Venture Capital Gap Cuts into St. Louis

From: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
By: David Nicklaus

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - The annual InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum is usually described as a place where startup companies raise money. But the definition of "startup" keeps getting looser.

One of this year's aspiring companies, DataServ of west St. Louis County, is 13 years old. It is profitable, had revenue of $4 million last year and has never needed outside financing, aside from a bank loan. But, founder Jeffrey Haller told potential investors, the company has an opportunity to grow rapidly.

DataServ, which provides electronic document management services, is seeking as much as $5 million to make acquisitions and beef up its sales team.

Haller was one of 30 entrepreneurs who presented their hopes and dreams to potential investors at InvestMidwest, an annual event that alternates between the St. Louis and Kansas City areas. This year's forum was Wednesday on Sprint's corporate campus.

Except for DataServ, none of the featured companies was more than nine years old. Several, though, are familiar names among the venture-capital crowd.

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