Fun in the sun with start-ups!

Come expand your network with the local start-up community over a pint of Ninkasi’s award winning beers.  In addition to the drink tickets, Ninkasi will be giving Smart-ups attendees an extra $1 off beers. Networking challenges and a tour of Ninkasi’s operations are scheduled. 

When: July 28th 5 – 8PM

Where: Ninkasi Tasting Room (map)

Register Now!

($20 if you pre-register; $25 at the door; $15 for Eugene Chamber, Corvallis Chamber and SAO members, $10 for students (present ID at the door)

A panel of successful entrepreneurs discussing their start-up “Firsts”

First big sale – first employee hired/fired – first big purchase – first funding secured – first big mistake – first media coverage, first…. and the list goes on. Learn from those who have “been there done that!” Come and be a part of the conversation! All three panelists also built their businesses via bootstrapping! Many of you have been asking to hear more from founders who didn’t utilize angel or venture funding. This panel is for you!

$20 if you pre-register; $25 at the door; $15 for Eugene Chamber, Corvallis Chamber and SAO members, $10 for students (present ID at the door)

Location: Mookie’s Northwest Grill, 400 International Way, Springfield | location

Panelists Include:

  Nikos Ridge

  Co-founder of Ninkasi Brewing Company

 Tim Berry

  Founder of Palo Alto Software

  Jeff Kast

  Co-founder of IDX Broker

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

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Click here to register to attend

Larry Kaplowitz (co-founder of of Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss) will share his personal story about how he and his co-founder (Luna Marcus) started, grew and sold their business in less than 6 years. Hear how they started the business with just $10,000, how they quickly became cash-flow positive, how they built their team, marketed their business, hit their first million, explored partnerships — and ultimately sold  their business.

Larry has truly come full-circle. He’s now excited to become an angel investor and share his knowledge and skills with other local start-up companies. Larry is a member of the Willamette Angel Conference investor LLC. You won’t want to miss hearing his amazing story!

Following Larry’s talk we’ll begin the “Speed Pitch” competition (where Larry is one of the investor panelists – see other investors below…).

Calling Oregon-based Start-up Companies to Deliver a Speed Pitch! There’s no fee to submit, no fee to present and presenting companies do not pay a fee to attend — so you have nothing to loose and a lot to gain!

Location: Oregon Electric Station  Directions

27 East 5th Avenue
Eugene, OR 97401-2616

Time: 5 – 8pm

Fee: $20 if you pre-register ($25 at the door); $15 for Eugene and Corvallis Chamber and SAO members, $10 for students

Register to attend by clicking here

Includes food and beverages   |    Note: Seats are limited! 

Speed Pitches: 3 minutes each to pitch, 3 minutes of real investor feedback

The audience will vote for the winner – and the one winner will receive a free hour of coaching from the Executive Team for the Willamette Angel Conference (includes investors, entrepreneurs, and lawyers). Note: Any start-up in Oregon is eligible to submit to pitch at Smart-ups — including those who submitted to pitch at the WAC and those who have not submitted to pitch at the WAC. All investors from the WAC will be invited to attend this event, and the investor panel are members of the WAC Investor LLC – so this allows for a great educational and networking opportunity.

Investor Panelists Include:

Tim Berry | president and founder of Palo Alto Software

Investor in the 2009 and 2010 Willamette Angel Conference LLC

Scott Larson | Bend Venture Catalyst at EDCO

Founder of Vashon Partners | Seasoned Entrepreneur

Larry Kaplowitz | Co-founder of Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss

Investor in the 2010 Willamette Angel Conference LLC

Entrepreneurs Wanting to Pitch at This Event:

• Create a single slide (slide should include your company logo, tag line, and no more than 7 bullets describing what’s unique about your business)
• Submit your single slide to Smart-ups by clicking here – you will be contacted if selected to deliver a speed pitch at the pub-talk. Note: Up to 10 companies be be selected to deliver Speed Pitches
• Deadline to submit is 5pm, April 9th.
• If selected to deliver a Speed Pitch you will be given 3 minutes to pitch your business (you will be timed).
• Tips for what to say in your 3 minutes include: your name/title, the problem in the market you’re product is addressing, 2-3 sentences that describes your business, your target market, how you will generate revenue, your competitive advantage/value proposition, and key team members/advisers

• The investor panel will take 3 minutes to ask you questions/share suggestions.
• The audience will vote for the company they feel delivered the best pitch. The winner will receive one free hour of coaching from the WAC Executive Team
• Rehearse! Rehearse! Rehearse!

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

TITLE SPONSOR:

SUPPORTING SPONSORS:

At the October 1^st Smart-ups “Meet Investors” Pub-talk at the Oregon Electric Station, attendees were able to gain insight from three Willamette Angel Conference investors.  Those investors were Tim Berry, founder of Palo Alto Software; Nick Fowler, founder of Orion Ventures, LCC and CEO of Perpetua Power Source Technologies; and Christopher Klemm, director of OSU’s Austin Entrepreneurship Program. Anne Carney Nelson, having experience in investing in young technology companies, was a great moderator in asking the investors why certain companies were chosen for (or won) the WAC and why some were not.

Some of the most helpful pieces of advice?

·      Tim: A thorough and to the point executive summary and a great pitch are essential.

·      Steve: Go where the venture capitalists aren’t; the markets where people aren’t begging for money. Market research is key and do your due diligence!

·      Chris: Get experience!

The business card selected at the end of the pub-talk to give a five-minute elevator pitch was that of Keern Haslem, founder of Hogan’s Angle.

On a side note, local start-up Acrimoto was a an exhibitor at last week’s Lane County Home Show and will be a vendor at next month’s Seattle Auto Show.

Meet and Ask Willamette Angel Conference Investors Questions…

Panel Moderator:            Investors Sitting on the Panel:

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

Time: 5 – 8pm

Register: $20 if your pre-register; $25 at the door; $15 for Eugene and Corvallis Chamber members; $10 for students

Click here to register

If you’ve ever wondered why investors choose to invest in one company over another, or why the companies in the recent Willamette Angel Conference were chosen, or why the winner was awarded the $125,000 investment prize, or why certain companies were not selected – this is the Smart-ups Pub-Talk for you! We are hosting a panel of investors from the May 2009 Willamette Angel Conference. They are looking forward to hearing your questions and sharing the qualities of “investor-ready” business plans. Whether your raising funds for your business or not – this is going to be a valuable conversation you won’t want to miss…

Ann Carney Nelson will be the panel moderator. Ann has over 11 years of experience investing in and supporting young and innovative technology companies.

Previously, Ann was the Senior Associate at Menlo Ventures, an early-stage high-technology venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, CA.

Also – don’t forget to bring your business cards – as we’ll be doing the “10 Minutes of Start-up Fame” after the panel. These are fun and offer great experience about how to pitch your business opportunity in 5 minutes. And who knows – maybe you’ll even get some live feedback from investors! It’s also great practice to prepare for the Nov 19th Smart-ups Ignite Pitch competition.

Panelists include:

Tim Berry

Founder, Palo Alto Software

Angel Investor

Invested in the May 09 Willamette Angel Conference

Judge of several Venture Competitions

Click here to read Tim’s full bio

Nick Fowler

Founder, Orion Ventures, LLC

CEO, Perpetua Power Source Technologies

Angel Investor

Fund Manager of May 09 Willamette Angel Conference’s Investor LLC

Click here to read Nick’s full bio

Christopher Klemm

Director, OSU Austin Entrepreneurship Program

Angel Investor

Invested in the May 09 Willamette Angel Conference

Click here to read Christopher’s full bio

Thanks to our great sponsors for continuing to support entrepreneurship in our community!

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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!

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