Investors Interested, Entrepreneurs Say

Last week’s column mentioned two local entrepreneurs who had been picked to present their products to hundreds of potential investors as part of UC Irvine’s Accelerate Technology Showcase held Wednesday in Newport Beach.

They may have been nervous going into the event, but were happy with the outcome.

“I was surprisingly at ease,” said Jack Syage, who last week joked that he might panic under the pressure.

In fact, things went so well for Syage that his product, a device that scans airline baggage for explosives, was named the most promising new technology at the event. Syage, of Cypress, said he met numerous potential investors at the showcase, and has set up meetings with at least half a dozen over the next few months.

Gary Falacara, president of a start-up Aliso Viejo software company, was similarly successful.

“What really turned out nice is we have people who are interested in hiring us to do some 3-D development for them,” Falacara said. His company’s software is designed to make it easier to build three-dimensional Web sites and computer games.

Greg Miller covers high technology for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at greg.miller@latimes.com