Celebrating its second year of showcasing regional early stage companies, this year’s edition of the Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association’s Venture Capital of the Rockies Fall 2009 conference will feature promising growth companies based in the Rocky Mountain region.

The conference, being held at The Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah, September 8-10, will highlight promising companies from Utah, Colorado and New Mexico offering innovations in social networking applications, cloud computing, clean technology, online marketing and advertising, emergency and safety technology, and data backup and recovery.

Venture Capital in the Rockies, which holds conferences in the fall and winter, is among the oldest conferences in the United States dedicated to introducing companies with new ideas to some of the nation’s leading venture capital funds. Now in its 26th year, the conference is presented by the Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association (RMVCA) in partnership with KPMG LLP.

Along with presentations given by each company, keynote speakers will include: Jim Shea, Olympic Gold Medalist, Frederick C. Lane, Vice Chairman of Investment Banking at Raymond James & Associates, and Shane Robison, EVP and Chief Strategy and Technology Officer at HP.

“The Rocky Mountain region offers fertile ground for early stage companies and an active marketplace for investors and we are eager to showcase these companies and introduce them to the leading VCs attending the conference,” said Scott Petty, managing director at vSpring Capital and co-chair of VCIR Fall. “We are also pleased that the region has produced such a diverse set of interesting companies. This year’s presenting companies are a testament to the entrepreneurial talent and depth found in the region served by the Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association.”

Utah Leads Regional Representatives

Eight early stage companies from Utah represent the largest contingent of companies at the conference. Three Utah-based companies that are leveraging the increasing online presence of contemporary consumers will be among the leading companies seeking financing at the conference.

ClassTop Inc. has created several Facebook applications to find and network young adults, using their community affinities from work or school. The company is also introducing the power of social networks to online education. The American Academy is bringing cloud computing to online and alternative education services for secondary schools through its unique “School-as-a-Service” platform, illustrating the growing comfort with distributed computing models in all vertical markets and categories.

Provo-based Zinch is demonstrating how the marketplace and social networking dynamics of the Web can improve the college admissions process, connecting students and universities together. Its platform allows students and colleges introduce themselves through profiles, research, as well as experiences shared by fellow students.

Another Utah company, Lingotek provides full service translation solutions to global organizations and government agencies offering a service that can translate content into hundreds of languages thereby allowing products to be launched into any global market.

Other Local Regions Represented

Colorado remains a significant contributor to the early stage company population in the region, as well as to VCIR Fall. Colorado-based Map My Fitness provides active individuals with the tools and community they need to succeed and excel in their athletic pursuits, using education and social networking to improve user’s fitness regimens. Denver’s SpyderLynk connects consumers and businesses between static materials and mobile phones via standard phone features. Infinite Power Solutions, also based in Colorado, is a global leader in developing, marketing, and manufacturing solid state, rechargeable thin-film micro-energy storage devices used in a variety of micro-electronic applications.

Companies Represent Vertical Tools

Several companies are offering solutions to specific problems. Inthinc, another Utah company, utilizes propriety technology to reduce accidents by more than 80 percent through mentoring and monitoring driver behavior. nanoMR, a firm specializing in developing diagnostic devices based on miniature nuclear magnetic resonance, is based out of Albuquerque, N.M.

About VCIR Fall

Venture Capital in the Rockies Fall conference held its inaugural edition in 2008 and compliments the success of the regions oldest and best attended venture capital conference, VCIR Winter, held every winter in Beaver Creek, Colorado. The two conferences encompass the premier venture investing conferences in the Rocky Mountain region and among the most respected venture conferences in the country. Creating a dynamic marketplace for ideas and investment, both editions of VCIR invite over companies seeking investment to present to panels of venture investors, as well as an audience of other entrepreneurs, CEOs and professionals servicing the venture community. More information can be found at www.vcirfall.com <http://www.vcirfall.com>.