Heather’s Choice & SewGo Outdoors Win at BOW BreakOut

Bend Outdoor Worx (BOW) announced the winners of BreakOut, the first and only venture event focused solely on the outdoor industry, held last Wednesday night at the Tower Theatre in Bend.

SewGo Outdoors (sewgooutdoors.com), lightweight adventure gaitors, won the $5,000 BreakOut award in the early stage category determined by audience votes. Heather’s Choice (heatherschoice.com), dehydrated backpacking food for hunting, camping and adventures, won the $10,000 Ready-To-Roll Award in the growth stage category, chosen by a panel of judges. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, and with the help of sponsor Bendbroadband, BOW also presented Neo Pros, an early stage category company who designs swimwear products for survivors of mastectomies, with a $1,000 check. Bluey Merino (blueymerino.com), an active & outdoor Merino wool clothing brand, and and Rhino Skins Solutions (rhinoskinsolutions.com), high performance skin recovery, were chosen to continue in a due diligence process for funding from Business Oregon.

A special highlight from the evening was a surprise visit from Senator Wyden, who has been a champion for outdoor causes and offered his ongoing support to the industry.

In addition to the pitch event at the Tower Theatre, Bend Outdoor Worx held a series of educational sessions during the same day, presented in association with OSU Cascades and Oregon Outdoor Alliance. The sessions offered useful information from top industry experts for emerging companies.

A full house of outdoor enthusiasts attended the Break Out event, part of the rapidly growing outdoor entrepreneurial movement in Bend, Oregon. The festival commenced with a performance by Lindsi Kay and Tin Bindi from Slackrobats Academy and the entertainment continued with a performance by Ross Winsor, a professional mountain bike trials rider, held on stage during the intermission. Music by Bombshot filled the theatre during networking following the event.

The BOW BreakOut event was presented by 10 Barrel Brewing, Northline Wealth Management, Ruffwear, First Interstate Bank, Huckabuy, White Summers Law, Price Fronk, Toyko Starfish, BBSI, Robert Axle Project, Bendbroadband, Business Oregon, HydroFlask, City of Bend, Zealios Skincare, Terra Frma, Oregon Entrepreneurs Network, and Hand In Hand Productions. For more information visit Bendoutdoorworx.com

About BOW
After assessing common needs from outdoor industry businesses, Bend Outdoor Worx (BOW) was initially conceived in 2013 by Gary Bracelin, a long-time Bend resident and outdoor industry expert. BOW was officially launched in April 2014, when additional industry experts Eric Meade, Justin Rae, and Will Blount joined Bracelin. Andy Boyd also began working with the group in 2017. The founders represent various skill sets and a multitude of experience with successful organizations. BOW also has a deep pool of extended mentors that lend their expertise periodically, as well as Winter Summers Law, the GB2 Agency and Price Fronk & Co, LLP. For additional information on BOW, contact Gary Bracelin at gbracelin@gmail.com.