Read the article in the Sacramento Bee

Things are picking up on the local venture capital scene. Just ahead: a likely deal for WebRaiser Technologies, a Rancho Cordova company that makes software to run self-service kiosks.

Founder and President Dave Gonsiorowski reports the firm has a term sheet - an offer of funding - from one VC. Recent successes have led to "some other bites, some other options," he says.

A deal of some sort could happen as early as this month, he says. Certainly by the end of the third quarter. Size of the deal: Between $2 million and $5 million.

The company was founded in 1997, ran into hard times during the tech crash but has been growing steadily in the past few years, thanks in part to some coaching from the "accelerator" program developed by El Dorado Hills VC Capital Valley Ventures. Revenue tripled last year. They'll do that again this year, Gonsiorowski says.

The company helps produce kiosks for just about any kind of use. One new application, for Amerigas, will allow people to walk up to a kiosk and use a touch screen to exchange an empty tank of propane for a new one. Payment is handled with a credit card. A safety video is shown. The whole process takes about three minutes.

It also is producing kiosks that allow people to apply for jobs at Sutter Health or pay their SMUD bills. Lots of other applications for the technology are being studied.

Given the nature of its business, the firm will never be a huge employer. But it has potential to be "one of the more significant companies" in the area, Gonsiorowski says. How significant? He projects sales in the $50 million to $100 million range.