Firm Makes Tech Hip with Waschka

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Mention the phrase “technology forum” and connotations of computer geeks wielding DOS boot discs and snickering about the inadequacy of 64 MB of RAM immediately come to mind.

But what’s shaping up to be an A-list soiree on Oct. 18 will be far from a pocket protector fest. VeriSource LLC, headquartered at palatial Pinnacle Point in Rogers, is inviting the public to its grand opening celebration from 1-6 p.m. at 5430 Pinnacle Point Drive. It may be the first time a big blue sign other than Wal-Mart’s attracts such a crowd in Benton County.

The fuss is over guest speaker Larry Waschka — a registered investment advisor, president of Waschka Capital Investments of Little Rock and a nationally recognized authority on the stock market. He will give two free talks to guests, at 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m., about the condition of the market and technology innovations that may give businesses a boost. His advice is usually only given for a fee.

“We want to be your [chief information officer],” said Christopher Maddox, VeriSource’s CEO. “Our job is to figure out how to make you more money by using technology. We thought that having a financial leader like Larry come in would emphasize our financial focus, even though we’re a technology company.”

Bankers, investors, retailers, Wal-Mart vendors and a cross-section from the venture capital and technology community have already expressed an interest in attending. Basically any business leader looking to improve margins could benefit from the event.

Waschka is the author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting Rich” and “Ten Stocks That Could Change the World.” This year he’s been recognized by Worth magazine as one of its Top 250 Advisors in the Country and Mutual Funds magazine named him as one of its 100 Great Financial Planners.

Publicly traded Alltel Corp. of Little Rock and Cisco Systems Inc. of San Jose, Calif., will also set up booths at VeriSource’s second-floor suite. Both firms operate offices at Pinnacle Point, which has become Northwest Arkansas’ de facto high-tech fiber park.

Most of VeriSource’s major clients will be represented, too, including Arkansas National Bank in Bentonville, Valutec Card Solutions of Portsmouth, N.H., and InternetInns.com. of Oklahoma City.