SEED Enterprise portfolio companies take top honors in San Diego Competition

San Diego based Ventureplex announced that two companies associated with Seed Enterprise LLC,CEYX Technologies and Applied Gene Technologies, had been selected as finalists in their annual business plan competition and that CEYX had been selected as the winner.

SAN DIEGO, CA - (BUSINESS WIRE) - March 5, 2002 - After months of reviewing about one hundred businesses, San Diego based Ventureplex announced that both CEYX Technologies and Applied Gene Technologies had been selected as two of the four finalists in their annual business plan competition and that CEYX had been selected as the winner. Over the previous six months, both CEYX and Applied Gene have been working with entrepreneurs Tony Medrano and Lina Ramos-Holm of SEED Enterprise. SEED worked with each of these companies to build strategies and implement plans that position their companies for sophisticated venture funding, sustainable profits and rapid growth.

Two of our founding teams entered the competition. Both were selected out of about 100 plans to be in the top 4. CEYX won! This clearly validates the value of the 'under-the-radar work we have been doing to grow these companies," said Tony Medrano. It was a tough decision between CEYX and Applied Gene-they are great companies," said Dante Fichera, Managing Director of Ventureplex.

Carol Fuller, CEO of CEYX announced, "In the first weeks, the entrepreneurs at SEED grew us from a cool technology to a strategically positioned, fundable business with a real strategy to win in our marketplace."

Nani Dattagupta, President of Applied Gene Technologies stated, "It's not easy to take a molecular diagnostic array technology and craft a sustainable business strategy -- but that's what the entrepreneurs at SEED did. Lina and Tony are perfect interim executive additions to our team of accomplished scientists, and what every founder needs to turn a well developed technology into an extremely successful business."

CEYXs CEO delivered a top-notch presentation...kudos to their management," said Sam Poole of Tech Coast Angels. "Working side-by-side with the founders of top-tier ventures like CEYX and Applied Gene to grow their technologies into businesses with customers and investors is what we do," said Lina Ramos-Holm of SEED.

About CEYX Technologies
Ceyx Technologies is an optical communications company that makes cost-efficient laser control systems for optical communications transceivers. The companys core product integrates proprietary firmware and algorithms onto a circuit, creating the first intelligent, cost-efficient, inter-operable, and reliable laser transceiver control system.

About Applied Gene Technologies (AGTI)
AGTI is a biotechnology company that has developed a proprietary platform technology which will be used to detect nucleic acids for molecular diagnosis of human diseases, such as tuberculosis, HIV and cancer.

About SEED Enterprise LLC
SEED Enterprise is a network of experienced entrepreneurs who take interim management roles in early stage biotechnology and technology start-ups to assist with business planning, customer acquisition, human capital & general management in preparation for top-tier venture capital. Each SEED entrepreneur has unique functional and domain expertise directly relevant to building quality companies. www.seedenterprise.com   

CONTACT: Tony Medrano, President SEED Enterprise LLC 858-483-3947 or tony@seedenterprise.com.