Coral Gables-based Florida Venture Forum Inc., a nonprofit entrepreneurial networking group formed in 1984, reports seven of the presenters at the annual conference last January have received equity or commitments either directly or indirectly from the conference.

Since the first round of presentations in 1992, the networking group has helped conference participants raise around $424 million in venture capital. Successful presenters use the proceeds for a variety of growth needs, including leasing and acquisition of operations space.

Of the following seven companies, six are based in South Florida: BizProLink, a Fort Lauderdale, FL-based aggregator of industry-specific applications service providers, received $3.2 million from Crossbow Ventures; Fourbit Group Inc., a Fort Lauderdale-based Internet infrastructure company, received $1.5 million from private investors; and JesterDigital Corp., a West Palm Beach, FL-based creator of web-based, multi-user accessible virtual reality products, received $6.8 million from Crossbow Ventures and Wyncrest Capital.