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$200,000 investment prize will be awarded to one Oregon start-up company!

Location: CH2M Hill Alumni Center, Corvallis, OR

Purchase your ticket to attend the conference BEFORE April 29th and save $50.

Afternoon Keynote Speaker

Pamela Slim

Author of Escape from Cubicle Nation.

Pamela Slim is a seasoned coach and writer who helps frustrated employees incorporate jobs break out and start their own business. Her blog, Escape from Cubicle Nation, is one of the top career and marketing blogs on the web.  A former corporate manager and entrepreneur herself for more than a decade, she deeply understands the questions and concerns faced by first-time entrepreneurs.  Her expertise in personal and business change was developed through many years consulting inside corporations such as Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard and Charles Schwab, where she coached thousands of executives, managers and employees.

Click here to read more about Pamela.

Purchase your ticket to attend the conference BEFORE April 29th and save $50.

“Wolves and Angels”

Location: Oregon Electric Station, Eugene | directions

Register: Online registration is closed [$15 for Eugene Chamber, Corvallis Chamber and SAO members | $10 for students | $25 at the door]

*** And bring your business cards because we’re bringing back the “5 Minutes of Start-up Fame” – where you can enter into a drawing for an opportunity to deliver a 5 minute pitch about your start-up company! ***

Rich Barbis – CEO and founder of Opa Cove™ will share his story about starting, running and growing his emerging growth company – including how to know the difference between the “Wolves” and the “Angels” out there!

One of the best learning opportunities is listening to other entrepreneurs share their stories – learn from their successes and their mistakes. Rich will talk about the importance of his business plan, deciding on the right way to structure his company (LLC v. C-Corp, v S-Corp) – including why this is so important, the manufacturing of his prototype, the importance of the right attorney at the right time – and ultimately – launching his product into the market. Visit www.opacove.com for more information.

Opa Cove creates Neoprene water safety products that are safe and fun for kids ages 2-7.

*** And bring your business cards because we’re bringing back the “5 Minutes of Start-up Fame” – where you can enter into a drawing for an opportunity to deliver a 5 minute pitch about your start-up company! ***

Thanks to our great sponsors for supporting entrepreneurship in our community!

TITLE SPONSOR:

SUPPORTING SPONSORS:

Thanks to Craig Gray for filming the conference and sharing these video clips – more to come…Find more videos like this on Smart-ups

CenterSpace (Corvallis-based) wins the $125K

CORVALLIS, Ore. – May 14, 2009 — The Willamette Angel Conference announced today that CenterSpace Software was selected as the winner of its inaugural 2009 investment competition, held in Corvallis. Corvallis-based CenterSpace Software, which provides numerical software components for financial, engineering, and scientific applications, will receive the $125,000 angel award investment prize.

Floragenex, a Eugene based firm that develops and delivers innovative, flexible applications of emerging genomic tools and technology, received a non-monetary vote of confidence, as the winner of  audience balloting for the best presentation.

“We are excited to bring a spotlight on to the breadth and depth of Willamette Valley Start-ups, and to expose these entrepreneurs to investors from around the Pacific Northwest,” said John Sechrest, Economic Development Director of the Corvallis-Benton Chamber Coalition, and Chair of the Willamette Angel Conference. “The  quality of the business plans, and the support from the investor community show how vibrant the entrepreneurial economy is here in the valley.  The collaboration between Corvallis and Eugene on this event, with the support of OSU and U of O, creates a strong center for  turning the innovations into commercial successes. “

This year’s finalist companies were selected from over  40 companies based throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington that applied to compete at the Willamette Angel Conference 2009. A rigorous selection process was undertaken by the 25-member panel of active angel investors to select the winning company. Each investor staked $5,000 to create the $125,000 investment award for this year’s event.

This was the first annual Willamette Angel Conference, which is modeled after successful similar events run by the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network, and the Bend Venture Conference.   Next year the conference will be run by The Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, and will be held in Eugene.

About the Willamette Angel Conference

The Willamette Angel Conference is an investors conference, connecting early stage and seed businesses with angel and venture investors in the Willamette Valley.  Their mission is to encourage, accelerate and showcase start-up companies in the Willamette Valley and  across Oregon. The competition is expected to have real economic impact in the Willamette Valley, generating new business and jobs using local entrepreneurs, talent and intellectual property. For more information see www.willametteconference.com.

Special thanks to all the great sponsors!

Title Organizers:

Premiere Sponsor

Organizational Sponsors

Grand Sponsors

Location: Oregon Electric Station | 27 E 5th Ave | directions

Register: Click here to register

$20 ($25 at the door) – includes food and one complimentary beverage

$15 for Eugene Chamber/Corvallis Chamber/OEN members (or $20 at the door)

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As entrepreneurs we experience different levels of fear – fear of taking the leap, fear of taking a second mortgage on our homes, fear of finding the right customers, fear of finding investors, fear of partnering with investors – and on and on…

Our keynote speaker for the Summer Pub-Talk event is Len Blackstone. Len is going to deliver a powerful presentation about how “Fear can be your Friend, not your Foe.” You won’t want to miss this inspirational talk.

Len will talk about how fear can protect, teach and motivate us. He’ll share how avoiding harmful fear and embracing helpful fear can improve your performance and increase your effectiveness.

At work, fear stifles innovation, prevents organizations from fully understanding customers, hinders the effectiveness of teams, and ultimately leads to a cancerous culture. In our personal lives, fear blocks our growth and isolates us from healthy relationships.

Len delivers an entertaining, inspirational and thought-provoking presentation – Skydiving with Chickens. It’s filled with captivating stories (yes, including chickens and skydiving).

Don’t forget – we’re saving the last 10 minutes of the Pub-Talk to allow one local entrepreneur to brave the stage for “10 Minutes of Start-up Fame!” Don’t forget to bring your business cards to enter the drawing….

Thanks to our great sponsors for supporting entrepreneurship in our community!

TITLE SPONSOR:

SUPPORTING SPONSORS:

Four amazing speakers will share their expertise in creating and managing start-up financials, the art of bootstrapping – and what to expect at the May 14th Willamette Angel Conference in Corvallis.

Register:   Click here to pre-register ($20, includes food and bev – or $25 at the door)

Location:   The Valley River Inn | map

*** Our Supporting Sponsor – PALO ALTO SOFTWARE – has kindly donated 5 copies of their Business Plan Pro software (regularly $199.95 each). Attend this event and you may be one of the lucky 5 to receive a free copy!

Create a winning business plan today (or modify your current plan) with the world’s most popular business plan software, featuring step-by-step instructions, 500+ sample business plans, and more. Business Week says Business Plan Pro is “...one of the best planning tools” available today.

Speakers:

John Audette

CEO of MitoSciences

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Chad Barczak

CEO/co-founder of IDX, Inc.

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Nick Fowler

Managing Partner of Orion Ventures (Corvallis)

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Dan Vishny

CFO of Arcimoto and Dune Sciences (two local start-ups)

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Thank you to our TITLE SPONSOR:

Thank you to our SUPPORTING SPONSOR: