By Ari Levy - 9/28/2006 Bloomberg, New York

Citigroup Inc. and venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson are among companies convening tomorrow as entrepreneurs in health care and movie financing seek funding for their ventures.

About 50 people with ties to Silicon Valley investors will hear about products and strategies from presenters looking for early stage, or angel, investing, said John Dilts, founder of Maverick Angels LLC, which is sponsoring the event.

"This is speculative, it's high risk, but it's also much more engaging than other types of investing," said Dilts, 42, in an interview from his office in Agoura Hills, north of Los Angeles. Dilts, who also runs a venture firm, said the meeting encourages "collaboration with entrepreneurs."

The summit, being held at the headquarters of mutual fund company Franklin Resources Inc. in San Mateo, California, is the inaugural meeting for the Northern California branch of Maverick Angels. The Southern California chapter was launched in March and has 40 members, each paying an annual fee of $3,000, said Dilts. He's aiming for 100 members statewide by the end of 2007.

Tomorrow's event features presentations from Creanspeak Funding LLC, which helps finance movies close to completion, Logos Health Systems Inc., a maker of software for health-care providers, and Keel Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Boston-based drugmaker working on a diabetes treatment.

Ideas on a Napkin

"We don't want just ideas on a napkin," Dilts said. "We typically look for companies that are incorporated and have some validation in the market."

Angel investors provide early funding to a company in return for a stake in the venture. A typical investment from a member of Maverick Angels would be about $25,000 to $100,000, with expectations that some deals will produce returns of three to five times that amount, Dilts said.

Financial firms like Citigroup's Smith Barney unit and Merrill Lynch & Co., the world's third-biggest securities company by market value, are looking for "alternative investments for their clients," Dilts said. Venture companies such as Redwood City, California-based Draper Fisher are seeking companies that may need additional funding in the future, he said.