Over $100,000 to be awarded.
Bend Outdoor Worx (BOW), Central Oregon’s outdoor industry accelerator, announce the Venture Out Festival, an outdoor product venture event to be held on October 12 at the Tower Theatre. Applications for this event will available on the BOW website in mid June.
Supported by the Oregon Outdoor Alliance (OOA) and the Economic Development of Central Oregon (EDCO), the Wednesday evening event kicks off the Bend Venture Conference, held October 13-15. Two Bros. Ventures, a family owned and operated firm with offices in Bend, will be funding a venture round of at least $100,000 to be awarded to a growth stage outdoor product company, while Bend Radio Group will be sponsoring a $10,000 Breakout Award for an early stage company.
This year’s event builds on the success of BOW’s 2016 Breakout Award, where three finalist companies were selected to pitch to a crowd of over 250 people at an OOA meeting. The audience chose Robert Axle Project, a local manufacturer of axle adaptors for bike trailers and trainers, as the winner. Keynote speaker Beaver Theodosakis, the founder of Prana, presented the winner with the check for $10,000.
Kicking off in mid June, the application process for the new Bend Outdoor Worx Venture Out Festival includes a website application as well as a series of presentations. The finalists will be chosen in Fall 2016.
Currently, BOW is accepting applications for their next cohort until June 1st. Since 2014, BOW has worked with eight start-up outdoor companies providing them with mentorship from industry founders and an extended mentor group. Through a process of discovery meetings, analyzation and curriculum building,
BOW determines company needs and provides guidance. The accelerator supports these companies by aligning them with additional resources needed to succeed, including legal, financial, marketing, logistics, sales, marketing, and product development. Start up outdoor companies looking to scale can apply online at http://bendoutdoorworx.com/apply/
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. The founders represent various skill sets and a multitude of experience with successful organizations. In August of 2015, outdoor professional Miki Keller joined the group. BOW also has a deep pool of extended mentors that lend their expertise periodically, as well as White- Summers Law, and Price Fronk & Co, LLP. For additional information on BOW, contact Gary Bracelin, gbracelin@gmail.com.
BOW’s Manifesto
We’re dreamers, radicals, achievers, believers and vanguards with a shared belief and a common goal. We’re an independent organization with independent spirit – and we love the outdoors. We embrace the unpredictable nature and the grit it takes to navigate the hurdles and obstacles in our industry. In fact, we enjoy it. We’re fearless, but we value vulnerability. We encourage risk, but we support solid strategy. We’re not even remotely interested in the status quo. We’re interested in lending our expertise, our stories and our respect for the crazy-but-we-love-it volatility of the outdoor industry to help our companies adapt, adjust and achieve. WE’RE HERE TO LEAD OUTDOOR INDUSTRY ENTREPRENEURS
