RES Equine awarded $250K Launch Stage prize from investors & OGA. Audioname receives $10K Concept Stage prize from Bendbroadband
Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) announced the winners of the 2011 Bend Venture Conference at the conclusion of the angel investment conference which took place on October 14. Held at the Tower Theatre in downtown Bend, the event attracted over 300 entrepreneurs, investors, and business professionals.
“BVC 2011 was truly a year of firsts,” said Jim Coonan, venture catalyst manager at EDCO. “BVC had the single largest investor raise ever along with the first Oregon Growth Account (OGA) match. This was the first year for the Concept Stage competition and, in part, that contributed to the greatest number ever of entrepreneurs applying to present.”
Launch Stage Competition
Redmond-based RES Equine, a manufacturer of protective horse equipment which uses a patent pending closure system, was selected by investors of the BVC, LLC (the conference’s investment arm) for the top prize of $250,000, beating out four other finalists in the category. Of the total prize, $50,000 was supplied by OGA, the maximum amount the state of oregon treasury could provide in a new initiative this year to support entrepreneurship through matching funds in the state’s regional investment conferences. The $200,000 balance was raised by the BVC, LLC and constituted the highest investor raise in BVC’s eight year history.
EDCO Executive Director Roger Lee added, “We are delighted that Brett Mills, CEO and founder of RES Equine, will have the funding to take his operation to the next level. Brett has a history of profitable exits and knows the horse industry inside out.”
Concept Stage Competition
In the Concept Stage competition, conference attendees voted for the single startup they considered most viable of the six finalists. Following rapid fire three-minute presentations and challenges from a panel of experts, the audience selected entrepreneur Sheetal Dube, whose Portland-based company Audioname provides a software solution for difficult to pronounce names. Sean Handley, director of BendBroadband Business Services, presented an outsized $10,000 check to Sheetal, commenting that the funding represents BendBroadband’s support of innovative companies. BendBroadband has committed to underwriting the prize for the winner of the Concept Stage competition in 2011 and in future years.
“The audience loved Sheetal’s energy and passion for her concept, and were impressed with her responses to technical questions posed by the panel of experts,” noted Handley. “The BendBroadband prize will help her build out her beta concept and begin to pay staff volunteers for their efforts.”
About RES Equine (www.resboot.com)
RES Equine Products manufactures a complete equine protective product line that uses a patented replaceable hook and loop closure. The products have strong margins, the addressed market is global, and company’s value proposition is confirmed by testimonials from top national rodeo, racing professionals, and happy customers. CEO Brett Mills has over 30 years in the equine industry as a participant, consumer, and retailer. Contact: brett@resboot.com
About Audioname (www.audioname.com)
Audioname is an easy to use customer acquisition and retention tool. It is a platform that allows people to record audio messages and share them with multiple people via email signatures and social networks. The initial phase is focused on allowing people to record their name and share it with others. Learnings around tactics that make the product viral will be used to develop the platform further. Contact: sheetal.dube@gmail.com
About the Bend Venture Conference (www.bendvc.com)
Now in its eighth year, the Bend Venture Conference (BVC) is the premier regional event connecting concept and early stage companies with investment opportunities. The annual event attracts more than 300 of the Pacific Northwest’s top angel investors, entrepreneurs, and business leaders and is held at the historic Tower Theatre in Bend, Oregon. BVC is managed by EDCO and is a key component of its Venture Catalyst program.
About EDCO (www.edcoinfo.com)
Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to diversifying the Central Oregon economy by attracting new investment and jobs. EDCO focuses on recruiting new companies, helping grow Central Oregon’s entrepreneurs, and by helping traded-sector firms already in Central Oregon expand. EDCO has been helping to diversify Central Oregon’s economy since 1981.
About BendBroadband Business (www.bendbroadband.net)
BendBroadband is a family-owned, local company serving Central Oregon since 1955. A leader in the cable and broadband sectors, the company offers an extensive range of broadband, cable and telephone services for commercial and residential customers. Central Oregon facilities include over 1500 miles of fiber and coax infrastructure, two bands of licensed wireless spectrum covering the region, and a certified Tier III, carbon neutral colocation data center. Commercial services include metropolitan optical Ethernet, GePON, T-1/PRI, hosted PBX services, phone systems and managed services. BendBroadband offers an extensive range of residential services, such as Internet options with speeds up to 60 Mbps, Wi-Fi, advanced digital cable services and feature-rich low-cost phone packages. The company operates one of the fastest wireless broadband networks in the nation, covering an expanded Central Oregon footprint along with outdoor Wi-Fi. BendBroadband employs 250 people with all technical support, plant maintenance, engineering and call center services, among other functions, provided by Central Oregon personnel. The company focuses its corporate giving on local non-profit organizations that serve youth and families and an array of arts, entertainment and recreation initiatives in Central Oregon. BendBroadband offers unique and extensive local sports, civic programming and local features produced by COTV, channel 11. The company recently opened the BendBroadband Vault, a LEED Gold-certified, Tier III, green colocation data center providing hosted storage for primary site and disaster recovery needs, equipment colocation and managed services.
