Over the past decade Central Oregon has slowly become a hotbed for technology. While large companies like Facebook build data processing plants on cheap land outside Prineville, the real growth lies in tech telecommuters and startup companies looking to create technological advancements or improve upon existing ones. As the list of tech-based careers in Central Oregon raises, community groups looking to assist in their growth have evolved as well. One such group looking to create a hub for tech startups is the Tech Alliance of Central Oregon.
The 501(c)3 registered non-profit has been around since April, 2010 and consistently grown since its inception.
“Our mission is to connect tech professionals in Central Oregon and create a local, world-class start-up community,” explains Chair James Gentes.
Tech Alliance of Central Oregon has an eight member board and a growing membership of 500 members of Central Oregon tech professionals. Because they operate as a non-profit, they have no salaries and a very low overhead. Many of their needs are donated, such as broadband from BendBroadband and beer from Worthy Brewing. Under the Alliance, BendTECH has emerged to assist Bend-based entrepreneurs, while SistersTECH will begin this month and RedmondTECH looks to start sometime next year.
“We provide a lot of resources to startups,” says Gentes, who has been a member since 2011. “We don’t try to control things. We try to empower those individuals who are motivated.”
Upon taking over as chair this year, Gentes, along with the other board members, wrote an ambitious set of goals for 2014. Through dedication from their volunteer members and Gentes’ management of BendTECH, they are on path to meet all of them.
As a way to inform the public about what BendTECH has to offer, Gentes and writer Kelly Kearsley began the BendTECH.com blog in July of this year. Kearsley handles the lion’s share of writing, with Gentes and guest writers also supplying posts.
“The goal is to cover the tech and entrepreneurial startup scene in Central Oregon. We saw that there was no dedicated source of tech-business information. We are just trying to add to the other local news sources.”
For their efforts, the blog is experiencing a ten percent readership growth each month. They currently have over 400 subscribers to their newsletter and are beginning to sell advertising.
Another important goal of Tech Alliance is the increased usability of their Techspace Bend. The co-working space for technology startups is currently located at 141 NW Greenwood Avenue and offers offices and meeting spaces for telecommuters and small businesses.
As of January 2015, BendTECH will upgrade their co-working space to a new building at 1001 SW Emkay. SunWest Builders is currently working to upgrade the building for a modern startup feel and a hip style. The building features over 3,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor cafe and event space with twenty offices, thirty-two desks, three conference rooms and four private phone rooms. The space, which sits close to the Old Mill District, comes complete with bike racks and showers for alternate commuting options.
“We are already doing better than our initial goal of filling the space within two years,” says Gentes. “The space is 75 percent full, and we expect that number to rise at our opening event.”
The tenants run the gamut of professionals in the tech community, from a patent attorney to a startup solar device company. BendTECH is not forcing a, “tech only” policy, rather trying to create a hub for Bend’s startup community. With the new space and leases, they will have enough money in the operating budget to operate without fundraising efforts.
Empowering local user groups is another realized goal of the Tech Alliance and BendTECH. They sponsor many different grassroots meet up groups such as the Central Oregon Web Professionals, WordPress and Beer and Ruby on Ales. BendTECH just held their fifth annual Bend Venture unConference October 15.
The unConference gives interested individuals a platform to pitch their ideas to others. Over 200 people attended the event, with twenty entrepreneurs pitching ideas. The audience voted and Molly Scofield won with her streamlined purchasing app, titled the Handsel. As part of her victory, she was allowed to pitch the idea the following day at the Bend Venture Conference. The BVC gives startups the opportunity to compete for seed money as they celebrate innovation and entrepreneurship. The more casual unConference, complete with free beer, was held at the unfinished Emkay building.
“The event was very successful,” says Gentes. “Being tied to the BVC helps. We are planning on having the unConference quarterly beginning next year.”
Once entrepreneurial ideas are ready for development, the Tech Alliance of Central Oregon assists with matching the startups with local business incubators, such as Founders Pad, that help bring ideas to market. As an example of the benefit of their leadership, startups under the guidance of Founders Pad have won the BVC the last two years.
Tech Alliance of Central Oregon and BendTECH
www.bendtech.com
Chair: James Gentes
Members: 500
Year established: 2010
Service: connecting tech professionals in Central Oregon and create a local, world-class start-up community.
Hot News: Poised to open a new, modern co-working space in January.
Outlook for Growth: Enjoying a consistent growth in membership, including a 10 percent monthly growth in newsletter readership.
