Ideas whose time has come
Mar 5, 2007

San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Event honors entrepreneurs who are pushing the envelope

PASADENA - Nine companies shared the spotlight Thursday at an annual event that showcases cutting-edge entrepreneurs.

The nine finalists for the Entretech PricewaterhouseCoopers Entrepreneurship Award explained their business models and target markets at the "Hot Companies Morning" breakfast meeting.

The companies focus on a broad range of disciplines and technologies, from language training to Internet searches to 3-D advertising.

"It's terrific being part of the business support system young companies need," said Fred Walti, chief operating officer of Snap.com, one of the finalists.

The award program connects new companies with influential people, he said.

Other search engines provide text information about sites, while Snap.com offers a visual preview of Web sites.

"If you visualize it, you find what you're looking for much faster," Walti said.

Snap.com is one of three companies in category 2, companies with annual revenues of $1 million to

$5 million. The other two categories, which also have three finalists each, are companies with annual revenue of less than $1 million and more than $5 million.

One winner in each category will be announced on April 19.

Among the category 1 finalists is Prolacta Bioscience, a Monrovia-based company that provides pharmaceutical-grade human breast milk for underweight babies.

The company has invested

$10 million on safety and quality measures, which includes research, donor screening and drug testing.

Prolacta products to date have often been used as rescue therapy for babies who are unable to tolerate other types of feeding, such as formula from cow's milk, said Elena Medo, founder and president of Prolacta Bioscience.

"These babies have been able to tolerate feedings with our product and been able to gain weight and advance feedings without bouts of intolerance," she said.

More than 50 companies applied for the awards, said Stephanie Yanchinski, executive director of Entretech.

Companies must identify their market and explain their strategy for growth, she said.