Pitching A Startup

He had been using computer technology to map Sonoma County vineyards.

"I was sitting on this mountain of information," said Thomas, 26. "I thought there must be something else I could do with it."

He came up with the concept for WineMap.org, an Internet business that matches grape growers with buyers.

On Tuesday, Thomas pitched his startup at the North Bay Venture Communities Innovation Investment Forum in Santa Rosa, where dozens of eager entrepreneurs met with potential investors.

The panel of investors, including venture capitalists and "angel" investors who specialize in smaller deals, asked tough questions of Thomas and the other entrepreneurs.

They wanted to know how long it would take the startups to get their products to market. They asked about competition, patents, intellectual property and corporate leadership.

The startups ranged from Web 2.0 businesses to telecom equipment vendors. RotoFactory, a two-year-old Santa Rosa business that does special effects for Hollywood studios, needs $1.5 million to expand, said founder Eric Christensen.

VIDA Products, a Santa Rosa business that makes computer chips for test instruments, sensor applications and communications, was looking for $1 million.

GroceryPower is a Santa Rosa-based Internet search business that helps grocery buyers do comparison shopping. The startup is seeking $2 million to help commercialize the concept, said CEO Andrew Griffiths.

Evolve Game Studios of Rohnert Park is trying to enter the lucrative market for PC games, said CEO James Parker. It was looking for $750,000 from investors.

At Tuesday's event, venture and angel investors coached entrepreneurs on how to approach potential backers.

Benjamin Erulkar, who heads the economic development program for the U.S. Department of Commerce, said the federal government is taking a more active role in supporting entrepreneurs.

"The conversation in Washington has really changed," he said. "You can't talk about what's needed for the economy without mentioning innovation," Erulkar said.

But entrepreneurs still depend on private investors to provide the funding they need to develop an idea into an enterprise.

Thomas and his partners already have put $400,000 of their own money into the two-year-old business. They're looking for another $700,000 to take it to the next level, Thomas said.

WineMap.org has the potential to revolutionize the $3 billion annual winegrape market, he said. It allows growers to show their vineyard locations online and offer their grapes for sale.

Growers will pay WineMap $1,200 per year, less than half of what it would cost to sell through a broker, Thomas said.

So far, about 1,500 growers are using the Web service, representing 3,000 vineyards in California and Oregon.

"Grape growers want to see their transactions online," Thomas told a panel of investors.

The conference, hosted by the city of Santa Rosa, Golden Capital Network and Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, continues today at the Hilton Sonoma Wine Country Hotel.

You can reach Staff Writer Steve Hart at 521-5205 or steve.hart@pressdemocrat.com.