At last week’s Sacramento Region Venture Capital Conference 28 young northern California companies presented their ideas to a panel of VCs and angel investors.

Nine of these companies were selected to present a second time in the “Finalist Showcase” after being named by the panel as the top companies in the conference.  read more »

Tonight Tim Draper of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, the global venture capital firm, literally rocked the house during his presentation to Techcoire. Upon closing his entertaining discussion "Change the World" Tim closed with a lively rendition of his rock n roll song about typical entrepreneurial adventures.  read more »

Venture Beat tipped me off to an interview with former state treasurer and gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides in which he announces he’s raising a venture fund. The fund will be based in Sacramento and will focus on environmental technology with some real estate investments.

Angelides’ firm joins numerous other funds that are focused on alternative energy, including Vinod Khosla’s Khosla Ventures. Kholsa was widely criticized for backing an alternative energy ballot measure that would benefit his investments. Khosla responded to critics by pledging to donate any direct profits to charity.

The fund will be raised from numerous sources, says Angelides. VentureBeat speculates that California’s pension funds are likely to invest as Angelides has previously served on their boards.