Melville, NY – November 8, 2017 – The Long Island Capital Alliance (“LICA”), Long Island’s leading non-profit capital formation and business development organization, today announced the presenting companies and investor panelists for its Food & Beverage Capital Forum to be held on Friday, December 1, 2017. The capital forum will feature presentations by companies which have connections to the Long Island region and are building business around dynamic and emerging trends in the consumer edible, food service and agricultural products sectors.
Jeff Lichtenstein, CEO of Organic Opportunities and Founder of Gourmet Guru, which he built and successfully sold to an industry leader, will deliver the keynote address at the capital forum describing his path to success. Five companies in the consumer edible, food service and agricultural products sectors will present their business plans to an audience that will include venture capital firms, investment banks, private equity firms, and angel and high net worth investors. Each of the companies selected by LICA for presentation at the capital forum possesses better-for-you edible products or supply chain and food service-related innovations with strong catalysts for growth. A panel of investment professionals will review the presentations, offer their insights on the presenters’ commercial viability and prospects for market success and provide expert commentary on investment conditions in the broader food and beverage sector.
Food & Beverage Capital Forum on December 1, 2017 -- Participants
Keynote Speaker
Jeff Lichtenstein, CEO of Organic Opportunities and Founder of Gourmet Guru
Mr. Lichtenstein built Gourmet Guru, an all-natural and organic food retail distribution company, with a $10,000 personal investment in 1996 into a vertically integrated manufacturing, importing, representation, merchandising, consultancy and distribution business based in a state of the art LEED-certified facility in Hunts Point, Bronx, with over $60,000,000 in revenues and over 100 employees before being sold in 2016. In 2017, he launched Organic Opportunities, raising the bar in the organic food/beverage technology landscape.
Presenting Companies
MUD Frozen Dessert: The first non-dairy nutritious frozen treat made with absolutely NO processed sugars or additives. The company is based in Belle Harbor, NY.
Renuble: An innovative supplier of organic fertilizer to fill the growing need for organic crop production by growers. The Company is based in Stony Brook, NY.
Ortex Organics: An environmental technology company offering cost-effective food and organic waste solutions. The company is based in Brooklyn, NY.
Foodfaves: A mobile app to help people identify their food cravings and quickly and easily order a solution to satisfy it. The company is based in Deer Park, NY.
Keith Nervous Breakdown: A provider of all-natural, non-alcoholic, specialty bottled cocktail mixers sold to distributors for retail stores, restaurants, hotels and on-line retailers. The company is based in East Hampton, NY.
Panel of Investors:
The following investment professionals will participate in the investor panel at the Food & Beverage Capital Forum:
Mark Elenowitz: Mr. Elenowitz is the CEO of TriPoint Global Equities, LLC and BANQ®, a leading electronic broker-dealer. He integrates a successful entrepreneurial background with extensive financial services and capital markets experience to advise clients on financings and acquisitions. Mr. Elenowitz is also Managing Director of TriPoint Capital Advisors, LLC. He is the recipient of several entrepreneurial awards and has been profiled in BusinessWeek and on CNBC.
Robert Hussey: Mr. Hussey is a seasoned financial, marketing, and operations executive focused on advising private equity and institutional investors. He founded and managed the first NASDAQ IPO and ultimate sale to News Corp of POP Radio, which became the country's largest direct broadcast satellite network. He is currently the Lead Board Director of CPXi, a top 10 US independent digital media company.
Daniel Broyles: Mr. Broyles is a partner of FundWorks, a venture capital fund with $100 million in assets. Prior to establishing FundWorks, he was active in the real estate market, including the National September 11 Memorial Museum. Mr. Broyles is also a member Andrew Carnegie Business Council.
LICA is hosting the Food & Beverage Capital Forum on Friday, December 1, 2017 from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at 68 South Service Road, Melville, NY, 11747. The capital forum provides an opportunity to meet capital providers, entrepreneurs, industry executives and businesses seeking capital, as well as to hear a panel of industry experts discuss financing alternatives for emerging food and beverage companies. Investors receive complimentary admission.
New LICA Sponsor
LICA is pleased to welcome the support of R&D Tax Savers as its most recent new sponsor. R&D Tax Savers was founded by Charles R. Goulding, Attorney/CPA, in order to identify for its clients qualified R&D tax credits. Since 1981, the R&D tax credit has helped stimulate American innovation. R&D Tax Savers plays a key role in helping companies grow by quantifying and monetizing their ingenuity.
The work of LICA in assisting dozens of local companies in raising over $150 million and providing business formation consultation would not be possible without the support of its sponsors. Including R&D Tax Savers, a total of 14 sponsors provide LICA, a non-profit organization, with financial contributions and in-kind services.
About Long Island Capital Alliance
Since 1984, the Long Island Capital Alliance (www.licapital.org), formerly known as Long Island Venture Group, has been promoting business growth on Long Island. LICA seeks to create a productive and business-friendly environment that will afford area businesses access to the resources necessary to compete successfully in today's markets. LICA serves as a focal point for the exchange of ideas among new and existing business enterprises, successful entrepreneurs, investors, and service providers. Through quarterly capital forums and special meetings, LICA brings together members of the region's business community, and has been recognized as the place to turn to when small businesses need equity, debt, or other financing, or for investors to find an attractive investment opportunity.
LICA's mission is to encourage economic development on Long Island by facilitating capital formation for a broad range of companies in various industries, from early stage to mature, middle market, closely held and publicly-traded businesses. LICA accomplishes this primarily through education, networking, quarterly capital forums, periodic special educational meetings, and alliances with other regional organizations. LICA brings together members of the region's business community and serves as the finance arm for significant local business and organizations.
For more information on LICA and its next event, please contact LICA today or register online at www.licapital.org.
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Contact:
Jordan Darrow
Darrow Associates, Inc.
jdarrow@darrowir.com
