Call it the Los Angeles Venture Association of Anaheim.
The Los Angeles-based group, which puts on events for entrepreneurs and investors, is bringing its yearly conference to Anaheim next week, breaking a 17-year tradition of hosting it in L.A.
The event is being cohosted by the Harvard Business School Association of Orange County, which had held its own annual conference in Anaheim.
The move was made to bring more people to the event, according to organizers.
They say the central location in Southern California makes it more accessible for the venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and lenders coming from Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as other outlying areas.
“It’s no accident we’re coming from Los Angeles,” said Nevena Orbach, president and director of the group known by its acronym LAVA. “We really view Orange County as business central.”
The Southern California Business Growth Conference,a name change from the Investment Capital Confer-ence,is set for April 20 at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel.
It’s slated to focus on connecting businesses with investors.
“One of the key things we’ll hit on is how to adjust to the economy with the least amount of damage to your company,” Orbach said.
Key speakers this year are Meg Whitman, former chief executive of eBay Inc. and California gubernatorial hopeful, and Jack Massimino, chairman of Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges Inc.
Attendance is estimated to be about 800 this year, which is where it was a year ago when LAVA hosted it on its own. LAVA and the Harvard association attract many of the same people, and the organizers hope that combining the events will help attendees justify spending the admission fee in a recession.
“We both realized that mixing our Rolodexes would be a benefit to both of us,” said Harvard association Managing Director David Oh, who also is president of EmLiv, an Aliso Viejo-based company that offers ramps, stair lifts and other products and construction services for disabled people.
Cheaper tickets also were made available at $250 to $350,depending on when they were bought,compared to $400 to $500 last year.
“Part of the reason for the conservatism is you never know what to expect in this economy,” said Dennis McCarthy, managing director of Los Angeles-based investment bank B. Riley & Co. and LAVA director and vice president of communities.
Harvard’s annual conference has been traditionally held at the Anaheim Marriott, attracting about 500 to 700 attendees a year.
This venture represents a shift in focus for Harvard’s conference, which traditionally had focused on small businesses and entrepreneurs, to target larger, middle-market companies.
“It just made natural sense as companies have grown since we started doing this,” Oh said. “But the key selling point for this is networking.”
This year’s theme of growing businesses in a downturn should attract attendees who are more focused on managing their companies than making new investments.
LAVA had no trouble raising money for the conference despite a tougher fundraising environment, according to Orbach.
Higher level executives from public and private companies are signed up to attend this year, Oh said.
“If the two organizations can pool their resources to get individuals in front of a new crop of employers, or (people) who can write a check, then both groups have achieved their goals,” Orbach said.
LAVA is planning on more collaboration with other groups in the future, she said. n
