When Mike Hess of Mariah Power first talked to angel investors about providing $500,000 in financing and the growing need for his alternative energy company’s patented Cyclo power appliances, there were a few hurdles to overcome.

“First of all, they needed a complete, scientific and technically accurate explanation of Cyclo power appliances,” says Hess of the Reno-based firm’s product line. The Cyclo is essentially a wind turbine designed to provide 25 to 30 percent of residential electricity needs for home energy savings, but the investors required more detail and description. “Talking to Sierra Angels and Sacramento Angels was a learning experience for everyone concerned. They had questions for me, I had questions for them, and it was an educational process for us all.”

That experience is typical of the “deal flow” process involved in obtaining either angel investor money or venture capital funds. Both groups require explicit explanations and need to know that the product, technology or idea presented for funding is not a “pipe dream” or impossible to bring to fruition.

Hess will share his experiences in obtaining funding from angel investors, Sierra Pacific Power and Nevada Power from his company’s perspective at the upcoming 6th Annual Silver and Gold Conference. The event is scheduled for Oct. 3 & 4 at the Peppermill Hotel and Casino in Reno.

Three key sponsors of the Silver and Gold Conference are Sierra Angels, primarily angel investors from Reno and Lake Tahoe areas with interest in clean technology for Nevada and California; Golden Capital Network of Chico, Calif., which invests and leverages private equity for economic development in 13 Western states; and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, a nonprofit foundation formed in 2003 with affiliations throughout Nevada.

The Conference will feature more than 50 venture capital and angel investors and a wide range of presenting companies from Nevada and Northern California. Angel or venture capital investors interested in participating on one of the six deal-flow panels should contact Golden Capital Network (www.goldencapital.net).

In addition, Golden Capital Network and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (www.newnevada.com) are bringing the “Power of Angel Investing” seminar, a program of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Angel Capital Education Foundation, to Reno for the first time as a special event on Oct. 3. This program is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of angel investing for private investors.

Angel investors and venture capitalists confirmed to participate in the Silver and Gold Conference this year include: Bill Payne and Mike Ballard, Vegas Valley Angels; Bob Goff, Sierra Angels; Max Shapiro, Keiretsu Forum; Lawrie Lieberman, private investor; Jim Kitchel and Cary Adams, Sacramento Angels; Roger Akers, Akers Capital; Rick Thau, Interwest Partners; Denny Roja, Acuity Ventures; Pete Sinclair, Leapfrog Ventures; Randy Hawks, Claremont Creek Ventures; and Corley Phillips, American River Ventures, among others.

“This event provides one of the best venues outside Silicon Valley for start-up companies to demonstrate their capabilities, as many leading angel investor groups and venture capital funders use this event as an important measuring stick for what’s occurring in emerging markets of the western U.S.,” says Robert “Bob” Goff, founder and chairman of Sierra Angels.

Goff also is a prior chairman of Golden Capital Network and is a current member of the board of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology. His business card jokingly identifies him as “archangel” of the Sierra Angels group (www.sierraangels.com), which to date has 50 members — all experienced business owners or business executives — and has funded 50 companies since its inception in 1997.

“When we first started Sierra Angels, we decided to do some good, have some fun and make some money, but not always in that order,” Goff recalls. “Our passion is really the confluence of education/research and entrepreneurship and clean technology, and the four areas we focus on are computing/communications; energy/environmental; health/life sciences and software and Internet.”

The real goal of Sierra Angels, Goff adds, is to provide coaching, capital and connectivity for companies on the Interstate 80 corridor from the East Bay area of San Francisco to Salt Lake City. When the Silver and Gold Conference arrives in Reno — bringing $20 billion in venture capital capacity — Goff makes certain potential recipients of angel or venture capital are prepared with pre-screening, coaching and mentoring prior to making presentations to the venture capitalists. He calls it “improving the quality of the deal flow” with coaching before the conference, and he says this preliminary coaching can make or break a deal.

The Center for Entrepreneurship assists with that all-important educational aspect of angel investing. CET has two goals in hosting the Silver and Gold Conference this year, says David Archer, managing director. The first is to create new and enhanced relationships between leading angel investor groups and venture capital funds in Nevada and California. The second is to showcase the best emerging growth companies from across the Western U.S. outside of the Silicon Valley — demonstrating that top-tier entrepreneurs exist in places like Reno, Sparks and Carson City, and that they are great candidates for angel and venture capital investments.

Meanwhile, Hess of Mariah Power is modifying the design of his Cyclo wind turbine as he prepares to speak at the Conference.

“I’m looking forward to sharing my information about all the time, patience and education involved in receiving angel funding,” Hess says. “All that effort was definitely worth it.”