Friday, May 7th marks the twelfth semi-annual RAISE (Retention and Advanced Investment for the Southeast at Emory) Forum, presented by Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. This invitation-only event brings together startups and investors from across the Southeast with the goal of closing the region’s funding gap at higher levels of funding.

“Our unique approach to connecting investors and startups has fostered 26 successful funding stories since we founded the RAISE Forum seven years ago,” states RAISE Forum Founder, Barry Etra. “In addition, all of those companies are still here in the Southeast, fulfilling one of our key goals of keeping companies local by funding them at higher levels in the region.”

Call for Startups

The Forum is accepting applications from post-revenue startups based in the Southeast (Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia) seeking funding between $500,000 and $5 million. Seven startups will be selected to present to active, accredited investors at the May event. To be considered as a presenting startup, a company must have some revenue, as well as participate in a short training afternoon which will prepare applicants for investor presentations. Applications will close Friday, March 26.

The RAISE Forum is the only funding forum in the Southeast. Roughly one in five presenting companies get funding through the Forum’s efforts, and all remain in the Southeast. Startups in any field are encouraged to apply to present at the Forum by visitingwww.raiseforum.com/entrepreneurs.

Investor and Community Support

Current investor support for the Forum comes from across the region, with investors from Circadian Ventures, BIP, VentureSouth, AIM Group, Fulcrum Equity, 11-11 Ventures and many more.

Advisory support includes a mix of the region’s most influential startup ecosystem influencers and investors, including:

• Larry Steele, Breakout Ventures
• Jim Corman, AIM Group
• Frank Dalton, Fulcrum Equity Ventures
• Keiretsu Forum Southeast
• Paul Lopez, 11-11 Ventures
• Charlie Goetz, serial entrepreneur, investor and Distinguished Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Goizueta

Additional support comes from Georgia Bio and other influential Southeastern startup incubators and influencers, as well as sponsors. Active investors or regional organizations interested in supporting the Forum should visit raiseforum.com/investors or raiseforum.com/sponsors to learn more about sponsorship opportunities and registration.