In a dark bar under the streets of Piccadilly, nine Sussex men and women gather to ask for millions of pounds.

Former teachers, marketing managers and academics collect to explain why they need the cash.

They have become bosses of their own companies and most want those companies to be international firms within three years.

This is not part of a game show.

These people know they can be multi-millionaires. They just need a few seven-figure sums to get going.

The event has been organised by Brighton based e-commerce support group Wired Sussex.

They have arranged for the nine local business people to present their ideas to around 35 venture capitalists.

The venture capitalists are high-risk investors, punting huge amounts of money on big ideas in the hope of finding the next Microsoft.

Even after the spectacular online failures of Boo.com and Clickmango, there are still plenty of people who think they can make a fortune on the net.

There are still bankers who will help them do it.

But it has become more and more difficult to get those bankers to listen.

This is where Wired Sussex comes in, enticing the money men with a combination of reputation, free drinks and arm-twisting.

One venture capitalist tells me he gets 40 begging letters a day.

All the Sussex business people know the chance to directly talk to 30 of these people is unlikely to be repeated in a hurry.

Jayne Gasson from Hove wants the money to create the Bodyangel, an internet stress counsellor and personal trainer.

The computerised face will appear on your monitor daily to boost your ego, praise you for reaching your goals and push you forward.

A 3D model of your body will show how the diet is going.

She explains the project needs serious investment.

She says: "It's not a question of going to friends and family. I don't want Aunt Mary phoning up all the time asking about her £2,000."

Jayne has enjoyed a successful career in marketing, handling multi-million pound budgets for airlines.

If her idea works, she will be a millionaire.

If it fails, she will have to rebuild her career.

She says: "There is no business without risk."

She presents to the venture capitalists late in the afternoon, standing at a lectern in front of around 60 people, half of whom could decide her business fate.

A Sky television crew films Jayne, bathing her in their orange lights.

She has to explain what her idea is, how it will work and why it will make money in 15 minutes flat.

As she talks, graphics appear on a large screen beside her.

Half way through, she clicks a mouse and the screen refuses to change.

She is distracted and stumbles, her thread lost in a moment of panic.

Afterwards, she curses the technology and says the presentation was difficult.

"The venture capitalists are an unknown quantity. If you know about an audience, you can adjust the way you present yourself."

But if the unknown quantities notice the hiccup, it does not show.

Jayne is soon called away to talk to a clutch of bankers, impressed by her idea and her presentation.

No one makes offers on the spot. But in the well-planned socialising which takes place after such presentations, phone numbers are swapped and appointments are made.

Between sips of wine and crunches of canapes, deals begin to form.

Not everyone is trying to talk themselves into a pot of money.

Algy Williams already has a successful career as managing director of Babel Media in Hove.

He has created Recall Radio, a website which will allow users to tap a date into a site and hear songs from that period.

They will be able to send greetings cards with the music attached. They will, of course, be able to buy the music at every stage.

Algy says he is as keen to make contacts as money at the Wired Sussex meeting.

As he finishes talking, he is called over to a far corner of the bar by a representative from mobile phone firm Orange.

Brighton-based Julia Dunlop knows the importance of making a good personal impression.

She needs funding for EFLnetwork, a revolutionary way of teaching English as a foreign language over the internet.

The market is huge, the technology nearly in place and she already boasts an impressive team.

She says: "You're asking strangers to give you two million quid. You're asking for an awful lot."

She, too, is unhappy with her presentation.

She says: "There's a lot I missed out, even though I know it inside out. I'm not a marketing person."

Julia is as well placed as anyone to get the cash.

Her business plan has already scooped an award from Barclays.

But she admits if the investment does not come, the business will not work.

One investor, Steven Beard, of Red Wave, says he has been impressed by the presentations and by Wired Sussex's organisation.

He will not say whether he is going to hand over cash.

Jayne says she is not relying on one event for funding.

But surely it is possible no one will pay up and her hard work and personal money will be wasted.

What then?

Jayne leans forward across the table and grabs my arm.

She explains with a calm self-assurance she could have learned from her Bodyangel: "I will get funding."

www.wiredsussex.com