Venture Capital In Education Summit 2010 Seeks Ten Game-Changing Early Stage Education Companies

May 7, 2010 - PRLog -- New York, NY - The Venture Capital in Education Summit 2010, to be held at the IAC building in New York City on June 8th and 9th, announced today its call for proposals to participate in its newly launched “Education Innovators Showcase.” The Showcase will provide a select group of ten early-stage companies, poised to make their mark in the education sector, the rare opportunity to present their companies to the Summit attendees, which will include venture capitalists and influential leaders in the education industry.  

To qualify for the Showcase, companies must be must be pre-series A enterprises that have demonstrated market traction and are deploying innovative technologies for learning.  The companies will be selected through an application process that will be judged by representatives from the Summit’s host organizations, leading independent investment bank Berkery Noyes and Startl, a not-for-profit bringing investment to innovation in education and learning.  Companies that meet outlined criteria and are interested in applying for the Education Innovators Showcase can apply at www.wizehive.com/apps/display/startl3 by May 15, 2010.  

The Venture Capital in Education Summit 2010 is a conference designed to nurture innovation in education by connecting early-stage capital with transformative sector trends and innovative emergent education companies.  This year’s Summit will bring together a select group of industry leaders and innovators, entrepreneurs and investors to learn more about the K-12 and postsecondary education sectors and to build stronger bridges between the early-stage investment community and the dynamic businesses transforming the education landscape.  Early-stage investors interested in the education space will have the opportunity to engage influential leaders and companies from the education industry in an exploration of topics including:

•   The Evolving Landscape and Changing Dynamics of the Education Sector
•   The New Economics of and Approaches to the Business of Education  
•   Challenges and Opportunities Facing Education Publishing  
•   Disruptive and Transformative Models of Education Delivery

The Summit program will kick off with a conversation by Bruce Nussbaum, Professor of Innovation and Design at Parsons New School of Design and Contributing Editor to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and Tim Brown, President and CEO of IDEO. Other sessions will be led by noted members of the investment community, education entrepreneurs and executives, foundations and institutions, and policy experts.  In an intimate setting, the gathering will bring together venture capitalists, angel investors, social venture philanthropists and private equity investors with entrepreneurs, executives, foundations and other innovators in the K-20 education markets.

Other sponsors of the Venture Capital in Education Summit 2010 include Hogan Lovells, Scholastic and CSG|PR.  Space is limited.  For more information about the event, visit www.venturecapitalineducationsummit.com or email us at event@berkerynoyes.com.  Or, to apply for the Education Innovators Showcase, please visit www.wizehive.com/apps/display/startl3.

About Berkery Noyes
Berkery Noyes is one of the pre-eminent merger and acquisition firms serving the education and information industry, having completed more than 400 transactions since its inception.  Among the most recent education transactions include Rockbridge Growth Equity's acquisition of Northcentral University, KUE Digital's acquisition of Excelsior Software, Leeds’ acquisition of Ex Libris and eInstruction's acquisition of Interwrite Learning. Berkery Noyes’ clients include private companies seeking a buyer, most of the major international information companies, and private equity firms who use the firm's expertise in locating, analyzing and negotiating with acquisition candidates and in managing divestitures. For more information, visit http://www.berkerynoyes.com.

Startl
Startl is a social enterprise dedicated to accelerating the growth of digital innovations for learning – from kindergarten to college, inside and outside the classroom. Focused on catalyzing next generation products with the greatest promise of transforming the education sector and the learning market, Startl recruits young innovators and entrepreneurs, immerses them in a rigorous product design and development process, and helps them build socially responsible and fiscally sustainable start-ups. Startl has received initial seed funding from the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Lumina Foundation. For more information, visit http://www.startl.org.

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