Venture Forum meeting set

The Gulf Coast Venture Forum March membership meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 10 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Kensington Country Club, 2700 Pine Ridge Road in Naples.

The GCVF is a group of Southwest Floridians dedicated to making our region's new and emerging businesses successful. Members of the Forum meet monthly to hear about local investment opportunities. To encourage capital investments in Southwest Florida businesses, the Forum seeks to identify sources of private equity investment and venture capital.

Gulf Coast Venture Forum promotes the success of the region's new and emerging businesses by bringing together entrepreneurs, educational resources, capital providers and service providers. The group also offers informative educational programs presented by seasoned, recognized professionals and business people, providing a place for the sharing and exchange of business and technical experience.

Traditionally, local wealth has invested outside the local community while businesses sought local financing. To bridge this gap, the Forum presents emerging, promising companies to the local venture capital community.

Members of the Gulf Coast Venture Forum are invited to invest in the companies that are featured at the meetings, but they are not required to do so. Those who choose to invest do so individually, not as a group.

"Our organization is a non-profit and is not registered as a broker-dealer with the SEC," said Timothy Cartwright, Gulf Coast Venture Forum President. "This means that our members are required to be accredited investors as defined by the SEC and the NASD."

The Gulf Coast Venture Forum is open to new members. Interested parties are encouraged to view www.gcvf.com or call 239-262-6300 for more information. Members from the organization have also been speaking at events throughout Southwest Florida and are available by calling the office.