FIU’s venture capital conference to showcase companies destined to create jobs


Florida International University’s 2011 Americas Venture Capital Conference will bring cutting-edge companies from Latin America and South Florida together with leading financiers to continue the work of job creation, economic expansion and alliance building that began at 2010’s inaugural conference.
The conference, scheduled for November 16-17 at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida, is presented by the Eugenio Pino and Family Global Entrepreneurship Center and the College of Business Administration. It gives participants a rare opportunity to learn about growth companies doing business in Latin America and South Florida, as well as conduct business with promising ventures.
“Successful ventures create jobs and other vital signs of economic growth,” said Conference Founder and Co-chair Irma Becerra-Fernandez. “By bringing promising ventures together with financiers, the AVCC plays a critical role in growing the economic infrastructure of South Florida and Latin America.”
As part of the two-day conference’s comprehensive look at entrepreneurship, a wide range of speakers will share their first-person stories of success and insight into overcoming the challenges that face every entrepreneurial venture.
Speakers include:                                                                                              

  • Wenceslao “Wences” Casares, co-CEO of Lemon.com, and founding partner of MECK Ltd. 
  • Jose Maria Blanc, managing director of Intel Capital.
  • Manuel D. “Manny” Medina, chairman and CEO of Medina Capital Partners, Inc. and founder of technology innovator Terremark Worldwide Inc.
  • Gustavo Arnavat, United States executive director of the Inter-American Development Bank.
  • Andres Moreno, CEO and founder of Open English, who presented at the 2010 AVCC and has since received an estimated $6.3 million in venture capital investment.
  • John Karlen, principal at Flybridge Capital Partners and an investor in Open English.

Entrepreneurs from throughout Latin America and South Florida will present their business plans to conference attendees, including venture capitalists and private investors. This year, presenting ventures were chosen in two categories: Top Global Innovative Ventures, and Top Global Emerging Ventures. A full list of presenting ventures is available here.
To register for the 2011 AVCC, visit www.AmericasVCConference.com or contact the Pino Global Entrepreneurship Center at entrepreneurship@fiu.edu.

NOTE: The deadline to request media credentials to cover the conference is Friday, Nov. 11, 2011. Please submit your request at http://avcc.fiu.edu/media-coverage.html  For more information, contact J.P. Renaud at 305-348-2716.

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