EDCO Announces New Social Impact Competition
Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) will host the annual Bend Venture Conference (BVC), now in its 13th year, on Thursday, October 13 and Friday, October 14 at the iconic Tower Theatre in downtown Bend.
This year’s conference will feature three competition categories — Social Impact, Early Stage and Growth Stage:
• Social Impact Competition — This new category is open to for-profit companies, whose business models are integrated with a mission to have a significant and measurable social or environmental impact. Applicants should be aiming to generate long-term enterprise value and attractive returns on capital. Applicants must be located in Oregon to apply or win. To apply, https://gust.com/organizations/bvc-2016-social-impact.
• Early Stage Competition — This category is open to companies that have a great idea and are close to “proof of concept.” They are pre-revenue (or very early) and are in the process of testing their product in the market. Applicants must be located in Central Oregon to apply or win. To apply https://gust.com/organizations/bvc-2016.
• Growth Stage Competition — This category is open to companies that have a proven concept, have generated initial revenues and are prepared to scale quickly with investment. Applicants can be located anywhere in the U.S. to apply or win. To apply, https://gust.com/organizations/bvc-2016.
“In our pursuit of creating a true destination conference, we are expanding the BVC this year by adding a Social Impact Competition. This will bring a sizeable investment into a company that not only has a compelling business plan, but also has an integrated social and/or environmental mission,” said Brian Vierra, EDCO’s venture catalyst. “We expect to sell out early again this year and set new standards for both the quality of companies we attract and the amount of capital we deploy into them.”
Companies in the Social Impact Competition could receive an investment of $25,000-$100,000, with $25,000 already committed. Early Stage finalists compete for a $15,000 cash prize (courtesy of BendBroadband Business), while Growth Stage finalists could collect an investment of $250,000 or more. The 2016 BVC will also feature impressive panelists from across the Pacific Northwest representing angel investors, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.
Jason Moyer, fund manager for the 2016 BVC, LLC said, “BVC just keeps growing and maturing. We’re seeing some of the best applicants in the Pacific Northwest and are starting to attract major institutional investors.”
Tickets to the 13th Annual Bend Venture Conference are now available at www.eventbrite.com/e/2016-bend-venture-conference-tickets-26203183427
