Presenting Companies Secure Funding After Empire State Venture Group's SmartStart Venture Forum
ESVG Continues to Match Emerging Technology Companies with Venture Capital Firms and Private Investors

Albany, NY--January 6, 2003 -- Empire State Venture Group, Inc., a non-profit consortium of academic, public and private organizations promoting technology entrepreneurship throughout the Northeast, announced today that two additional technology companies that presented at its previous SmartStart Venture Forum® events have secured nearly $1 million in funding. Empire State Venture Group is also announcing that two additional SmartStart Venture Forum alumni companies are in the final stages of closing funding deals that total close to $1 million.

Biodiesel Technologies, which presented in 2002, and Fingerlakes Aquaculture, which presented in 2001, have raised a total of nearly $1 million. Biodiesel Technologies holds exclusive licensing rights for its proprietary technology - developed jointly with Cornell University - for the production of the alternative fuel biodiesel. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Saratoga Springs, New York. Fingerlakes Aquaculture, founded in 1998, is an indoor fish-farming company that uses a proprietary bio-filtration process to produce low cost seafood. The company is based in Groton, New York.

As of Sept. 30, 2002, 10 of the 27 companies that presented at Empire State Venture Group's first annual SmartStart Venture Forum, held in October 2001, secured private or venture capital financing. These companies have raised more than $20 million in funding.

"The SmartStart Venture Forum offered us tremendous interaction with exposure to other emerging technology companies and, most importantly, to a wide range of investors. Empire State Venture Group has also provided us with ongoing access to high quality industry and funding information and has helped us stay informed about upcoming events and business opportunities," said Carina Ramirez, president and COO of Biodiesel Technologies. Biodiesel Technologies closed a round of seed funding from The Adirondack Venture Fund this fall. "Since presenting at this year's SmartStart Venture Forum, we've been contacted by several Venture Capital firms that considered our involvement with Empire State Venture Group a quality "pre-screening" and commented on the high caliber of the companies in attendance. We're proud of our involvement and would recommend it to any other technology company that is seeking funding."

Biodiesel Technologies' recent funding was secured from The Adirondack Venture Fund, which is based in Lake Placid, New York, and invests in socially responsible early stage businesses. "We are very excited to be supporting Biodiesel Technology Inc. in their business efforts within the North Country of New York," said Paul Evans, managing partner of The Adirondack Venture Fund. "Biodiesel Technologies is the type of company we seek to invest in. They have a proprietary product and service, a global market and most importantly they will provide many sustainable high quality jobs in the North Country."

Joining Biodiesel Technologies in securing funding is Fingerlakes Aquaculture, which garnered additional money from existing investors this month. Additionally, the company is working with New York State and expects to receive up to $450,000 from two state programs in 2003.

"SmartStart Venture Forum forces start up companies to put their dreams into the language and format that today's investors understand, appreciate and respond to," said Bob Blythe, president and CEO at Fingerlakes Aquaculture. "Companies have to be able to articulate their business plans and goals in order to take the critical steps toward securing funding. A good idea without equity, unfortunately, is not going anywhere in today's market."

In addition to these funding deals, two companies that have presented at Empire State Venture Group's SmartStart Venture Forum are also working to finalize investments in their ventures - totaling nearly $1 million. One of these companies, Microlanguage, develops and licenses software based on Natural Language Processing, a form of Artificial Intelligence technology. The company was established in 2001 by Robert Fritzinger, founder of Voice Technologies Group (which was acquired by Intel), and is based in Amherst, New York.

"The experience and exposure Microlanguage gained through the SmartStart Venture Forum have proven invaluable to our funding efforts," said Robert Fritzinger, president and CEO of Microlanguage. "Not only were we introduced to a plethora of potential investors, but it drove us to a very concise communication of our business plan which has continued to pay dividends. I would recommend to any company seeking private funding that they expose themselves to the discipline of this process."

"In today's very difficult investment environment, securing funding is the best indication that companies have developed strong, sustainable business models. We're proud not only that the Empire State Venture Group's rigorous selection and mentoring processes have uncovered some of the Northeast's most promising technology companies and prepared them to present their businesses concisely and convincingly to sophisticated investors, but also that those companies have compiled such an enviable track record in securing venture capital and private funding," said Professor Frederick A. Provorny, president of Empire State Venture Group and director of the Science and Technology Law Center® at Albany Law School. "More than 40 percent of our class of October 2001 and more than seven percent of our class of October 2002 have already secured funding or are on the verge of doing so. We're eager to see the entrepreneurs in the class of 2002 defy the reports of a gloomy equity investment climate and attain the same remarkable level of funding success as last year's presenting companies."

The SmartStart Venture Forum is a two-day event bringing exceptional technology companies together with venture capitalists and private investors. As part of their participation in the annual forum, exhibiting companies have access to a select network of experienced mentors and the Empire State Venture Group's collective resources. More than 65 partner companies and organizations worked with Empire State Venture Group to sponsor and coordinate this year's second annual SmartStart Venture Forum.

The 2002 SmartStart Venture Forum featured presentations from 28 emerging technology companies and a keynote address delivered by Marc M. Goloven, senior regional economist at JP Morgan and a recent appointment to the New York State Budget Division's Economic Advisory Board. The Forum also offered an invitation-only Investor Roundtable, limited to investors attending the Forum and designed to foster a discussion of today's investment and technology trends.

For more information about the second annual SmartStart Venture Forum, please visit www.smartstartvf.com or www.esvg.org.

About Empire State Venture Group
Empire State Venture Group is a nonprofit consortium of academic, public and private organizations working to foster and promote technology entrepreneurship throughout the Northeast. Created as a collaboration between the Science and Technology Law Center® at Albany Law School and other public and private sector groups and companies, the Empire State Venture Group provides entrepreneurs with access to a network of resources throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Empire State Venture Group hosts networking forums, educational meetings and conventions and is the organizer and host of the annual SmartStart Venture Forum. For more information, please call (518) 283-8890 or visit www.esvg.org.

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