Buffalo Club

388 Delaware Avenue

Buffalo, NY

(Business Attire Required)

7:30 – 8:00 AM

8:00 – 8:15 AM

8:15 – 9:00 AM

Registration, Continental Breakfast, Informal Networking

Announcements, Attendee Self-Introductions, One Minute Presenters

Business Plan Presentations and Audience Critique

COMET Informatics LLC                                        A. Dirk Hightower, Ph.D. & Serge L. Lossa, Ph.D., Co-CEOs

     COMET Informatics develops and markets the COMET® web-based data application.  COMET aids people who care about and are responsible for children’s success in school and life.  COMET supports children's learning progress and outcomes with powerful real-time data and assessment evaluation tools. 

     COMET is in use at 85 customers, including schools and community-based organizations.  From COMET’s first paying customer in 2008, over 160,000 children, and the organizations serving them, have benefited from COMET. 

     In schools, COMET enables evidence-based interventions, matching a child with a specific need to a proven form of therapy or corrective action.  For community-based organizations serving children, and for funders of these organizations, COMET enables and simplifies the process of evaluating their programs.  COMET’s school customers include large school districts, such as the Rochester City School District, as well as many smaller school districts nationally.

     In the community-based out-of-school program segment, COMET customers include the United Way of Greater Rochester, Upstate Cerebral Palsy, Volunteers of America, the City of Rochester, and many others.  As an example, COMET helps United Way of Greater Rochester measure the effectiveness of its innovative, community-driven strategic planning process.  This help is vital because the process – with the goal of ensuring positive change in the community – raises the bar to look at the impact of the strategies it employs.  COMET specifically enables United Way to more easily collect and use data on its evidence-based programs that help parents meet the challenges of raising children.

     Two Rochester, NY, organizations formed COMET Informatics LLC.  These are the non-profit Children’s Institute, Inc., and the for-profit software company, SophiTEC, Inc.  Visit www.childrensinstitute.net and www.comet4children.com.

Novera Protein,Inc.                                                                                        Ralph Briggs, COO

     Novera Protein, Inc. produces all vegetable bypass protein supplements for the dairy and beef feed market using byproducts from the ethanol and brewing industries.  Novera products contain no blood meal, meat and bone meal or any animal derived protein.  The Company has the unique capability of producing bypass proteins in a wide range of nutrient specifications and at a very competitive cost to enhance all ruminant diets.

     The company has completed all of the research and development work necessary for commercial introduction and has been issued US and Canadian patents.  Five separate pilot plant runs have been completed and commercial quantities have been successfully produced.  The quality control and nutrient analytical work for all of the pilot plant production was done by independent laboratories and research facilities.  Independent Nutritionists have done a comprehensive evaluation of the Novera concept and all evaluations have been positive.

     Novera anticipates that the majority of the distribution of its products will be through large national and regional firms such as Land O’ Lakes, Cargill and Hubbard Milling.  Land O’ Lakes participated in the initial field research and has expressed an interest to contract for much of the production from the first plant in New York.  Marketing the product to national distributors and independent feed producers will be handled by Papillon Agricultural Company, a leading producer and marketer of animal based proteins for dairy rations.  Novera’s founders have extensive senior management experience in the animal feed industry.

     Novera looks to establish its first production facility in LeRoy, NY. The facility will be funded by senior bank debt, approximately $200,000 founders’ equity and approximately $200,000 from investors.  Visit www.noveraprotein.com for additional information.