November 1, 2006

WOODSIDE FUND’S VINCENT OCCHIPINTI CHAIRED 7th ANNUAL IBF EARLY STAGE VENTURE INVESTING CONFERENCE

Woodside’s Managing Director Thomas Shields Participated as Moderator with Individuals from Advanced Technology, Azure Capital Partners, Mohr Davidow, and Storm

November 1, 2006, Redwood Shores, CA: Woodside Fund, an early stage venture capital firm, today announced that co-founder and managing director Vincent M. Occhipinti, also chairman of the Early Stage Venture Capital Alliance (ESVCA), chaired the Seventh Annual IBF Early Stage Venture Investing Conference, which took place October 24th through October 25th at The Marriot Hotel in San Jose. Thomas Shields also represented Woodside Fund at the conference, serving as moderator in a panel entitled Profiting from Proliferation: Managing the Brand and Consumer Behaviors in 2006. The conference attracted over 300 early stage investors and featured 50 speakers, and 15 in-depth panel discussions over the 2-day program.

“I’ve participated as the chairperson of the IBF Early Stage Venture Investing Conference since its inception in 2000,” said Vincent Occhipinti. “Every year the atmosphere is different depending on the overall global economy, entrepreneurial innovation, new trends and investment strategies. This year’s tone was different than in previous years, with recent news of the return of billion dollar funds and some high-profile firms postponing fundraising efforts. During the conference, VC peers were able to share a wealth of knowledge and exchange insights on the rapidly changing climate for early stage investing.

“IBF provides a forum for today’s early stage investors, entrepreneurs, and limited partners to stay abreast of trends and business strategies while learning from their peers,” said Thomas Shields. “As a moderator, I encouraged the panelists to go into detail about specific techniques people have used to attract customers, how the brand of a company is different on the Internet, and how today’s early stage companies can secure revenues and profits by expanding their consumer base. I believe the audience found the discussion both thought-provoking and engaging.”

This year’s conference focused on VISIONARY ENTREPRENEURS & EMERGING TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES and included participation from venture capital firms including: Advanced Technology Ventures; Azure Capital Partners; Battery Ventures; Bay Partners; Blueprint Ventures; Canaan Partners; Blumberg Capital; DCM – Doll Capital Management; Garage Technology Ventures; InterWest Partners; Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers; Labrador Ventures; Kodiak Venture Partners; Levensohn Venture Partners; Logispring; Mayfield Fund; Mohr, Davidow Ventures; Morgenthaler Ventures; New Enterprise Associates; Nth Power; ONSET Ventures; RedPoint Ventures; Sand Hill Angels; Shasta Ventures; Sherwood Partners; Siemens Venture Capital; Texas Pacific Group Ventures; Trinity Ventures; US Venture Partners; Tech Coast Angels; TriplePoint Capital; VantagePoint Venture Partners; W.P. Global Partners; and Worldview Technology Partners.

Discussion session topics included:
• Working through the challenges of being an early stage venture capitalist
• What kinds of returns do institutional investors expect from early stage fund managers?
• Tackling the higher cost of building a company in today’s global market - ways to mitigate risk and maximize returns
• Growing portfolio companies globally: strategies to empower a young company
• Cross-border early stage investment models: performing the right kind of due diligence on today's global entrepreneur
• Broadening the scope of early stage activity - the new wave of early stage venture firms
setting up shop internationally
• New venture fund models for early stage investments
For further information about the event, please go to www.ibfconferences.com.

Vincent M. Occhipinti Biography
Vincent Occhipinti co-founded Woodside Fund in 1983, and has been intimately involved in the management and success of Woodside Fund and its portfolio companies. He is well known in the industry for his ongoing role as chairman of the conferences of the Early Stage Venture Capital Alliance (ESVCA), a federation of 150 seed and early stage funds. Since 1990, the conference has brought together general partners in seed and early stage funds to discuss issues of mutual interest. Occhipinti has a wealth of operating experience in both small and large companies in the technology industry. He founded Logisticon, Inc. which he led as President and CEO, and pioneered enterprise process and factory automation software. Earlier in his career, Occhipinti served as Vice President of Marketing for Mobility Systems, and while at Levi Strauss and Co., had profit and loss responsibility for the Stretch Levis Division. He earned a BA from Stanford University.

About IBF
International Business Forum (IBF) presents financial and business conferences on venture capital, corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions, corporate strategic investing, defined contribution/401(k) plans, institutional investing, funding technology innovation, commercialization of intellectual property and corporate employee benefits. IBF conferences provide attendees with leading-edge information and new business contacts to achieve business objectives. For further information, go to www.ibfconferences.com.

About Woodside Fund
Woodside Fund is a leading venture capital firm that excels in developing early stage technology companies. Founded in 1983, Woodside Fund attributes its long record of success to the high value it places on building productive partnerships with entrepreneurs, other investors and service providers. Typically a lead investor, Woodside Fund invests from $5 million to $10 million in early stage software, semiconductor and network infrastructure companies located primarily on the West Coast. Woodside Fund has approximately $330 million in committed capital under active management. For more information, go to www.woodsidefund.com.

For all press related questions or comments, please contact Carole Sinclair at caroles@woodsidefund.com
or phone 925.818.1038.

www.woodsidefund.com

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