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Reverse Chronological Order - Detailed articles below

How to be an Angel
Time Magazine, August 25, 2003 (Click Here for article)

eFiltro New Idea Center Announces South Florida Angel Investors Start Fund with $1M Committed Business Wire, Sun-Sentinel, TechWire, Daily Business Review & Various Press - Feb. 5, 2003

New venture capital fund seeks to raise $5M to investment in early-stage Florida companies
February 07, 2003 By: Daily Business Review staff and wire services

South Florida Angel Network Expands
Business Wire News Alert, November 6, 2002

InternetCoast Committee Drives Entrepreneurship & Capital in South Florida
South Florida Business Journal , August , 2002

Ready for an Americas Rebound
South Florida Business Journal , January 17, 2002

Internet: Holes in the Net
Investors are returning slowly; in the meantime, cuts and consolidation rule.
Florida Trend Magazine, January 2002

EFiltro Tries to Tap Angels for Young Firms
Miami Herald, November 12, 2001 by Bea Garcia

S. Florida selling its Connections - State Sponsors Tech Missions
Sun-Sentinel, November 11, 2001

Efiltro Fall 2001 Newsletter
EFiltro Press Release,  November 1, 2001

Angel Investor Seminar for Broward County
Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), October 15, 2001 by Christine Winter

Seminar to Scan Skies for Angels
Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), August 27, 2001 by Christine Winter

Networking 2.0:
Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), August 6, 2001 by Christine Winter

EFiltro to Launch Consulting Consortium
Business News America, July 3, 2001

Efiltro Summer 2001 Newsletter
EFiltro Press Release,  June 15, 2001

Angel Forum
The Miami Herald, June 4, 2001, by Bea Garcia

Seminar Teaches how to be an Angel (investor, that is)
South Florida Business Journal, May 25, 2001

Back to Basics
The Miami Herald, April 8, 2001, by Bea Garcia

32 Argentine Internet execs visit Miami seeking Partners, Investments.
The Sun-Sentinnel, March 16, 2001, by Doreen Hemlock

Tuesday Network VC Mavens take the Road to Optimism
LocalBusiness.com, March 14, 2001

Internet Coast Committee Chairs Introduced
Boca Raton News, March 2001

EFiltro Launches Mexico Office
Business News America, November 17, 2000
Various articles from Expansion, Reforma and El Economista also available in Spanish

EFiltro signs Agreements with Consultatio and IBM
Buenos Aires Economico, October 5, 2000

EFiltro Launch Argentina: To unite the  Dot-Coms
La Nación (Argentina), September 20, 2000 plus numerous other articles from Clarín, InfoMail, Mercado, Ambito Financiero, LatinAmerican.com, et. al. Also available in Spanish.

Of Gators, Gigabytes and Gusto: Greetings from Silicon Beach
Internet.com · September 13, 2000 · by Joe Gose

EFiltro Plans October Latin America Launch
Business News America, September 6, 2000

Biz Plan Fast Track
The Miami Herald, August 28, 2000, by Bea Garcia

Full Articles
Reverse Chronological Order

How to be an Angel - With many stocks til lpricey, investing in start-ups offer the most bang ( and potential risk) for the buck
Daniel Kadlec - TIME MAGAZINE - August 25, 2003 Click Here for Full Article

eFiltro New Idea Center Announces South Florida Angel Investors Start Fund with $1M Committed
BUSINESS WIRE & Various Press - Feb. 5, 2003

--New Idea Center announced that it has $1M in commitments for an angel investor fund focused on early-stage venture capital in South Florida. Over twenty individuals have committed at least $10,000 per year for five years to the first "pledge fund" of its type in the region.
In order for the fund to be effective, it must raise at least $2.5M and enlist the support of investors and local universities such as FIU, FAU, Nova and Miami. During New Idea Center's venture capital investors' events in February, the remaining commitments must be secured to enter into a binding agreement. These events are exclusively for accredited investors, individuals that meet the SEC's minimum wealth requirements, to network and share their deal flow. Dr. Alan Carsrud, from FIU's Center for Entrepreneurship and Family Business, and recently arrived from UCLA, will be this month's keynote speaker.

Zach Bell, co-founder of the angel fund and Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Miami, stated: "Entrepreneurship is the critical force behind innovation and new wealth creation. By creating a managed fund that addresses the early-stage funding gap inherent in new ventures, we can significantly 'raise the bar' for local commercialization opportunities by focusing our efforts on the creation and expansion of promising young firms."

"After the venture capitalists in Florida migrated to larger sized deals over the past two years, there is a great funding gap for early stage companies. We are willing to coordinate, without compensation, a structured fund for these first-round opportunities, as they are now attractively priced," stated Mick Lopez, CEO of New Idea Center. "Any interested investors that want to participate in this national trend can request an invitation via http://www.NewIdeaCenter.com or call (305) 913 3185 ext 2462."

New venture capital fund seeks to raise $5M to investment in early-stage Florida companies
February 07, 2003 By: Daily Business Review staff and wire services

A newly formed South Florida investment fund has received commitments totaling $1 million for investments in early-stage companies and is hoping to raise $1.5 million more, according to Mick Lopez, CEO of New Idea Center, a venture capital consulting firm in Coral Gables. More than 20 individuals have committed at least $10,000 per year for five years to what's known in the venture capital industry as an angel fund. This money is raised from individuals and invested in companies that are still developing products and services. The angel fund is looking for more individual investors who meet the SEC's minimum wealth requirements for putting personal funds at risk. Zach Bell, a fund co-founder and professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Miami, said the fund is seeking $5 million from 100 investors. To start, it must raise at least $2.5 million. The angel fund plans to provide $200,000 to $300,000 to each early-stage company it invests in, said Bell, who is also a partner with Langley Group, a business consulting and investment banking firm. The fund plans to focus on Florida companies with particular interest in firms based in South Florida, Lopez said. "After the venture capitalists in Florida migrated to larger-sized deals over the past two years, there was a great funding gap for early-stage companies," Lopez said. As a result, young companies could not attract capital to pay for operations until they either grew large enough or generated enough revenue to attract institutional investors. The fund will be modeled after other angel funds in the country such as Dinner Club in Virginia and the Band of Angels in Silicon Valley. Dinner Club is an early-stage venture fund that makes investments in high-tech companies. The Band of Angels is a formal group of 150 former and current tech executives and entrepreneurs who provide capital to start-up companies. The Band of Angels invests across all high technology categories. In contrast to those angel funds, Lopez said this the New Idea fund would be open to ventures in any industry. Once $2.5 million is raised, an executive committee of six to 12 individuals would be elected. "There would not be a managing partner per se," Lopez said. Bell said committee members would screen business plans, track investments and perform background checks among other duties. Lawyer Charles Pearlman, a shareholder in the Fort Lauderdale office of Adorno & Yoss, helped set up the fund. The fund is trying to enlist the support of local universities such as Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University, Nova Southeastern University and University of Miami. Fund organizers want the universities to provide ideas and concepts and students who would work with angel investors to evaluate investment candidates and track companies that receive funds. Fun organizers also hope to tap professors' knowledge and experience. "By creating a managed fund that addressed the early-stage funding gap inherent in new ventures, we can significantly raise the bar for local commercialization opportunities by focusing our efforts on the creation and expansion of promising young firms," Bell said.

South Florida Angel Network Expands
Business Wire News Alert, November 6, 2002

eFiltro NewIdeaCenter announced speakers from Softbank, Nova University, Crossbow and Cenetec for its early-stage venture capital events for the Fall. The popular events are exclusively for accredited investors, individuals that meet the SEC's minimum wealth requirements, to network and share their deal flow. Softbank Venture Capital's Luis Valdich will be the main speaker on November 13th at the Miami meeting. Dr. Randy Pohlman, Dean of Nova University's Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship will speak on November 19th at Fort Lauderdale's event, which is co-sponsored with The Langley Group. Leandro Testa, partner at Crossbow Ventures, and Scott Adams, founder of Cenetec Ventures, will address the Boca Raton audience on December 10th.

"After sponsoring fifteen investor events in the last two years, we recognize angel investors' needs: quality speakers, privacy, screened deal flow and premiere locales close to their homes," stated Mick Lopez, CEO of New Idea Center. "We currently have a database of over 200 high net worth individuals. Any interested investors can request an invitation via http://www.NewIdeaCenter.com or (305)913 3185 ext 2461. A few select entrepreneurs may attend after they submit their business plans for consideration."

eFiltro New Idea Center is a venture capital consulting firm that serves entrepreneurs and investors through its high integrity and intellectual capital. It facilitates the development and funding of new and established businesses via a network of over 400 investors, core competence in business plan methodology, and technology industry alliances. Since 2000, its experienced management team has established presence in Florida and Latin America, with offices in Miami, Boca Raton and Buenos Aires, to provide business development and venture capital consulting services.

InternetCoast Committee Drives Entrepreneurship & Capital in South Florida
South Florida Business Journal , August , 2002

The InternetCoast's Entrepreneurship and Capital committee continues to support and encourage the entrepreneurial spirit and facilitate capital for new enterprises. The team, co-chaired by Scott Adams (Cenetec) and Mick Lopez (eFiltro NewIdeaCenter) has focused on bringing together the resources from various organizations that are dedicated to developing new ventures in South Florida. Through their following activities in the past quarter, the entrepreneurial spirit and capital challenge is kept going in these difficult economic times.
.....
EFiltro NewIdeaCenter (www.NewIdeaCenter.com) - There were over five angel investor networking events held in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. An "angel" investor is an individual that places their own money in early-stage private equity ventures, and sometimes work with venture capitalists, who have established investment funds. These exclusive events, either during morning breakfasts or evening cocktail hour, have served to create a network of over 180 accredited investors for entrepreneurs to get their concepts funded. The NewIdeaCenter also sponsors business plan workshops for entrepreneurs in their Miami and Boca Raton offices.
......
The InternetCoast is driven by the efforts of the numerous volunteers that actively work and network in the committees. There are already over forty individuals who have volunteered to work on the Entrepreneurship and Capital teams. The team also counts on the support of the region's entrepreneur organizations and venture capital associations. Our final ambition is to work in unison to foster entrepreneurial drive and successes in the InternetCoast. You may volunteer for our efforts contacting info@NewIdeaCenter.com

Ready for an Americas Rebound
South Florida Business Journal , January 17, 2002, By Jim Freer

The slowdown in venture capital investment has been a classic case of the United States catching a cold and Latin America coming down with a spillover flu, said Mick Lopez, CEO of eFiltro New Idea Center in Coral Gables.
Efiltro, which also has offices in Boca Raton and Buenos Aires, Argentina, helps companies in the United States and Latin America develop products and find customers. Efiltro also introduces those clients to and assists them with negotiations with venture capitalist and other investors. During 2000, eFiltro's first year, nearly 70 percent of the company's work was with clients in Latin America, Lopez Said. Las year, demand for advisory services from Latin America dropped sharply and eFiltro focused on expanding its business sin the less-troubled U.S> Market. Now about 10 percent of eFiltro';s work is with Latin American clients. But Lopez said he expects that by this year's third quarter, after the U.S. economy resumes growing, there will be a pick-up in the flow of venture capital and other private equity in the United States.
To prepare for that business, eFiltro last month joined a financial advisory firm in Brazil and a firm in Mexico in forming Americas Ventures. The other members of that consortium are ITC Ventures of Sao Paolo, Brazil and New Capital of Mexico City. "We have worked with them on several projects," Lopez said. Now, he said, the three advisory firms will combine their advisers and services on projects where U.S. companies seek to invest in Latin America and on projects where Latin American firms seek to set up offices or sell products in the United States. When the market for those services rebounds, Lopez said, he expects there will be far fewer competitors than in 2000. "A lot of advisory firms were opening in Latin America," he said. "Now, I can't even find the Web sites of some of the best ones."
Before forming eFiltro, Lopez was an IBM executive in that company's division that serves and attempts to find clients in Latin America. During its first two years, eFiltro developed business plans and provided other advisory services to 30 companies, with a base that Lopez said is "mostly in South Florida and Latin America."
Three of those clients obtained venture capital from funds they were introduced to by eFiltro. Those companies are: MetroTrack of Fort Lauderdale, whose technology enables clients to find the phone numbers of wireless calls; Merkatum of Miami, which provides software for business-to-business Internet services; and Banca2 of Argentina, which operates an online financial portal.
Last year, eFiltro organized four angel investor seminars in Coral Gables. At those meetings, wealthy individuals, known as angels, meet with owners of young companies looking for seed capital and other early-stage financing. EFiltro plans to hold angel seminars at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables on February 26 and at a yet-to-be-determined site in Fort Lauderdale on March 19. Information may be obtained on the company's Web site, www.efiltro.com.

 

Internet: Holes in the Net
Investors are returning slowly; in the meantime, cuts and consolidation rule.
By Lisa Gibbs, Florida Trend Magazine, January 2002

Two years ago, euphoria over the Latin internet market raised millions for would-be media pioneers — and hopes that south Florida had finally found a way to capitalize on the high-tech economy. Today, ambitions have shrunk along with dot-com stock prices and venture capital funding.
Internet firms that haven’t gone out of business have slashed staff and shelved expansion plans. Patagon.com, a Miami online bank and brokerage, recently laid off 18 of its 49 employees in Miami and announced plans to sell its U.S. brokerage operations. Several promising ventures have sold out to larger firms: Yupi Internet of Miami Beach, for example, was purchased by Microsoft’s MSN after cutting staff and canceling a planned IPO; and the North Palm Beach-based Bankrate closed financial advice unit Consejero.com in 2000. Even giants like AOL haven’t escaped the suffering. The Fort Lauderdale-based AOL Latin America announced late last year it was cutting 133 jobs, 7.6% of its workforce.

The survivors aren’t giving up; they’re just thinking longer-term. “The growth is still there,” says Mick Lopez, CEO of Miami venture capital firm eFiltro. A recent Boston Consulting Group report projected Latin American online sales rose to $1.3 billion in 2001 from $540 million in 2000. Lopez says investors are slowly returning. “Before, deals would get funded in four to six weeks; now it takes four to six months.”

Meanwhile, in Miami, talk has shifted from the internet to broader technology and telecom sectors. “There’s a greater rationale for Miami to be the center of internet traffic than to be the center of production of internet content,” says Seth Gordon, co-founder of Tuesday Network, a local internet networking group.

EFiltro Tries to Tap Angels for Young Firms
Miami Herald, November 12, 2001 by Bea Garcia

Angels to the rescue.
In an effort to bring much needed financing to start-ups in Florida and Latin America, eFiltro.com has been reaching out to potential investors, educating them in the fine art of being so-called angels for these young firms.
EFiltro, which was formed last August, helps companies find sources of capital as well as counsels them on their business plan. So far, it has held two angel investor seminars, both in Miami. Future meetings will be geared to creating a network of angel investors in South Florida. The next meeting is today in Fort Lauderdale.
``This area has so many wealthy individuals, and more are coming with migration from the Northeast and South America, says Mick Lopez, CEO and one of the eFiltro founders. It's a ``shame these human and capital resources haven't been tapped for the benefit of the local economy.''
So far, eFiltro has assisted several firms in identifying funding sources: MetroTrack, based in Fort Lauderdale, Merkatum, based in Miami, and eBanca2, based in Argentina.
Since its inception 15 months ago, eFiltro.com has reviewed hundreds of business plans. Yet, only 30 companies have been invited to present their business plans at eFiltro investment forums, Lopez says. The emphasis is on sound business models, experienced management teams, proprietary technology and a large potential market for their products or services. Lopez says eFiltro also searched to present companies that hadn't sought venture financing and thus would be new to these investors.
Twenty of these 30 companies have raised capital, totaling about $47 million. Twenty-five percent of companies have gotten funding after they presented their business plans at an eFiltro seminar.
EFiltro has three partners in Miami, including Lopez who spent a good portion of his career with IBM, holding positions in South Florida and Latin America. It also has three partners in Buenos Aires, and one in California. It also works with about a dozen consultants, depending on the type of company it's assisting.

S. Florida selling its Connections - State Sponsors Tech Missions
Sun-Sentinel, November 11, 2001 (Selected parts)

Last Spring tyhe US-Argentina StrategPartners' Forum brought together South Florida tech companies with Argentine counterparts for some intense interrnational networking, but perhaps the best part of the whole event was simply that it happend in Miami....

After the Argentina mission, a delegation of 28 high-tech companies from Spain came to South florida in June. Some officials from Israel visited in September, and full scale missions from Israel and Brazil are in the works for next year.

Mick Lopez, CEO of eFiltro, Coral Gables, and one of the InternetCoast planners for the events, said firms from both nations set up face-to-face meetings arranged via the InternetCoast Web siste. they were looking for potential parnters for everything from distribution to software development to expansion and acquisition.

(eFiltro notes: this is a long article on the Sunday section, that we only show a small portion. eFiltro was invited by the Argentina Minnistry of Science and technology to attend as their venture consultant advisor, and was a business development consultant for the Consulate of Spain).

 

Efiltro Fall 2001 Newsletter Highlights
EFiltro Press Release,  November 1, 2001

  • New eFiltro Website - www.efiltro.com
  • Americas Ventures - eFiltro Miami and Buenos Aires teams with ITC Ventures in Sao Paulo and NewCapital in Mexico to provide pan-regional venture capital consulting services.
  • Angel Networks - eFiltro teams with InternetCoast, Miami Internet Alliance, First Tuesday and others to encourage new early stage venture capital networks in South Florida.
  • vFinance.com - eFiltro teams with the leading site for firms seeking capital to provide business plan analysis services
  • Buenos Aires - New permanent offices established at Paraguay 1345, Piso 7, Oficina 11, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Boca Raton - eFiltro sets up second Florida office in Military Trail in Boca Raton
  • The Americas Group - eFiltro becomes strategic partner for identification and transfer of new technologies to Latin America

Angel Investor Seminar for Broward County
Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), October 15, 2001 by Christine Winter
After several succesful outings in Miami, eFiltro and Langley Group will sponsor an Angel Investor Seminar for Broward Country. Angels are private investors who help start-up companies bridge the gap between self-funding and support from large venture capital fimrs in return for a stake in the company.

The seminars are designed to encourage early-stage capital investment in South Florida companies. The event will be held from 5pm to 8pm Nov 12 at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 in Fort Lauderdale and selected entrepreneurs will be able to make presentations. Attendence investors is by invitation only. For more information contact Mick Lopez at 305-913-3185 ext 2462.

Seminar to Scan Skies for Angels
Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), August 27, 2001 by Christine Winter

There's no doubt the entire technology sector could use a heavenly intervention these days perhaps an archangels to ward off creditors, or a miracle to meet the payroll. But most start-up firms would probably settle for an angel investor or two.

Angels are private investors who help start-up companies bridge the tgap between self-funding and support from large venture capital firms in return for a stake in the company. According to research at the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire, the number of active angels in America is around 400,000. The typical angel investor has a net worth of at least a million dollars, and will typically invest from $50,000 to $500,000 in a start-up tech company.

However it is becoming more common for angels to work in formal groups, or informal syndicates, which typically invest up to $350,000 in a startup. Unfortunately, South Florida is not exactly a hotbed for angel investor networks. According to Angel Investor Magazine, none of the Top 10 angel groups, according to the number of deals completed in 2000, was based in Florida.

That is why eFiltro, a Coral Gables company that describes itself as a facilitator for new business ventures, will stage its second Angel Investor Seminar Spet 10 at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, The event is co-sponsored by local groups like InternetCoast, Miami Internet Alliance and First Tuesday.  Their goal is to spark the creation of a South Florida angel investor network.

The seminar, designed to educate new and experienced investors on the pitfalls and rewards of venture funding, will be followed by a private Investor Matchmaking and Networking event, where five entrepreneurs will present their concepts to accredited local investors and venture capitalists who have been invited to attend. Seats are limited for the free seminar. To reserve a space, contact eFIltro via email at info@efiltro.com or call 305-913-3185 ext 2462.

NETWORKING 2.0: To the InternetCoast and beyond: the story of the high-impact support groups that realized South Florida's High-tech's ambitions
Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), August 6, 2001 by Christine Winter
Extracted from featured article:
Let's Make a Deal
Mick Lopez, chief executive of eFiltro, a Coral Gables based consulting firm that matches up high-tech start-ups and investors, describes himself as a regular on the circuit for high-tech networking.  He said he came away from one large conference organized by several local support groups with eight business leads. He later closed two deals. 

Recently I was eating a sushi restaurant in Coral Gables and a guy came up to me who remembered me from one of the many meetings I attend, Lopez said.  He quickly recruited the former dot-commer, now with a large bank, to help organize eFiltro's angel investor network.

EFiltro to Launch Consulting Consortium
Business News America, July 3, 2001
Florida-based eFiltro is forming a regional consortium to provide fund raising and business development advice to Latin American and US-based technology companies, CEO Mick Lopez said, adding that partners are being sought in Chile, Spain, New York and Los Angeles. 

Efiltro, an entrepreneur-investor matchmaker, plans to launche the pan-regional consulting network this quarter, and already has established a presence in Brazil, Mexico, Miami and Argentina, Lopez told BNAmericas.com.

For instance, if a company in Buenos Aires is looking for money, he explained, instead of going to our offices in that country, they can go to Miami or Rio. Or if a company is based in California and needs to open branches in Latin America, we can help them through our regional network.

Launched last August 22, eFiltro (www.efiltro.com) receives and evaluates business plans from companies looking to raise funding. Every two months, it selects five companies to showcase at an event in Florida and then take on a road show.

The company, which broke even two months ago, has worked with ventures such as MetroTrack, Sterling Financial, Lineabox and merkatum. It charges for its services when companies secure financing, in which case, it takes cash and stock equity of the amount raised.

In Chile and Uruguay, eFiltro collaborates with the First Tuesday network, which organizes a monthly networking event for entrepreneurs and investors in a number of cities worldwide.  Amid the softer Internet market conditions, both eFiltro and FT had broadened their dotcom focus to include technology oriented companies in the biotech, laser and wireless industries.  

ANGEL FORUM
The Miami Herald, June 4, 2001, by Bea Garcia
Extracted from the ·Chatroom: South Florida Tech Scene· Column
In the never-ending dance to match up young companies with seed capital. EFiltro and four local entrepreneur groups are holding a seminar this evening on what it takes to be an angel investor. 

Mick Lopez, who runs eFiltro.com, said the goal is to create the kind of angel network in South Florida that's already well established in Silicon Valley with angel clubs such as the Band of Angels and garage.com. 

One basic requirement: deep pockets regardless of where the investor is based. According to businesspartners.com, the typical angel investor has a minimum net worth of $1 million with an average annual income of $90,000 or more. About 60 percent of the investments made by angel investors are under $50,000, with the rest ranging up to $500,000.

And despite the turmoil in the markets in the latter half of last year, angel groups still funded 236 percent more companies in 2000 than in 1996. Angel Investor magazine estimates that angel investing has grown at 35 percent compounded rate in those five years.

Efiltro Summer 2001 Newsletter
EFiltro Press Release,  June 15, 2001
eFiltro Birthday: eFiltro Co. and its operational team are over one year old now. Since our launch in late August, 2000, we have received over 1 million hits to www.efiltro.com, several hundreds of business plans from twelve countries, and especially, established contact with premiere infrastructure firms, consultants and over two hundred investors.

Spanish Trade Mission: Thirty information technology companies from Spain will visit Miami on June 4-6th sponsored by the Spain Consulate, Internet Coast, Beacon Council, Enterprise Florida and others. Please visit www.internetcoast.com/spain for information and to sign up for interviews with these firms that desire joint ventures, associations and business development in South Florida and Latin America.

Strategic Partnership with eFiltro: Dow Jones/America Economia, the leading business news magazine in Latin America, has formed a strategic partnership with eFiltro to develop new venture markets in the region.

Internet Street Fair: eFiltro selected two winning "elevator pitches" from CarRevolution and Global Linking for presentation on WAXY radio during the great Internet Street Fair (Lincoln Road - Miami Beach) on May 5th.

CHILE First Tuesday: eFiltro partners with First Tuesday Chile, and Uruguay, to sponsor Investor Matchmaking Events through our website in May.

Hispanic Venture Capital Fair: eFiltro coordinated a venture capital event at the Hispanic Internet Summit on April 28th, sponsored by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic National Bar Association, LULAC and NSH-MBAs. Six Hispanic and Latin American focused companies presented to top venture capitalists from Softbank, Fleet Ventures, Advent & others.

US · Argentina Strategic Partner Conference: eFiltro Argentina accompanied over thirty information technology firms from Argentina, at the invitation of the Ministry of Science and Technology, to Miami and Orlando, on March 19-24th to assist them obtain partnerships and funding, and hosted a venture capital panel with representation from Crossbow, Motorola, Softbank, and Spydre Labs.

Southeast I-dealflow - eFiltro will actively participate in the minority venture capital fair in Atlanta on November 2nd. Visit www.i-dealflow.org or contact us if you are a minority business focused firm seeking venture capital.

Seminar Teaches how to be an Angel (investor, that is)
South Florida Business Journal, May 25, 2001
Recognizing a need to address a learning curve, a group of South Florida organizations that advise young technology companies will hold a seminar for ·angel· investors. The seminar is scheduled for June 4 at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. It is open to investors and business owners who register by June1.

The organizers are also selecting four South Florida companies to make presentations to a group of angel investors, investment bankers and officials of venture capital firms.  The session will be open only to presenting companies and investors.

Co-Sponsor eFiltro analyzes business plans and identifies capital provides for entrepreneurs and business owners. Other sponsors are InternetCoast, Miami Internet Alliance, First Tuesday and Tuesday network.

EFiltro CEO Mick Lopez said organizers hope the seminar will be the first in a series for individuals who provide financing and owners of technology firms seeking capital.  ·The objective of the two-hour seminar is to introduce new investors to the risks and rewards of venture capital in order to create a better base for economic development in South Florida,: Lopez said.

Lopes said South Florida has numerous individuals who would like to invest in ·angel· deals, but have not received guidance about the process or have not been able to find companies that meet their investment standards.

California, Texas and New England have large networks of angel investors partly because advisory groups have formal programs that link them with entrepreneurs, added Lopes, who previously was IBM·s director of business development for Latin America.

Speakers at the seminar, which is also open to business owners, will be: Ralph Heckert of Bernstein Investment Research and Management in West Palm Beach, john Carey of the law firm Kilpatrick Stockton, Michael Heller of the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche, and Bill Greene of Cenetec in Boca Raton, an incubator/accelerators for young Internet Firms.

Back to Basics
The Miami Herald, April 8,  2001, by Bea Garcia
Excepts from the feature article on Business Monday section
Venture capitalists are taking a more selective approach to dot-coms, asking tough questions about management ability, business strategy and product development.

The impact of the past 12 months was easy to see at a matchmaking event in Coral Gables two weeks ago, sponsored by First Tuesday/I-americas, the Internet networking group, and eFiltro.com, a local firm that helps match companies and investors.  Out of the five companies making a pitch for money, only one, MetroTrack, a Fort Lauderdale company that is developing technology to track 911 calls from cellular phones, was in the conceptual stage. The others had  fully developed products and were generating revenue.

These companies aren·t going to die if they don·t get financing right away,· says Hugo deStoop, who helped organized the First Tuesday group about 18 months ago.

32 Argentine Internet execs visit Miami seeking Partners, Investments.
The Sun-Sentinnel, March 16  2001, by Doreen Hemlock
Excerpts from news article.
On Monday, executive from 32 companies from Argentina are slated to meet counterparts from the Sunshine State in sessions at Florida internationals University·s campus in Miami. The InternetCoast hopes the mission can spur more Argentine companies to open offices in South Florida. Plus, it hopes to offer new contacts, so that South Florida companies can sell more of their rechnologies and services to Argentina and heyound, said Mick Lopez, president of Coral Gables-based eFiltro Co. and a leader in the InternetCoast.

A nation of immigrants, Argentina is known for its entrepreneurship more so than, say mexico, which has nearly triple the population. And Argentine entrepreneurs have a broad scope, a pan-regional approach, said Lopez of eFiltro, which helps start-ups polish their business plans and get venture capital.

Tuesday Network VC Mavens take the Road to Optimism
LocalBusiness.com, March 14, 2001
A looser credit environment, better-focused venture capitalists, more disciplined companies touting realistic burn rates -- these were some of the optimistic musings and predictions made by Tuesday Network's cheery speakers, despite the recent market nosedive. Scott Adams, CEO of business accelerator Cenetec and the Internet Coast's new-technology maven, said that although it has been tougher to raise money during the past year, the money is there. Companies just have to work harder and longer to get it.

"Those who have money to invest are not releasing it unless it is a grand-slam deal," Adams said. Despite the dot-com shake-out and the declining stock market, he predicted that the next several months would bring a recovery and an era of steady, more logical growth. Also on hand at the networking event at the Omni Colonnade in Coral Gables were:

 Mick Lopez, CEO of Miami-based eFiltro, which helps start-ups develop business models and brings together entrepreneurs and capital providers

 Alberto Perlman, CEO of Miami's Spydre Labs, which specializes in services, technology and distressed companies

 Jan Boyer, president of Softbank Latin Ventures, which has invested in a number of South Florida Internet companies and

 Charles Ganz, vice chairman of Aventura's Mellon Private Trust Co.

Lopez reminded the audience that despite market gyrations and recalcitrant equity investors, venture capitalists are still raising funds at a record rate. And that money has to go somewhere. But he cautioned that companies must hew to a disciplined and proven business model that takes into account how many people will find their products attractive enough to buy. "Plans fail on the size of the market," he said.

Spydre's Perlman reminded the group that just a year ago, a company's success was judged not by its revenues, but by how much money it had raised. One lesson garnered from the experience of Internet entrepreneurship is that in too many cases one start-up is willing to give away a product that another wants people to pay for.

Softbank's Boyer had some good practical advice as well. Companies, he said, should constantly ask themselves: Is that (fill in the blank: product, employee, marketing strategy) a good return on my capital and time?  "If you have cash, pretend that you don't," he said. "If you don't have cash, don't worry. Either you are talking to the wrong investors or you haven't truthfully answered the (good-return) question."

Internet Coast Committee Chairs Introduced
Boca Raton News, March 2001
InternetCoast, the organization promoting South Florida as a technology hub, introduced its committee chairs at its recent meeting at Florida Atlantic University. They are: Scott Adams and Mick Lopez, co-chairs of the entrepreneurship and capital committee.

EFiltro Launches Mexico Office
Business News America, November 17, 2000
Florida based community for entrepreenrus and investors, eFiltro yesterday launched an office in northern Mexico·s industrial capital Monterrey, part of a US $1 million regional investment plan, Mexican operations manager Benjamin Alvarez said.  The company, which already has a presence in Mexico City, has set up two analysits inmontetrey due to the cty;s growing B2B ecommerce market and Internet-investing companies there such as Grupo Alfa, Cemex, and Grupo Imsa, Alvarez told BNAmericas.com.

Launches in Florida on August 22, eFiltro connects Latin American and Florida based entrepreneurs with venture capital investors, incubators and accelerato4rs, as well as with infrastructure companies in the region. The company receives and evaluates business plans and posts selected plans in a database, which is shared by investors and incubators affiliated with eFIltro. EFiltro also has offices in Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo and works with regional accelerators and incubators such as Spydre Labs, World Cap Internet Solutions, ITC Ventures, Latin American Acceess and Numbers at work.

Efiltro does not invest directly in the companies it reviews, in oder to remain independent and avoid any possible conflict of interest, Alvarez said.  Its revenues come mostly through finder's fees, commissions, on investment capital and stock warrants in start-up projects.

International management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company hold a minority stake in eFiltro. It is also funded by the executive team, headed by CEO Mick Lopez, former director of business development for IBM Latin America. Individual investors include Gene Prescott and Robert Kay of the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, where eFiltro's US office is located.

EFiltro signs Agreements with Consultatio and IBM
Buenos Aires Economico, October 5, 2000
Translated from Spanish, major excerpts from news article
EFiltro, dedicated to evaluate and create Internet  companies in Latin America and Unites States, announced yesterday fantastic alliances with Consultatio and IBM to develop join projects.

Consultatio, the venture capital headed by Eduardo Constantini, will help realize the conacts with the investors for those projects that efiltro has evaluated as interesting for development. IBM, will provide the necessary infrastructure, as was explained by Omar Arab, president of eFiltro for the Southern Cone. As was mentioned yesterday in this newspaper, eFiltro has an agreement with McKinsey to use their methodology for analysis that allows them to classify from 0 to 100 the main indicators for a project, for such areas like financial model, competititve advantage, market size and management.

Our model was given an impulse by the fall of the Nasdaq, which has helped us much, sustained Mick Lopez, CEO of eFiltro. In Internet, there was a bubble where the investors forgot the golden rules of investment, which they are now dusting off. They will be more selective he added. As part of these rules, Lopez stated, atypical IPO is done after three to five years of launching a new company. Microsoft did it in 10 years.  A company must be self sustained in 18 to 24 months. Projects must be regional, not only local in nature.

To unite the  Dot-Coms
La Nación (Argentina), September 20, 2000
Translated from Spanish, major excerpts from news article. 
There was much press coverage of our launch, that is available for any review. The Internet incubator eFiltro has arrived in Argentina. We are a community in the Internet that seeks to establish personalized relationships between all the players of the new economy, to deliver successful companies, said Omar Arab, president for the Southern Cone. Every month, in Argentina, we expect to analyze over 50 business plans and we will go forward with one only one said the director, with headquarters in Argentina.

Of Gators, Gigabytes and Gusto: Greetings from Silicon Beach
Internet.com · September 13, 2000 · by Joe Gose
Excerpts from full article.  
It may be hard for some to imagine that a land of gators, orange groves, and thongs is on its way to becoming the next Silicon Valley, but not for promoters of South Florida. For the most part, he says, the funding is split between South Florida's Interstate 95 corridor and Central Florida's Interstate 4 corridor. During the first and second quarters of 2000, venture capital pumped $181 million into 16 Internet companies along I-95 and $145 million into 13 Internet companies along I-4, Donsky says. During all of last year, venture capital financed 13 Internet companies along I-95 with $183 million and 12 Internet companies along I-4 with $134 million.

"We have a number of cities that have separate concentrations of Internet and tech companies," he says. "But there's not critical mass in any one of these cities when you're talking about the management, accounting, legal, and financial infrastructure to build these startups."

Some entrepreneurs have noticed the lack of critical mass when it comes to building new companies. Recent South Florida startups include eFiltro and Cenetec, two accelerators that evaluate, invest in, and assist new technology and Internet ventures in South Florida and Latin America. Hiway Technologies founder Scott Adams began Cenetec after he and others made seed investments in a few companies.

The competitive advantage Miami has over everybody else in the universe is that it is the highway to the Americas and has become the de facto Internet capital of Latin America," says Mick Lopez, CEO of eFiltro and an IBM alum. "We've targeted new ventures in both South Florida and Latin America, and this was the ideal place for us to be."

EFILTRO PLANS OCT LATAM LAUNCH
Business News America, September 6, 2000 by Maja Viklands
Florida-based community for entrepreneurs and investors eFiltro plans to launch operations in Argentina on October 4, in Mexico and Brazil later the same month, eFiltro CEO Mick Lopez told BNAmericas.co-m

"We have over US$1mn in committed capital to roll out operations," Lopez said. International management consulting firm McKinsey & Company has a minority stake in the company, he added.

Launched in Florida on August 22, eFiltro connects Latin American and Florida-based entrepreneurs with venture capital investors, incubators and accelerators, as well as infrastructure companies in the region. The company receives and evaluates business plans, and posts selected plans in a database, which is shared by investors and incubators affiliated with eFiltro.

EFiltro sponsors included Miami-based accelerator Spydre Labs, Buenos Aires-based incubator World Cap Internet Solutions, Chile-based accelerator ITC Ventures and Miami-based incubators Latin American Access and Numbers @ Work.

EFiltro charges US$100 to evaluate and post business plans. If an investor decides to take on one of the projects, the company gains a minority equity sake in return, Lopez said. It also generates revenues by analyzing and developing business plans.

In order to protect data eFiltro works with ethical hackers, none of whom have succeeded in to breaking into the site, Lopez said. "Our site is not HTML-based, it is a Lotus Domino database so it is hard to get into. We also have a very strict privacy statement," Lopez said.

The company also seeks to educate entrepreneurs on how to build successful ventures, Lopez said, adding that eFiltro will arrange seminars and workshops on venture creation processes. EFiltro is open to all companies, serving dotcoms as well as "a shoe manufacturer who wants to expand capacity but doesn't want to take a bank loan," he concluded.

BIZ PLAN FAST TRACK
The Miami Herald, August 28, 2000, page 11G, by Bea Garcia
Just when you thought that we might never see another dot-com hang its shingle online, along comes eFiltro.com. The venture has tapped local money: Gene Prescott and Bob Kay, the money and talent behind the revitalization of the historic Biltmore Hotel.
Mick Lopez, an IBM veteran and eFiltro.com's CEO, says that this is exactly the time when a company like eFiltro is needed. Its mission is to review and rate business plans and submit the best ones to a stable of venture capital firms for funding.

"Before a two-page business summary was good enough to get seed money", Lopez says. "Now, VCs want to see a more robust business plan". efiltro.com worked with McKinsey & Co. to develop a 100 point check list for evaluating business plans. The firm also worked with eFiltro to come with a methodology for standardizing business plans. Lopez says that more than 30 sponsors have signed to work with eFiltro in less than one month. They're expecting to provide resources, services or capital. "We want to make sure the good ideas get funded," says Albert Llodra, who has signed on as chief operating officer.

NEW POINT OF CONTACT FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND RISK CAPITAL PROVIDERS ANNOUNCED
EFiltro Press Release · August 23, 2000
The unveiling of eFiltro (www.efiltro.com) as the premier facilitator for the creation, analysis and selection of business plans was announced yesterday in a reception at The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. eFiltro is a Web based facilitator that provides a single point of contact for entrepreneurs, risk capital providers and venture capitalists so they can interact with greater speed and velocity. eFiltro provides the analysis and selection of business plans for funding through their vast sponsor network.

Mick Lopez, CEO of eFiltro, pointed to the new and unique service that the website provides to entrepreneurs and capital providers. "The business plan defines the goals of your business and the means to attain success. eFiltro provides a robust, proprietary methodology that is based on a global study commissioned to an international consulting firm, and supplemented by the vast experience of our management team".

An impressive Board of Advisors was introduced to the crowd as well as a solid list of sponsors that have already joined the new eFiltro web community. These sponsors include IBM, Florida International University, Screaming Media, Tequesta Capital, Kilpatrick Stockton, Spydre Labs, Latin America Access, University of Miami North,South Center, Numbers @ Work and Worldcap Internet Solutions, among others.

"As all markets continue to evolve, so does the way in which funding is allocated and the criteria used to invest in start-ups. It's more complex than ever to get funded·.the entrepreneur needs to tell the right story. The business plan is key", noted Gene Prescott, President of Seaway Hotels and a director-owner of the eFiltro advisory board.

eFiltro reviews and evaluates the business plan and once the review is completed, qualified entrepreneurs may receive funding via their global network of sponsors or use eFiltro's services to improve their business plan skills.

With the interest of providing an educational format for entrepreneurs and the tools for getting ideas properly funded, eFiltro will be offering a series of business plan building workshops in the near future.

The idea for eFiltro emerged when Mick Lopez, the company's CEO and former Director of Business Development for IBM Latin America, realized that the specific needs of entrepreneurs, risk capital providers and infrastructure firms were not being met by anyone in the marketplace.

"While risk capital providers are being inundated and overwhelmed with business plans, the Entrepreneurs cannot gain access to resources and investors, eFiltro emerges as the single solution for all members of the value chain" added Mr. Lopez.

eFiltro executive offices are located at The Biltmore Hotel Executive Center . The company recently established regional presence in Argentina, Mexico and Brazil. The company is fully funded and employs more than 10 seasoned executives

 

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