The Accidental CFO: The North Bay Growth and Innovation Forum vs The North Bay Investors Summit?

The North Bay Growth and Innovation Forum vs The North Bay Investors Summit?

This fall the North Bay will host two great events --the 9th North Bay Growth & Innovation Forum (NBGIF) and the 2010 North Bay Investors Summit (NBIS).

The NBGIF is put on by the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce with leadership from the City of Santa Rosa Economic Development team. The North Bay Angels are an event partner. This fall the NBGIF happens on October 20. The keynote speaker is Doug Clark, the CEO of Métier. Métier recently opened its second office in Santa Rosa. The Métier Santa Rosa story is amazing. In just 12 months Métier had brought on over 20 employees (with 11 open positions) in Santa Rosa. Métier chose Santa Rosa after an exhaustive evaluation of different cities.

The target participants for the NBGIF are growing small-to-mid-sized businesses in the North Bay. The NBGIF includes the standard company pitches. But the forum also has an educational component. The NBGIF has round table discussions where entrepreneurs can talk with an expert at no charge. Past round table topics have included financing, due diligence, social media, and email marketing. Attendance is open to anyone. This is a great event for any North Bay small-to-medium-sized business owner to promote their business. It is also a great forum for aspiring entrepreneurs.

On the other hand, the NBIS is hosted by the Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster (SMBC) with a focus on angel or VC-backable startups. The SMBC is partnering with the North Bay Angels and the Keiretsu Forum. Attendance is limited to accredited investors and VC's. This year's event theme is Cars, Cabernet, & Cash. Cash of course refers to the VC-pitches. And cabernet is obvious -- Napa and Sonoma counties make the North Bay the premier wine region in the country -- so the wine at the event mixer will be great. As for Cars, the event will include a small exotic and performance car expo and an opportunity to test drive a Tesla. The NBIS keynote speaker will be Barry Schuler, the CEO of Raydiance and the former CEO of AOL. The 2010 NBIS will be on November 10.

The NBIS is THE North Bay event for early stage startups to pitch to angels and VC's. Up to 200 investors are expected to attend.

So...clearly the NBGIF and the NBIS are complementary events. The NBGIF should appeal to any growing business in the North Bay. The NBIS makes sense for angel investors, aspiring angel investors, and VC attendees along with startup company presenters. This fall will be a good time for small businesses and startups in the North Bay to pitch their companies.

Full disclosure...I am on the organizing committee for both events representing the North Bay Angels.

2010 North Bay Growth and Innovation Forum

October 20, 2010

Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel

More info: http://bit.ly/UP4MB