2nd Annual Irvine Entrepreneur Forum Voting Begins

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 25 entrepreneurs have signed-up to compete at the 2nd annual Irvine Entrepreneur Forum (IEF), and public voting to determine two of the six finalists will begin on December 22, 2010. Two lucky start-up companies will receive $10,000 in cash prizes for best business plans (Best Overall Business Plan & Best Digital Media Plan).

"We are very excited about getting the public involved in the voting process," says Christopher Lynch VP of Business and Economic Development at the Irvine Chamber of Commerce. He adds, "One of the aims of the Entrepreneur Forum is to promote entrepreneurism in the Irvine community, and to enable the community to participate."

The 2nd annual IEF will allow the public to be more involved in selecting the winners by voting on YouTube™ video presentations created by the contestants. The public will be able to vote through the website for their favorite contestants in one of two categories: digital media and general start-up.

To vote for your favorite videos log-on to: http://iefinfo.com/vote-company.php .

The votes will then be tallied and the top applicants from each category will move on to present at the Forum on February 28th, 2011.

The inaugural event featured 20 local entrepreneurs, and received extensive media coverage, and the 2nd annual IEF is already set to surpass the first event. The forum is a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to get in front of angel and venture capital investors as well as an excellent opportunity for sponsors to associate themselves with cutting edge companies.

About the Irvine Entrepreneur Forum

The Irvine Entrepreneur Forum (IEF) was established by the Irvine Chamber of Commerce at the successful inaugural event on June 1, 2010 in an effort to bring together local entrepreneurs with angel, venture and private equity investors.

The IEF provides entrepreneurial companies the unique opportunity to make pitch presentations to a panel of angel and venture capital investors interested in discovering, and possibly investing in, emerging companies.  With proper training on how to access equity investments, we believe the companies that participate in the IEF training process can generate about 300 to 350 new jobs in Orange County over the next three years. The Irvine Entrepreneur Forum is funded in part by a grant from the Orange County Workforce Investment Board. Visit www.iefinfo.com to learn more.

About The Irvine Chamber of Commerce

The Irvine Chamber of Commerce is one of the most influential Chamber's in Orange County representing hundreds of local businesses. The Chamber's mission is to promote an economic climate that strengthens the competitiveness of local businesses, while offering members a wide range of benefits, services, programs and information. The Irvine Chamber is one of only 250 Chamber's in the U.S. who meet the requirements for accreditation by the U.S. Chamber. For more information, please call 949-660-9112, or visit www.irvinechamber.com.

SOURCE Irvine Chamber of Commerce