Corporate advisor BSI has begun a new series of events in which the emerging technology companies it advises present their products and business models to journalists.

Over the past five years, BSI’s series of quarterly Investor Forums, presented in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane have helped secure more than $60 million in angel and venture capital investments. The new Launchpad events are intended to build on that success by developing media interest in early stage, high growth, technology companies, said BSI director Alan Milwidsky. The first event, hosted by the NSW Department of State and Regional Development in Sydney on 27 May attracted a large turnout of news, finance and technology journalists.

Eight companies of varying maturity were presented. The common theme was that they all relied on emerging technologies and were potentially poised for significant growth. Several of the companies are seeking expansion capital. Loop 9, for example, is a software company that offers a suite of traveler relationship management services to travel agents. The services use SMS messaging on mobile phones to enable the agents to extend their relationships with customers beyond the point of departure. For example, travel warnings, changes to flight details and news from home can be relayed with the agent’s branding.

Loop 9 chief executive Mark McCormack – whose previous start-up experience included website metrics business Red Sheriff – said Loop 9’s services helped travel agents maintain customer relationships at a time when increasing numbers of travelers were booking travel through airline web sites instead of travel agents.

BRS, which presented its the BioLock biological recognition system, is, by contrast, already at a stage where it is close to profitable and is focusing on retail sales promotion of its second generation product.

BioLock enables doorlocks and similar devices to be activated by finger print readings. It is small, weatherproof, sophisticated – it can’t be fooled by silicon copies, for example – but costs under $1,000 a unit. Chief executive Anthony Holman invested in the technology after seeing it at a BSI investor forum. He said it had cost far more than he originally envisaged to get the technology perfected but it was now being retailed and he anticipated extensive overseas sales. The business is not dependent on further investment, he added, but he could be interested in a partnership arrangement with a suitable major retailer.

published in Australian Venture Capital Journal June 2008