Concept and Launch Stage competition winners including Bend-based Volcano Veggies, CrowdStreet and Amplion Research take home cash prizes, investment awards and marketing services at the Economic Development for Central Oregon Bend Venture Conference last week.
Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO), today hosted the annual Bend Venture Conference (BVC), with a sold-out crowd of over 400 attendees, and announced the winners of over $900,000 in investments and total prizes. Side investment deals, which are still being finalized, are at approximately $175,000, bringing the grand total of investments, awards, and cash prizes at the 2014 BVC to nearly $1 million dollars. The following are a list of winners:
1. Volcano Veggies Winner of the Palo Alto Software LivePlan Award
Concept stage finalist, Volcano Veggies who grows organic vegetables and fish indoors with proprietary aquaponic systems, providing cold-weather communities with fresh, nutritious local food year-round, won Palo Alto Software’s LivePlan competition for a $1,500 cash prize. 2014 is the second year this prize has been offered at the Bend Venture Conference.
2. CrowdStreet & Cairn Winners of the two Mandala Fire Starter Marketing Program
Launch stage finalist, CrowdStreet, a crowdfunding platform connecting accredited investors with high quality professionally managed investment real estate, won Mandala’s Fire Starter Marketing Program Award for $50,000 worth of marketing and branding services. An unexpected secondary Fire Starter Award of $15,000 was given to Cairn, who introduces outdoor enthusiasts to new brands and products through a monthly subscription while also collecting market data for the companies they work with. 2014 is the first year the Mandala Fire Starter Award has been offered at the Bend Venture Conference.
Cairn one of two winners of the Mandala Fire Starter Marketing Program
3. Volcano Veggies Winner of the $10,000 BendBroadband cash prize in the concept stage competition:
Concept stage finalist, Volcano Veggies, who grows organic vegetables and fish indoors with proprietary aquaponic systems, providing cold-weather communities with fresh, nutritious local food year-round, won the $10,000 BendBroadband Concept Award. For this competition, conference attendees voted on the company they believe had the greatest potential. Volcano Veggies is a Bend-based company.
4. Amplion, Bright.md & CrowdStreet Winners of the Seven Peaks Ventures Investment
Three launch stage finalists received investment awards from Seven Peaks Ventures:
• Amplion Research, which provides business intelligence solutions that give pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies strategic control of the complete clinical biomarkers landscape, won a $150,000 Investment Award from Seven Peaks Ventures.
• Bright.md, lets primary care providers deliver remarkably efficient remote care, increasing capacity by 30 percent, efficiency by 80 percent, and margin by 5 percent, won a $100,000 Investment Award from Seven Peaks Ventures.
• CrowdStreet, also won a $100,000 Investment Award from Seven Peaks Ventures.
2014 is the first year Seven Peaks has offered this award at the Bend Venture Conference.
5. Amplion Research & Poachedjobs Winner of the launch stage competition:
Launch stage finalist, Amplion Research also won the conference’s major prize, a $250,000 investment. A secondary investment of $100,000 was awarded to Poachedjobs, a hiring platform disrupting the jobs market for industries with high turnover rates – starting with the restaurant industry.
The investment arm of the conference, BVC LLC, awarded the investment following considerable due diligence of each of the five presenting finalists.
