Both rental is $100, and includes an 8 or 6 ft table and conference registration for one person (including lunch). Contact Butte College SBDC, (530) 895-9017, for more information.

Early bird registration for the conference attendees is available through July 25.

Venture Island|Chico’s opening night event, called “The Whole Pina Colada” is on Thursday, February 21 from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at Manzanita Place in Chico.  For more information and to register for Venture Island|Chico, please click here.  Call 530-893-8828 if you have questions.

Venture Island|Chico provides a field of innovative, start-up and early-stage growth companies a chance to compete for executive mentoring and advising, high visibility both locally and through Internet exposure, and the potential for a cash award of up to $50,000.  During the opening night the field of applicants will be pared down to a group of 8 who will compete throughout the first season on virtual island locations like The Snake Pit, Make or Break Beach, and The Trading Post.  The season concludes on June 26 at the CEPCO Annual Dinner when 3 finalists attempt to Climb Kahuna Mountain and become the Big Kahuna!

The February 21 event will feature a keynote address by Bill Reichert, managing director of Garage Technology Ventures:  “The Future of Innovation - The New Rules for Entrepreneurs and Investors”.  During his presentation, Reichert will draw upon his experience as an entrepreneur, executive and venture capitalist to provide real-world practical insight on the simple but critical steps necessary to start and grow a successful company.

This team of expert judges brings an unprecedented amount of CEO, investment, operations, marketing and sales, technology and human resources knowledge to Chico! Judges confirmed to participate in the kickoff event are:

• Roger Akers, Akers Capital
• Craig Buda, OpSource
• Bill Reichert, Garage Technology Ventures
• John Strisower, UVaCide
• Christian Friedland, Improvement Direct
• Jeff Schlicht, Auctiva
• Glen Toney, Retired Silicon Valley Executive
• Skip Phairas, High Tech Executive and Private Investor
• Steve Nilan, Fundability

Golden Capital Network, NVCF, CEPCO and NoRTEC are seeking entrepreneurs from throughout Chico and Northern California to compete in the first season of Venture Island|Chico. To be considered, entrepreneurs must submit up to a 3-page executive summary to ventureislandchico@gmail.com by Friday, February 15. Companies must have high growth potential, but current annual sales must not exceed one million dollars. Venture Island|Chico is like YouTube, Survivor and American Idol all combined into one “can’t miss” series of networking events for entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders!

Participating entrepreneurs compete to build their businesses and have an opportunity to land a substantial cash prize. Entrepreneurs also benefit from free executive mentoring and advising, peer-to-peer networking, and unparalleled visibility for their businesses.

To be considered, entrepreneurs must submit up to a 3-page executive summary to ventureislandchico@gmail.com by Friday, February 15. Companies must have high growth potential, but current annual sales must not exceed one million dollars.
Venture Island|Chico kicks off on February 21 with a special event called The Whole Pina Colada. Entrepreneurs vying to participate on Venture Island will do 2-minute screen tests that a panel of expert judges and the audience at large will use as the means to select eight contestants in the first season. The field of eight entrepreneurs is eventually narrowed to three and culminates in the Climb Kahuna Mountain competition and check presentation on June 26 as part of CEPCO’s annual awards dinner held at the Sierra Nevada Big Room.

Venture Island|Chico is made possible through the support of NoRTEC as part of the North State WIRED project, and a federal EDA grant. Local sponsors of the event include Chico Electric, Enloe Hospital, LearningChange and Morgan Dorado Public Relations.