Two capital-raise execs from region to speak at South by Southwest conference

A pair of executives from the region, one based in Naples, the other in Sarasota, will be co-hosting a panel at the famed South by Southwest conference in Austin in March. 

The executives are Timothy Cartwright, partner of Fifth Avenue Family Office and chairman of Tamiami Angel Funds in Naples, and former Pillsbury Co. CEO and longtime Procter & Gamble executive John Lilly, who is managing member at early stage investment fund Lateral Capital in Sarasota. The pair, according to a statement, will focus their panel on how to “help entrepreneurs avoid common mistakes they make when raising capital. The discussion, the release adds, is titled “Don’t Do This! What NOT To Do When Raising Money For Your Company.”

“It’s fair to say that in our combined decades of experience John and I have seen plenty of entrepreneurs give investors a rational excuse to decline or stop funding their businesses,” says Cartwright in the statement. “Our goal with the panel is to help entrepreneurs avoid some of the most common blunders they make in their communications with investors.”

As the largest angel-fund organization in the State of Florida, Tamiami Angel Funds has considered hundreds of investment ideas from entrepreneurs seeking funds to grow their early stage companies since it was founded in 2008. (Lilly is also a member of the Tamiami Angel Funds, according to his LinkedIn profile.) Cartwright, the release states, is also a director of the Florida Venture Forum, one of the largest network and support organizations for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists in Florida.

Founded in 1987, South by Southwest, also known by its initials SXSW, is a popular conference and festival designed to help creative people to achieve their goals. It runs from March 8-16 and features sessions, showcases, screenings, exhibitions and a variety of networking opportunities.