Five Questions

Attorney Judith E. McCaffrey understands the challenges

companies face when looking for funding. A former senior attorney with the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and general counsel of a $7.5 billion

financial institution, she’s now a partner in McCaffrey & Raimi, which has

offices in Naples and Sarasota. She’s been involved with public offerings and

private placements of securities as well as mergers and acquisitions. An expert

in commercial, securities and banking law, she’s familiar with the crucial role

venture capital plays in business development. In short, McCaffrey is well

suited to be the first president of the year-old Gulf Coast Venture Forum.

Why was the Gulf Coast Venture Forum founded?

To bring wealthy individuals in this community together with

emerging companies. Small companies often need equity capital to grow, and

wealthy individuals are often looking for worthy investments.

Is there a need for this type of group in Southwest Florida?

Yes. Our law firm has worked with emerging companies for

years and found that there are always good ideas in search of funding. Many

small companies here have great ideas, great management and great potential.

Some have been in business for years and now want to go to the next level.

We’re not just talking about high-tech. The forum’s approach involves service,

real estate and banking.

The economic downturn over the past two years has created a

difficult investment environment. On top of that, Florida has the unwanted

reputation of being a backwater rife with cons. What challenges does that

present?

In some ways, the economic correction will be seen as a good

thing if people get back to the basics of doing the legwork necessary to find

sound companies. The rewards are always there if people do their homework, and

private investors are always in search of opportunity. The forum is a means of

educating both the companies looking for capital and the appropriate investors.

Fostering this type of funding is beneficial to the local economy.

If you look at the backgrounds of the people involved,

you’ll see bankers, attorneys, representatives with local economic development

offices and university professionals. The forum is made up of strong community

members. We are bending over backwards to make sure that everything we do is

reliable, credible and is done with integrity. We want to be sure that the

investors who come to meetings understand the risks involved. We also want to

be sure that dishonesty is not one of the risks.

What have you accomplished to date?

We have incorporated as a non-profit and received the IRS

designation of being a tax-exempt group. We have submitted a no-action letter

to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Until we receive approval from the

SEC, we cannot hold meetings for accredited investors. We have been building a

list of investors, have spoken to several and should be ready to kick off those

meetings by September. We have had several monthly meetings of small companies.

This forum will operate on two tracks. The first is the

small companies. Because they are not publicly traded with regulated protocol,

they need to be educated in the important area of how the investor must be

treated. Investors need information. They cannot be left in the dark or they’ll

assume the worst. The second is the accredited investors. After they attend a

meeting, these individuals receive a password and will have online access, via

our Web site at www.gcvf.com, to the information of any company that has made a

presentation.

Is this a sustainable effort?

Absolutely. The 10 or so meetings we’ve held so far have

been well attended and attracted an energetic group of business people. This is

going to be a long-term effort, a means by which people can meet each other.