum!

Kristie Lanum, our Chief Dealflow Officer, has done a masterful job of recruiting, screening, scheduling coaching and preparing 13 ZINOpreneurs to share 7 minute pitches describing their companies during the afternoon event plus a traction update from our ZZIF 2007 Fund Winner, Healionics.  Please see the full list of presenting entrepreneurs at the end of this blog posting.

Mary Holmes, our Chief Marketing Officer, has put together a fascinating, expert panel including John Bowers of SonoSite, Tom Clement of Pathway Medical Technologies, Chris Rivera of WBBA,  Dave Schubert of Accelerator Corporation, and Alan Smith of Fenwick & West who will share their perspectives on the life sciences business sector and also ask the selected ZINO Life 2011 Fund Finalists follow-up Due Diligence LIVE! questions at the end of the afternoon.

ZINO Life attendees will choose the "best investment opportunity" and the "best presenter" ZINO Zenith Awards which will be awarded at the end of the business session.  The ZINO Annual Angel Investment Forums Fund investors will select four "best investment opportunity" finalists whom the investors will enter into due diligence following the forum.

Robin Moore, Events and Marketing Director, has handled hundreds of details including all the communication to attendees, reservations and event organization. If you are interested in attending, you can click HERE to make reservations.

Here is the full list of ZINO Life 2011 ZINOpreneur presenting companies:


Aspetica, Inc. / David Hatton
Aseptica's technology prevents catheter related infections. We save tens of thousands of lives and hundreds of millions of dollars every year.

Cerevast Therapeutics, Inc. / Kendall SteverCerevast Therapeutics, Inc. is a medical technology company focused on the development of SonoLysis for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke.

Del Mar Pharmaceuticals / Jeffrey Bacha
Del Mar is developing proven drug candidates that have previously demonstrated human clinical activity in orphan and large-market cancer indications.

DNA Guide, Inc. / Bill KimmerlyDNA Guide develops software to navigate the personal genome for use by pathologists, genetic counselors, health care professionals, and patients.

Emergent Detection / Eric Fogel
Emergent Detection’s BodyKey helps people lose weight more effectively by providing personalized, daily feedback about their body through a simple biochemical test.

Empowering Engineering Technologies / Brian Glaister EETech's ExoWalk products help people with wheelchairs walk their way to better qualities of life.

FiatLux Imaging, Inc. / Max Lyon FiatLux provides a secure online service for the transport, viewing, sharing and storage of, medical images by medical professionals and patients.

GenQual Corp. / Jonathan Mirich
GenQual designs molecular diagnostics to facilitate early disease detection, diagnosis, and treatment approaches.

Impel NeuroPharma / Michael Hite
Impel is developing a novel drug delivery device to enable central nervous system drugs to bypass the blood-brain barrier.

Network Immunology Inc. / George Hoffman
Network Immunology has made discoveries expected to significantly advance the fields of both vaccination and organ transplantation.

Sinuwave Technologies Corp. / Jim BalcomSinuwave is adapting an already proven, high gross margin, disposable drug-device combination technology for the treatment of chronic sinusitis (CS).

S-Ray Incorporated / Steve Baird S-Ray owns a unique way of using ultrasound to detect cracks and cavities in teeth, without radiation.

VacuPractor / Paul Hagen VacuPractor is a revolutionary new treatment device for lower back pain. It is patented and registered with the FDA.











 

ZINO Life Seattle a Success!

Yesterday at the beautiful Pan Pacific Hotel, ZINO Society was the proud presenter of ZINO Life:  Life Sciences Investment Forum along with our partner, WBBA.  We were very pleased to have around 120 members and guests in attendance to hear 15 entrepreneurs present their companies’ needs divided into three dealflow flights:  Seed Stage, Launch Stage and Expansion Stage.  (See alphabetical list and links of the 15 presenting companies below at the bottom of this blog post.)  Each of the entrepreneurs was carefully screened and then coached to be successful in presenting their pitches succinctly and clearly in 7 minutes each with 2 minutes following for questions and answers.  Though we are usually quite time sensitive and strive to stay on the agenda schedule at all of our events, we were thoroughly impressed with the results and that we were able to stay completely on schedule for the entire afternoon with Events and Marketing Manager, McKenzie Powell’s chimes warnings and agenda timing tools.  Or maybe it was the delicious chocolate treats that brought people back to their seats so effectively that sponsor, Stoel Rives, shared as part of the coffee break they sponsored.

In addition to the entrepreneur presentations, we had the opportunity to hear insights and experiences from keynote speaker Patrick Jensen of SpaceLabs during the “Fireside Chat” portion of the afternoon (see top photo above).  However, in the spirit of full disclosure, there was NOT a fireplace in sight!  Following the keynote, the expert panel discussed some of the opportunities and the challenges facing life science companies and included David Schubert, President of Accelerator Corporation; Marty Simonetti, President of VLST Corporation; Chris Rivera, President of WBBA; Michelle Burris, COO of Trubion; facilitated by ZINO Life major sponsor Alan Smith, Partner at Fenwick & West, (see 2^nd photo above).  Alan did his usual great job of extracting and managing the plethora of information that our expert panelists were ready to share.

Patrick Jensen then joined the expert panel to participate in the Due Diligence LIVE! process to question the three entrepreneur finalists  (see 3^rd photo above) selected by the ZINO Life 2010 Investment Fund investors.  The three finalists gracefully surviving their due diligence grilling were Kevin Connolly of SRS Medical, Carole Spangler of Seattle Sensor Systems and Paul Slowey (aka “Dr. Spit”) of Oasis Diagnostics Corporation, who was also last year’s winner of the ZINO Life 2009 Investment Fund.

The ZINO Zenith Award winners were selected by all the attendees at the event via written ballot.  Winning the award for Best Presenter was Richard Lazar of DeltaPoint and for Best Investment Opportunity was Carole Spangler of Seattle Sensor Systems (see 4^th photo above).

The event concluded with fantastic passed hors d’oeuvres provided by our venue sponsor, Pan Pacific Hotel, and wine and beer courtesy of our ZINO Society Wine/Beer Professional Members, Don Wood of Icicle Ridge Winery, Joseph & John Miglino of Martedi Winery, and Charles & Rose Ann Finkel of Pike Brewing Company (see 5^th, 6^th and 7^th photos above).  Along with the excellent beer and wine selections, conversations flowed!

Next stop is ZINO Life Portland on April 29^th with a new set of sponsors, expert panelists and keynote speaker, but the same screened and coached presenting entrepreneurs.  Click here for registration info.

ZINO Life Presenting Companies:

Coherence Resources

DeltaPoint

DesignMedix Inc

Emergent Detection

Empowering Engineering Technologies

Guided Therapeutics

Impel NeuroPharma

Oasis Diagnostics Corporation

OnPoint Medical

PredictDent Corporation

Seattle Sensor Systems

SRS Medical

Sweet Spot Diabetes

ThermImage

Valant Medical Solutions, LLC

The Screening and Coaching Process for Entrepreneurs

This past week, we welcomed our new intern, Kayla Villnow to ZINO Society.  Kayla is a second year MBA candidate at the Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington, with a concentration on corporate strategy.  She is already making herself invaluable as she works directly with ZINO Society COO, Rob Brown, to support and facilitate the entrepreneur processes for ZINO Society.  In the photo above, she is reviewing and compiling the green screening evaluation sheets which the screeners and coaches fill out during our monthly screening meetings.  These sheets provide valuable feedback and suggestions to the entrepreneurs to help them make their brief presentations more understandable and compelling, which is one of the most important support services we can offer.

Yesterday, our screeners and coaches met to view the entrepreneur presentations live that made it through the first electronic screening round for our upcoming ZINO Life Investment Forum.    Each of the entrepreneurs had seven minutes to present followed by two minutes of question and answer and input.  See photos of some of the screeners and coaches above and as they diligently fill out the green evaluation sheets.

Taking into consideration all the feedback and input we receive from the screeners and coaches, we ultimately choose who to feature at our investment meetings and forums and then line up those entrepreneurs with individual coaches who will help them polish and finesse their presentations so they can be most effective in getting their messages across.  It is interesting to note that though most entrepreneurs think they do not need or want coaching, but since we insist on it, almost every entrepreneur comes back to us saying that their coaching was invaluable to them in making their message stronger and clearer.  It is Kayla’s role to match up entrepreneurs with coaches to ensure that each presenting ZINOpreneur has that important support.

On the day of the event, each presenting ZINOpreneur will have a special ribbon on his or her nametag showing that they are presenting so that potential investors can easily connect with them.  Following the event, Kayla will once again communicate to the entrepreneurs sharing any input from the event attendees and sharing any contact information for those members or guests who expressed interest in any specific investment opportunities.

Our ZINO Society screeners and coaches deserve huge kudos for the important service they provide these entrepreneurs!