Your Local Market Opening

Mary Holmes and Cathi Hatch

This week Mary Holmes and I joined Jason Brown at the opening of his new Bellevue grocery store, Your Local Market.  Jason showcased his company at our recent ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum in September, so we were eager to see the finished product that he had described.  He has taken over the old Safeway store location on the corner of Bellevue Way and 4th Street.  It is an interesting concept which includes organic food and mainstream brands as well.

Cathi Hatch congratulating Jason Brown

As we arrived, we were warmly welcomed and handed a beautiful long-stemmed rose and a branded burlap shopping bag that included lots of interesting food products available at the store.  The produce displays were beautiful and Mary and I had fun looking at all the wine selections offered too.  There were tasting stations throughout the store that included fresh salsas, white bean hummus-style dips, sliced high-quality deli meats, sushi, cheeses, dessert bites and high-end bottled fruit juices and teas.

Throughout the store, there are thought-provoking sayings painted on the walls.  My favorite is one by Benjamin Franklin, "Beer if proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." 

A big congratulations to Jason and his entire team!  CONGRATULATIONS!!

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A Delightful Master of Wine Tuesday at Ray's Boathouse

ZINO Society members Sandra Fowler, Brad Vancour
and Randa Mirkovich

Last evening ZINO Society members and guests joined Ken and me along with Wine Gurus, Greg Lill of DeLille Cellars and Stacy Lill of O Wines at Ray's Boathouse for a beautiful Master of Wine food and wine tasting event.  Ray's Senior Catering Manager, Amy Stevens worked with Catering Chef David Saunders, to develop an evening that featured Northwest food and wine including fresh chanterelle mushrooms foraged by Chef Markus Donier.

Cathi Hatch, Chef David Saunders, Amy Stevens

It was an intimate evening with room for 20 guests seated at a long table sparkling with dozens of wine glasses centered in front of the blazing fireplace.  One of the members attending was Sandra Fowler, who had definitely travelled the furthest to attend since she flew over from Tri Cities just for the evening.  We also welcomed new Elite Roundtable member, Randa Minkarah, who was attending her first ZINO Society event and Brad Vancour, long-time ZINO Society member who has probably attended the most Master of Wine events over the years.  We also welcomed back returning member, Bruce Sanchez, who has recently relocated back in Seattle from California.  We had a very interesting discussion about his new book which has something to do with the bell curve of a marriage.

Greg Lill

Stacy Lill

Mary Holmes, Lisa Mikesell, Cindy Hales

It was also fun to see and catch up with members Michael Zachary, Elisabeth Bodal, who admitted to the group that she is an emigrant (gasp!), Denny Dochnahl, who was there with one of his and Bernie's "daughter-type persons", Dehanna Jones, and ZINO Society sponsor members, Darlin Gray, David Riley, Lisa Mikesell and Cindy Hales.  We also welcomed members Eden & Hank Waggoner and recent ZZIF sponsor, Irene Retel.

Greg and Stacy shared some of their background and history about getting into the wine business and Stacy once again gave Ken credit for introducing them to one another.  Ken really is a successful male version of a "yenta"!

The menu food and wine pairings were delightful:

Reception

O Wines Chardonnay 2009

Alaskan Sockeye Salmon

ginger meringue, lemongrass cream

Pleasant Valley Gouda Wafer

Dinner Menu

DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate Blanc 2010

Chatham Strait Sabelfish in Sake Kasu

jasmine rice, honey, soy an scallion oil

O Wines Red Blend 2007

Warmed Escarole Salad

chevre, dried cherries, crispy bacon, pecans, shallot vinaigrette

Doyenne AIX 2008

Braised Port & Green Lentil Stew

DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate Red 2008

Open-Faced Sirloin and Mushroom Slider

carmelized shallots, espresso demi-glace

Doyenne Syrah 2008

Double Chocolate Emmer Bites

Roquefort Blue Cheese   

A big THANK YOU is in order for Amy, David and Markus of Ray's Boathouse and their team and Stacy and Greg of DeLille Cellars and O Wines.  Cheers!

Bruce Sanchez, Mary Holmes, David Riley

This ZINO team is Kick A__!

ZINO Team Christine Gilbert, Mary Holmes, Cathi Hatch,
Kristie Lanum, Jamee Nunnelee

This coming Tuesday is our biggest ZINO Society event of the year, ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum.  The ZINO Society team has been working VERY hard to get all the details ready so that everyone attending has a wonderful time!

Kristie Lanum, our Chief Dealflow Officer, has managed the overall task list for ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum for our entire team and has worked specifically with all of our presenting entrepreneurs, most of which are now new ZINOpreneur Members for the upcoming year.  Kristie has overseen the screening and coaching processes and worked with our incredible list of coaches to ensure that each entrepreneur presenting on Tuesday will be the best that they can be in sharing a concise and compelling pitch.  This is akin to herding cats since there are so many people involved, but Kristie has done it with her usual aplomb and grace.

Mary Holmes, our Chief Marketing Officer, has recruited and communicated with over eighteen (18) panelists who will participate in three separate expert panels providing input and advice to entrepreneurs and investors.  Each panel should be fascinating including a Hospitality, Food, & Travel Panel, a VC & Angel Panel to provide input to our Back-of-the-Napkin presenting companies and a Due Diligence LIVE! Panel to ask questions of the six (6) fund finalists who will be selected by the ZINO Angel fund investors.  Mary has also worked to attract sponsors, develop new branding elements for ZZIF, overseen the press relationships and worked directly with our Co-Presentor, Puget Sound Business Journal, to produce a two-page ad coming out in today's issue.

Jamee Nunnelee, our VP of Membership, has communicated with ZINO Society members to get them the information they need to attend ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum and invited many of our friends and membership prospects to join us as well.  She is offering a rebate on ZINO Society membership for those new members that join by the end of September.  Jamee has also worked to attract specific ZZIF sponsors and arranged for some of our Wine Professional Members to pour their wines at the Networking Reception at the end of the day.

Christine Gilbert, our Events Director, has worked tirelessly to design and produce our blast emails to notify everyone of the details of ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum, design and produce the agenda and event program, taken reservations, answered endless questions, produced name tags, and panelist tent cards, arranged for prizes for fund finalists and ZINO Zenith Award winners, worked with MOHAI to arrange all the event details and the caterer to provide sustenance so we can all make it through the entire day with appropriate food, beverages and snacks to keep up our energy.

Please come see what we do!  I think you will be impressed with the quality of the entrepreneur pitches, the panelists, the food and wine, and all the details that make this a first-class event!  And then please do tell me what you think.

From Ping Pong to Passwords

Cathi Hatch and Mary Holmes strike a pose

Last night Mary Holmes and I attended the TechFlash Annual Ping Pong Tournament and Summer BBQ event hosted by Puget Sound Business Journal at SoDo Showbox.  Mary and I enjoyed connecting with new and old friends at the event.  We also had fun trying out event sponsor, Microsoft Bing's photography booth.  See the photo we took there complete with feather boa props. 

Funny aside . . . We had just met Gordon Prouty, new, dynamic PSBJ publisher earlier in the day when we went to his office for a business meeting with Colleen Allison to discuss our upcoming September 13th ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum plans.  Shortly after I drove away following the meeting, my cell phone rang and I answered (hands free of course!) and Gordy was on the other end of the line saying he had retrieved my pearl earring that had fallen off my ear while in his office and that he would bring it with him to the TechFlash event which he knew we were attending.  I felt a little bit like Cinderella who had left her shoe at the ball!  When I arrived at the event, everyone that greeted us was worried about connecting me with Gordy so I could get my earring back, which of course happened the moment that we finally saw one another.  Thank you Gordy!

Now back to the TechFlash event.  There were serious ping pong contenders including friends Patti Payne and Angie Lepley though mostly there were just men playing.  Angie made it through four rounds before elimination.  I'm not sure how many rounds Patti lasted but I could see that she was a contender, when she had a very determined set of her chin and a flash in her eyes when she picked up a paddle and challenged me to a game. We also ran into past publisher of PSBJ, Emory Thomas and his wife, Laura, and ZINO Society member, Gary Ritner of Puget Sound Venture Club.   I had to leave before the final rounds were played, but could see the level of competition was definitely heating up. 

Terrence Owen, Bartender Extraordinaire

My next stop was Tavern Law on Capital Hill.  I ran into Ken right outside the door and we walked in together to what appeared to be a pretty normal busy bar.  But what was especially fun, is that we then entered the "secret" area of the bar through a large black vault door and climbed up a dark and winding set of stairs once we whispered the correct password in the phone receiver next to the door.

We met Mike Kunath, who had arranged the evening's agenda and was sitting at the bar with Debbie Peppa. Once we sat down to join them, Terrence Jackson, our "Bartender Extraordinaire", asked what kind of drinks we usually liked and then he took complete license to make what he wanted to make but what he thought we would like.  I told him that I like Mai Tais so my drink came served in a hollowed out fresh coconut and contained Jamaiican rum, brandy, almond syrup, spicy habenera essence and I am not sure what else.  He had made a happy face with droplets of Angostura Bitters and orange peel ears. Once I had sipped the drink a couple of times, Terrence returned with a lime wheel that he had drenched in 151 proof Cruzan rum to float in my drink which he then set alight.  Spectacular!  The drink was actually delicious and the secret bar would be a fun place to bring a group of girlfriends too.

From there we jetted to Madison Park to try the new restaurant, Madison Park Conservatory, which is in the same location of the old Sostanza Restaurant.  When we arrived, we said hello to friends Susan & Phil Lindsay who were outside on the terrace enjoying the warm evening and ran into other friends inside including Dave Whitlock and Sean Leukel.  The Chef/Owner is Cormac Mahoney, who came out and introduced himself to us. 

The menu, which changes every day was chock-a-block full of unusual menu items including grilled beef tongue, squid stuffed with Oregon lamb, sweetbread summer succotash, octopus bolognese, and braised pork cheeks.  None of us were brave enough to order any of those items, but settled instead for Alaskan long line halibut, Oregon natural strip loin and pan-fried Idaho trout after nibbling on Dungeness Crab deviled eggs and Dabob Bay oysters with mignonette sauce. We were all impressed with the strong flavor profiles of the food.

Something that each member of our party commented on was the notice at the bottom of the menu informing diners that the bread is complimentary but there is a $3 charge for extra virgin olive oil or butter.  Olive oil was automatically brought to our table and I forgot to look at the guest check at the end of the evening to see if we were really charged for it or not.  I have seen this practice of charging for bread and butter in Europe, but this is the first time I have run into it here in Bellevue or Seattle.

The wine list was also very unusual.  In looking at their red wine on the list, I estimate there were around 30 different choices, most of which were French or Italian wines that I had not heard of before and only one of which was actually a Washington Cabernet Sauvignon which we promptly ordered.  I did ask their sommelier about that and she responded that she doesn't like Washington wines because they are too fruit forward with too high of an alcohol content to pair with the food.  Of course, not ALL Washington wines are like this.  Though I have to admit that I do like to drink some of those very fruit forward wines, there are many wines in our state that have been made more in the Old World tradition with balanced fruit and tannins that are also delightful to drink.

We arrived home at around 11:00 pm just in time for me to hunker down at my computer in order to follow up and set appointments with several of our job finalists who are interested in filling our open Operations and Dealflow Manager position at ZINO Society.  And then finally, when I couldn't keep my eyes propped open a moment longer, I finally ended the evening at around 1:30 am and went to bed to dream about ping pong balls and passwords.

And the Winners are . . . Banshee Bungee and NanoIce!

Cathi Hatch & Kevin Veon of Banshee Bungee

Last week, the Fund Investors for the 2010 ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum Fund got together to make the final selection of which two companies that presented at ZZIF in September would receive the $100,000 co-investment fund.  The winners are ZINOpreneurs Kevin Veon of Banshee Bungee and Craig Rominger of NanoICE!  Both companies are now ready to close their investment rounds with all the attention they both received as a result of ZZIF.  We are thrilled for both of them and look forward to watching their growth and success.

Here is the press release with more interesting details.

My Favorite Things from ZZIF

Today I just received the YouTube of Jon Doll's performance of his original song and lyrics, "On The Shoulders of Angel Investors" that we kicked off the ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum last week.  I may be biased, but I think it is fantastic and the lyrics are so appropriate for investors and entrepreneurs.  You can view it HERE.

Three of my other favorite things from ZZIF were our panels.  I thought that each panel was extremely interesting and that the audience was really enjoying their questions and input.

David Mackuen's Five-Minute presentation of BuiltBurger right before lunch.  It was a great presentation and he won the ZINO Zenith Award for Best Presenter.  But it also started stomachs growling and made everyone realize how famished we all were.

The ZINOpreneurs' presentations are always one of my favorite things and I love the Five-Minute pitches!  But this time, I was also hugely impressed with how much information the Two-Minute presenters were able to share in such a limited time.

The support of our ZINO Society sponsors is incredibly important, because we would not be able to produce ZZIF without their support.  What a great group of people!

Another BIG thank you to everyone who helped make ZZIF so successful this year.

Selections, Presentations, Projections, Entrepreneurs, Angel Investors

What a busy day!  I began the day at the judges' selection meeting for Puget Sound Business Journal's upcoming "Women of Influence" recognition awards.  Along with fellow judges Jeff Raikes, Phyllis Campbell, Constance Rice, and from Puget Sound Business Journal, Emory Thomas, Patti Payne and Becky Monk,, we selected 15 incredible women out of over 130 submissions (a stack of paper two inches tall!) to be featured at this year's big dinner event scheduled for November 18th in Bellevue.  I can't share with you who was selected since it is a surprise, but watch for the Puget Sound Business Journal insert announcing the winners soon.

After multiple meetings and getting ready for our ZINO Annual Angel Fund Investors' meeting tomorrow to begin due diligence on some of our ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum (ZZIF) Fund Finalists, I ended the day by attending the enterpriseSeattle quarterly Board meeting at the new PATH headquarters followed by the Atlas Accelerator Open House at Twist in Belltown.  I was impressed with some of the projected 2011 gains expected shared at the enterpriseSeattle Board meeting which included employment growth of 1.5% and retail sales increase of 4.4%.  It was also nice to catch up with other board members, David Allen, Arlan Collins, Casey Badger and Chris Rivera, and new President and CEO, Jeff Marcell.

At the Atlas Accelerator event, it was fascinating to hear three minute updates from 18 separate company CEOs.  I counted 10 out of the list that have also presented to ZINO Society investors and guests at some point during the past five years. What an impressive group!  I especially liked the program featuring three-minute pitches; just the right length of time to get enough information, but not too long.  In addition to saying hello to several of the entrepreneurs, it was also nice to catch up with Mike Crill, Gary Ritner, Dan Rosen, and Gregg and Lauren Bennett.

And the ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum Winners are . . .

After a full day of watching and interacting with presenting entrepreneurs and demo table entrepreneurs at ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum on Wednesday, we adjourned downstairs to the Bell Harbor Conference Center International Promenade for the "Spiels and Suds" segment of the ZZIF agenda featuring entrepreneur demo tables and beer from Pike Brewing Company and K & L Distributors followed by the Awards and Wine Reception featuring eight wineries.  Featured wineries included Woodward Canyon Winery, DeLille Cellars, Lachini Vineyards, Sparkman Cellars, San Juan Vineyards, 428 Wines, Cave B Winery and Pepper Bridge Winery.

Coaches Dave Watt, Skip Walter, Vin Ricci

At the Awards and Wine Reception, the first awards presented were to the ZZIF Coaches who worked with the entrepreneurs to ensure that their presentations would be concise and compelling.  Executive Vice President, Kristie Lanum, and I presented Coaches' Awards for "Winningest Coach" to Vin Ricci, "Special Teams Coach" to Dave Watts and Jackson Weaver (tie) and "Rookie of the Year Coach" to Skip Walter.

Craig Rominger, NanoICE for Best Investment
David Makuen for Best Presenter

The next awards presented were the ZINO Zenith Awards which were voted on by all the ZZIF attendees for Best Presentation to David Makuen of BuiltBurger and Best Investment Opportunity to Craig Rominger of NanoICE, Inc. 

ZZIF Fund Finalists Kevin Veon, Adam Stein, Keith McCall,
Ken Childress, Max Lyon, Craign Rominger

And the final ZZIF awards presented were the ZINO Zillionaire Fund Finalists Awards selected by the fund investors to Kevin Veon of Banshee Bungee, Max Lyon of FiatLux Imaging, Adam Stein of IMOS, Keith McCall of Enroute Systems, Ken Childress of Harbor Wing Technologies, and Craig Rominger of NanoIce, Inc.  The fund investors will now complete due diligence within the next month on the finalist companies with the goal of awarding the $100,000 fund split between the two best investment opportunities they select.

ZZIF - The Panelists Rocked!

Angel investors at ZZIF

On Wednesday, ZINO Society produced our biggest event of the year, ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum.  I was so proud of the ZINO Society Z-Team, each of the entrepreneurs who presented, and each panelist who spoke.  ZZIF Zillionaire sponsor, Bell Harbor Conference Center did a great job of hosting our event and the Bay Auditorium was the ideal location for the ZINOpreneur presentations to a roomful of investors and business professionals.  The International Promenade housed demo tables for the 20 5-minute featured entrepreneur presenters, the 10 2-minute back-of-the-napkin entrepreneur presenters, plus another 13 demo table only participating entrepreneurs.

David Allen, Troy Hartzell, John Otter, Petra Franklin,
Alan Smith, John Cook

I have already detailed the list of presenting ZINOpreneurs in previous blog posts here and here, but wanted to share the impressive list of panelists with you.  Our first panel was the Due Diligence LIVE! panel sponsored by Fenwick & West which included Alan Smith of Fenwick & West, David Allen of McKinstry, Troy Hartzell of Evolution Capital Advisors, Petra Franklin of Vault Capital, John Otter of Commerce Bridge Company and John Cook of TechFlash.  Their role was to ask quick follow-up questions after each ZINOpreneur presented and they did an excellent job of doing just that.



Gregg Bennett, Charles Finkelstein,

Brad Harlow, Byron McCann, Peter Ueberroth



Our second panel was the Angel Investor panel entitled "The Naked Truth - Getting the Skinny on Angel Investor Wins and Losses" which included panelists Gregg Bennett, angel investor currently running for Washington State Senate, Charles Finkelstein, previously of Microsoft, Brad Harlow of B. Harlow & Associates, Byron McCann of Ascent Partners Group, Dan Rosen of Dan Rosen & Associates and Peter Ueberroth of the Contrarian Group.  Peter Ueberroth was our featured angel panelist and we were so pleased to have him and two members of his Contrarian Group team join him to look at potential angel investments.

The responses from the angel investor panelists were fascinating as they discussed angel investment deals that went right and what was the tipping point for them to actually invest and investment deals that went wrong and what were the primary causes.  Several investors cited the biggest problem they faced with deals that went wrong was the CEO becoming uncommunicative once things were not going as well as hoped.  When Dan Rosen mentioned the company's name (Delve, previously known as Pluggd when it presented at ZZIF 2006) as a deal that went wrong, unfortunately he set off a firestorm of TechFlash blog posts and comments both attacking the company and attacking him personally.  You can read the postings here.

Bill Bryant, Andy Dale, Warren Gouk, Ron Howell,
Dan Kingston, Rick LeFaivre, Gregg Semler

Our final panel comprised of VCs who were to listen to two separate flights of "Back-of-the-Napkin Pitches" and select the company from each flight that they felt was most investable (at this stage with the limited information that they had after listening for only 2 minutes and looking at one powerpoint slide).  Panelists included Bill Bryant of Draper-Fisher Jurvetson, Andy Dale of Montlake Capital, Warren Gouk of Enclarity, Ron Howell of Washington Research Foundation, Daniel Kingston of Vulcan Capital, Rick LeFaivre of OVP Venture Partners and Gregg Semler of Pivotal Investments.  It was impressive to hear the individual choices and what the primary factors were in selecting which companies.  Each panelist sounded absolutely credible justifying his choices after only two minutes of information.

Hearing the insights that the prestigious ZZIF panelists shared throughout the day was worth the price of admission!



Ron Howell, Dan Kingston, Rick LeFaivre

Back-of-the-Napkin Presentations at ZZIF

This year at ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum (ZZIF), we are trying something new.  In addition to our traditional 5-minute presentations by entrepreneurs vying for the ZZIF $100,000 Angel Investment Fund, there will be an additional group of 2-minute "Back-of-the-Napkin" presentations by entrepreneurs who are also seeking funding but not eligible for the ZZIF Investment Fund.  A VC Panel including Bill Bryant, Andy Dale, Rick LeFaivre, Warren Gouk, Ron Howell, Daniel Kingston and Gregg Semler will provide immediate feedback to the presenting entrepreneurs about which of these early-stage companies appear to be most ready for investment and what the tipping point is for them in making their decisions.

Here is the list of the ZZIF "Back-of-the-Napkin" Presenters:

1. Bella Vista Software: Developer of digital photo software for use on iPhone, iPad and Apple computers.  Will be presented by Robert Zollo
2. Choopy Games:  A software company developing a free to play massively multi-player online game.  Will be presented by Don Le
3. Grape Quest: Mobile Wine App that optimizes the wine tasting experience by integrating the most current search, map, and GPS functions.  Will be presented by Shona Milne
4. InterviewStudio: Software vendor of online presentation tools, with first application (HR/Recruiting app) that displays everything about a job candidate on one very cool interactive screen.  Will be presented by Coleen Aylward
5. Maragas Winery:  Craft winery and event center pioneering viticulture in Central Oregon.  Will be presented by Doug Maragas
6. Moderation Technologies Inc.:  Moderation Technologies sells products which allow people to better manage and control some of their problematic or excessive behaviors.  Will be presented by Scott Walker
7. NADAC Systems LLC:  NADAC Systems LLC has developed a new control system and identification method that increases building security and allows energy distribution based on real occupancy.  Will be presented by Miodrag Ognjenovic
8. Pacific Equity Partners LLC:  Real estate investment firm that focus on acquisition of B & C class multi-family properties as well as deeds of trust securing such assets. Will be presented by Adam Gardulski
9. ProGyr:  Aural biofeedback providing a Kinesthetic Learning Platform.  Will be presented by Pete Handel
10. Wisemuv, Inc.:  We help people make smart decisions fast.  Will be presented by Chirag Pancholi

ZINOpreneur of the Week: Laurence Ranta

One of our ZINO Society featured ZINOpreneurs this week is Laurence Ranta, President/CEO of Vioguard. Laurence will be one of the 5 minute presenters at the upcoming ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum (ZZIF) on September 15th at Bell Harbor Conference Center. We asked him to share the answers to a few questions about his company.

What is your one-sentence elevator pitch? . . . Vioguard makes good profits by developing products using ultra-violet technology to save lives, reduce the spread of infectious disease and reducing absenteeism in the workplace.

How did you come up with the idea for your company? . . . The idea came from the National Health Service (the largest employer in the world) approached Microsoft about producing 800,000 self–sanitizing keyboards.

The word that best describes your company culture is . . . we are seasoned “type A” veterans that are committed to the company and its goal and all have a mutual respect for each other in our various fields of expertise.

In one sentence, how are you different from your competition? . . . Unlike any competitor, our keyboard cleans itself from all harmful bacteria and viruses after each and every use, therefore, eliminating the keyboard as a transmission point for the spread of disease.

What is the biggest challenge you face? . . . Leveraging marketing and sales opportunities within the bounds of fiscal prudence.

How much money have you raised to date? . . . $3M

If someone gave your company $3 million tomorrow, how would you use the money? . . . Mass produce cost reduced product aimed at customers beyond the medical market and tie up major distributors globally in both health care and non medical markets.

What is the oddest or most unusual thing about your company? . . . We see the light and it is purple.

What is one thing missing from your business? . . . Strategic partners with an established presence in the global medical market.

Why will your company be successful? . . . We are tenacious type “A” personalities and know that we have an major solution to a growing global problem.

ZINOpreneur of the Week: Burt Hamner

One of our ZINO Society featured ZINOpreneurs this week is Burt Hamner, Founder and CEO of Hydrovolts, Inc. and the winner of the ZINO Green 2009 Investment Fund.  Burt will be one of the 5 minute presenters at the upcoming ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum (ZZIF) on September 15th at Bell Harbor Conference Center. We asked him to respond to a few questions about his company.


What is your one-sentence elevator pitch? . . . New portable hydropower technology to tap an overlooked global energy resource of water currents in canals.

How did you come up with the idea for your company? . . . I directed a study of tidal energy generation for Tacoma Power and concluded that freshwater canals are a better energy resource than tidal currents, and I invented a new turbine that is ideal for canals.

The word that best describes your company culture is . . . Teamwork

In one sentence, how are you different from your competition? . . . Our unique turbine technology and award-winning business plan enables us to grow fast in thousands of locations, creating big economies of scale and significant barriers to future competitors.

What is the biggest challenge you face? . . . Creating the right technical team within company so we can reduce use of outside experts.

How much money have you raised to date? . . . $300k already, $500k in pipeline, $100k in various services.

If someone gave your company $3 million tomorrow, how would you use the money? . . . Salaries for new VP Engrg, VP Ops, VP Sales; R&D, patents, demonstration projects, global business development, first production run, contingency fund.

What is the oddest or most unusual thing about your company? . . . We are actually going to launch a new renewable energy resource, not just a business - turbines in canals around the world will be a totally new energy resource, and the world does not know it yet.

What is one thing missing from your business? . . . A great engineer who understands designing for conditions in third-world countries as well as US canal systems.

Why will your company be successful? . . . We will execute our award-winning business plan with help from a remarkable group of business partners and supporters , so we can punch way above our weight and hit our milestones quickly and confidently. For example, in August we signed up Harvard School of Engineering, MIT, and the Raytheon corporation in development agreements. All three are potential customers as well as developers. We have product inquiries from 18 countries so far because people see our technology (www.youtube.com/hydrovolts ) and they understand immediately that here is an honest-to-god new renewable energy source they can now tap with our products. If you got a canal, we got a turbine for you.

ZINOpreneur of the Week: Greg Stewart

One of our ZINO Society featured ZINOpreneurs this week is Greg Stewart, Managing Member of Orbiter LLC.  Greg will be one of the 5 minute presenters at the upcoming ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum (ZZIF) on September 15th at Bell Harbor Conference Center. We asked him to respond to a few questions about his company.


What is your one-sentence elevator pitch? . . . Orbiter provides RFID product to the military, non-profits and schools.

How did you come up with the idea for your company? . . . The military required a solution for automating Fitness Assessment testing approximately 1.7 million active service people bi-annually.

The word that best describes your company culture is . . . “Crew”

In one sentence, how are you different from your competition? . . . Orbiter’s patented upright method is easier to use because it does not require the use of mats to read RFID chips.

What is the biggest challenge you face? . . . Building a world-wide channel to sell product.

How much money have you raised to date? . . . $850,000

If someone gave your company $3 million tomorrow, how would you use the money? . . . Execution: Marketing and sales, A/R finance on product with 65% margin. Lease finance to credit worthy / secured entities.

What is the oddest or most unusual thing about your company? . . . Lack of a sizeable burn rate as $850,000 has been invested. For this small investment denominator, working product is delivered, and world class customers have made repeat sales.

What is one thing missing from your business? . . . Employees. Orbiter uses independent contractors that sign IP agreements, and meet Department of Labor and IRS rules.

Why will your company be successful? . . . Patent that allows sole source contracts with the military. Focus on sustainable growth, profitability, and positive cash flow sales.

ZINOpreneur of the Week: Adam Stein

One of our ZINO Society featured ZINOpreneurs this week is Adam Stein, CEO of IMOS. Adam will be one of the 5 minute presenters at the upcoming ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum (ZZIF) on September 15th at Bell Harbor Conference Center. We asked him to respond to a few questions about his company.


What is your one-sentence elevator pitch? . . . IMOS provides workflow automated solutions to financial services companies.

How did you come up with the idea for your company? . . . We created IMOS for proprietary use then reverse engineered the software for a broader market.

The word that best describes your company culture is . . . Innovative

In one sentence, how are you different from your competition? . . . Our software produces a faster and more custom response than that of our competitors providing IMOS users with a higher percentage of consumer conversions (sales).

What is the biggest challenge you face? . . . Developing expanded service offerings on a timely basis without funding.

How much money have you raised to date? . . . Zero - Entirely Self-funded to Date.

If someone gave your company $3 million tomorrow, how would you use the money? . . . We would hire and contract additional programmers to complete the development of planned additional services and fund the marketing staff and campaigns to bring those applications to market.

What is the oddest or most unusual thing about your company? . . . Our most successful application was designed on a hunch - but adopted nationally within just three months of beta.

What is one thing missing from your business? . . . Adequate Staff – we do an incredible job of delivering huge projects with a very small staff.

Why will your company be successful? . . . We have a unique approach to the market. Our software, service, and price point combine to create ‘raving fans’ of IMOS. The IMOS brand is extremely positive.

ZINOpreneur of the Week: Craig C. Rominger

One of our ZINO Society featured ZINOpreneurs this week is Craig Rominger, President and CEO of NanoICE, Inc. Craig will be one of the 5 minute presenters at the upcoming ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum (ZZIF) on September 15th at Bell Harbor Conference Center. We asked him to respond to a few questions about his company.

What is your one-sentence elevator pitch? . . .  We invented the world’s smallest ice product, and it is the only all-natural, temperature and bacteria control product on the market. We can preserve meats, seafood, fruits, vegetables, and potentially human organs in NanoICE.

How did you come up with the idea for your company? . . .  Snaebjorn Tr. Gudnason researched and developed this technology over more than a decade, always with the goal of making smaller ice, with consistent size and shape. He knew more than a decade ago, that the secret to eliminating foodborne illness did not lie in pharmaceuticals and chemicals – but in all-natural NanoICE.

The word that best describes your company culture is . . . Respect

In one sentence, how are you different from your competition? . . . No other company can claim our Portfolio of Benefits when it comes to food preservation, nutrient retention, and shelf life extension.

What is the biggest challenge you face? . . . Raising money in this economy.

How much money have you raised to date? . . . +/- $75K

If someone gave your company $3 million tomorrow, how would you use the money? . . . Transition manufacturing to the US, hire sales team and initiate sales campaign, open US office, launch PR campaign.

What is the oddest or most unusual thing about your company? . . .  The most effective ice product in the world comes from Iceland.

What is one thing missing from your business? . . . Food Industry Board Member.

Why will your company be successful? . . . Technological advantage, strong partner support, good leadership.

ZINOpreneur of the Week: Eric Fogel

One of our ZINO Society featured ZINOpreneurs this week is Eric Fogel, Founder, President and CEO of Emergent Detection.  Eric will be one of the 5 minute presenters at the upcoming ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum (ZZIF) on September 15th at Bell Harbor Conference Center. We asked him to respond to a few questions about his company.

What is your one-sentence elevator pitch? . . . Emergent Detection is helping people win the battle of the bulge in the worldwide obesity epidemic.

How did you come up with the idea for your company? . . . A research scientist by training, I worked with the inventor of our core optical-electronic sensor and we explored a number of different possible configurations for developing a product that would bring scientific-class analysis and solid-state simplicity to the layperson's daily life.

The word that best describes your company culture is . . . Focused

In one sentence, how are you different from your competition? . . .  We are distinct in that we provide direct and immediate analysis of the user's personal metabolic output, as opposed to most competing devices that provide indirect estimates of overall energy expenditure.

What is the biggest challenge you face? . . .  Fundraising in an uncertain economic climate.

How much money have you raised to date? . . . We have bootstrapped over $40,000 of founder-derived funds to date, and are currently closing on a seed round of up to $100,000.

If someone gave your company $3 million tomorrow, how would you use the money? . . .  We could stop fundraising for the time being and focus all of our time and efforts on the design, implementation, and manufacture of our rollout product. We would also be well positioned to accelerate our national expansion strategy.

What is the oddest or most unusual thing about your company? . . .  I'm not only the president, but I'm also a client. I have lost over 25 pounds, assisted by measuring my metabolism with our prototype.

What is one thing missing from your business? . . . A gong to celebrate our internal successes.

Why will your company be successful? . . . We have a passionate founding team and are providing a product that will genuinely help people lead healthier, sustainable lives, in the process enriching the lives of all the friends and family around them.

ZINOpreneur of the Week: Geff Woodward

One of our ZINO Society featured ZINOpreneurs this week is Geff Woodward, Founder and CEO of Wine Valet, Inc. Geff will be one of the 5 minute presenters at the upcoming ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum (ZZIF) on September 15th at Bell Harbor Conference Center. We asked him to share the answers to a few questions about his company.

What is your one-sentence elevator pitch? . . . Wine Valet provides our clientele with a highly personalized concierge service, backed by a sophisticated application, so that they can easily and thoroughly understand and enjoy their wine collection.

How did you come up with the idea for your company? . . . I came up with the business idea because I had a 'wine buying' problem! Over a very few years, I had amassed a modest 700 bottle collection and suddenly realized that I had no idea regarding i) what kind of wines made up my collection, ii) when to consume each bottle, iii) what foods to pair with each wine, iv) the value of my collection at any given time, and v) insurance for my collection at fair market value, etc.


The word that best describes your company culture is . . . Integrity

In one sentence, how are you different from your competition? . . . We neither sell wine nor store wine, we have a completely independent, third party perspective that allows us to provide unbiased, comprehensive and actionable information so that our customers may make informed and intelligent decisions regarding their wine collection (aka liquid asset portfolio)

What is the biggest challenge you face? . . . Our biggest challenge is to truly understand the lifestyles of our target market (i.e., none of us has $5-30M+ in liquid assets...)

How much money have you raised to date? . . . We have raised just under $30K from "Friends and Family" investors in a short amount of time with a 70% success pitch rate.

If someone gave your company $3 million tomorrow, how would you use the money? . . . Build the application, enroll and serve our customers, and successfully grow the company twice as fast as we had originally planned.

What is the oddest or most unusual thing about your company? . . . The most unusual thing about our company is that our financial advisor is the only one associated with the company that doesn't drink wine (he is LDS), but he loves our business model.


What is one thing missing from your business? . . . Note - still working on a good response for this one....


Why will your company be successful? . . . We have identified our target market, we are focused on our 'core competency', we have assembled an exceptional team, and finally we have a simple, yet targeted, execution strategy.

ZINOpreneur of the Week: Jai Jaisimha

I have been posting these ZINOpreneur of the Week blogs on the ZINO Invests blogsite, but thought you might like to meet some of these people too.

One of our ZINO Society featured ZINOpreneurs this week is Jai Jaisimha, CEO of Open Mobile Solutions, Inc. Jai will be one of the 5 minute presenters at the upcoming ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum (ZZIF) on September 15th at Bell Harbor Conference Center. We asked him to share the answers to a few questions about his company.

What is your one-sentence elevator pitch? . . . OMS provides a web-based business-to-business marketplace that helps decision makers (App Creators) find qualified resources (App Builders) to develop, test, port, and distribute mobile applications for smartphones and other mobile phones.

How did you come up with the idea for your company? . . . I ran the AOL Open Mobile Platform (OMP) open source initiative while a VP at AOL. My experiences interacting with partner companies, publishers and other ecosystem providers while at AOL, made me realize that a big missing piece in the fragmented mobile ecosystem was a marketplace and guided experience that connected qualified service providers (sellers) with app creators (buyers).

The word that best describes your company culture is . . . Scrappy

In one sentence, how are you different from your competition? . . . In contrast to word of mouth or crowd sourcing sites, OMS’ matchmaking service connects qualified, vetted and analytically targeted recommendations of mobile service providers to app creators.

What is the biggest challenge you face? . . . Growing the average deal size for the company.

How much money have you raised to date? . . . Self-funded/bootstrapped - $60K

If someone gave your company $3 million tomorrow, how would you use the money? . . . Accelerate the development and launch of app distribution, lifecycle management and financial clearing services.

What is the oddest or most unusual thing about your company? . . . That our launch event was sponsored by mobile industry giant Qualcomm.

What is one thing missing from your business? . . . Ways to continuously improve the site visitor to project delivery ratio.

Why will your company be successful? . . . OMS will succeed because a) we’re purely focused on the mobile app lifecycle and have a proprietary methodology for selecting and recommending service providers that deliver quality ; b) have unique and deep relationships with key mobile industry stakeholders that will enable us to accelerate the growth of our business; c) we’re capturing, analyzing and acting on data about the entire app lifecycle using our proprietary and patent-pending algorithms to deliver optimal results to our customers and partners.

Labor Day at Blackrock

Patty Barrier, Sarah Rindlaub, Colleen Brown, Cathi Hatch

We flew over East of the mountains in the Barrier's Falcon 2000 private jet to spend the weekend with our dear friends, Sarah & John Rindlaub.  Sarah & John have invited us to join them for Labor Day weekend for the past six years at their beautiful lake cabin at Black Rock for a couple of days of golf, good food and wine, and lots of laughter!
Besides Ken and me, joining John & Sarah were Patty & Jimmy Barrier and Colleen & Guy Brown.  Also part of the party, were our other good friends, CK & Jim Coles, who also own a cabin at Black Rock and they invited guests from Montana, Bill & Beth _____.
We had a wonderful time playing golf for two days on the spectacular course which includes views of Lake Coeur d'Alene, waterfalls, rock formations and one hole with 13 sand traps and one hole with the longest sand trap in the world.  Not counting a few mulligans, I had a score of 103 on both days which is respectable for me.
Since Jimmy and Ken couldn't play golf this year, since each has a medical malady, they were left at home to pit cherries for the Cherries Jubilee which we had for dessert on Saturday evening.  Yum!  Though they both complained a bit, they did a fine job of pitting the cherries and laying in a supply of vanilla bean ice cream.  In addition, Ken barbecued fresh King salmon and New York strips outside while I put together a salad and roasted potatoes and Patty and John shucked the inevitable corn on the cob which is Jim's favorite.

Beth & Patty

I was proud to show the proof of our upcoming ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum insert which will appear in the Puget Sound Business Journal next week which features each of the ZINOpreneurs who will be presenting their companies' needs at the Bell Harbor Conference Center on September 15th.  John posed for a photo with the ladies as I showed off the insert.
It was another fantastic Labor Day weekend.  Can't wait for next year!!

CK, Patty, John, Cathi, Beth, Sarah