SmartUps.org

Media Advisory: Meet Our Region’s Super Entrepreneurs

admin — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:17:21 +0000

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Caroline Cummings, Smart-ups Co-founder | Director of Entrepreneurial Development at the Eugene Chamber of Commerce

carolineineugene@gmail.com | 541-968-2982

DM via Twitter @iamcarolina

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First-Ever Start-up Expo in Eugene, Oregon

The hottest/hippest super entrepreneurs will be showcasing their cool innovations on Aug 26th

Smart-ups, a program of the Eugene Chamber of Commerce, is hosting its first-ever Start-up Expo at the Valley River Inn on August 26, 2010 from 5:00 – 8:00 PM. Don’t miss the opportunity to meet our region’s coolest and hippest Super Entrepreneurs as they come out of their garages, back offices, home offices and university research labs, to showcase their start-up super powers.

WHO:

Entrepreneurs — showcase their start-up companies, and share their entrepreneurial Super Powers with their peers, investors, service providers and the media. Industries represented include: software, clean/green tech, Internet-based, biotechnology and consumer goods.

Exhibiting Companies Currently Registered:

Arcimoto (electric vehicle)

Dune Sciences (nano technology)

Elements Naturals (natural, compostable baby wipes)

Floragenex (bio technology/planet genomics)

Forward Thinking (internet media and hardware)

Good Clean Love (consumer goods/natural intimacy products)

IDX, Inc (internet/real estate technology market)

Incisive (spreadsheet analysis solutions)

Investing Ventures (factor services/alternative commercial finance solutions)

Moonshadow Mobile (content management system/mobile-optimized Web site and mobile apps)

One Click Sports Now (internet/sports news advertising platform)

Opa Cove (consumer goods/fun-themed life jackets for kids)

Pharmacopia Herbals (consumer goods/herbal extracts)

Planet Verde (internet/sustainable e-commerce)

Precision Plant Systems (technology/agriculture field measurement hardware and software)

Rainwild Rehabilitation (medical devices/robotic-assisted fine-motor therapy device)

Restaurant Tech (internet/restaurant training software)

Sipping Dreams (consumer goods/drinkable chocolate)

UGo Furniture (consumer goods/easy-to-move and assemble furniture)

VizMe (social media)

Investors, Service Providers and the Media — meet the hottest/hippest start-up companies in our region and the Superhero Entrepreneurs starting, running and growing them.

Sponsors of this event include: Title (Endeavor Law Group); Supporting (Palo Alto Software, Moss Adams LLP, and Pacific Continental Bank).

WHAT:

Smart-ups is a program of the Eugene Chamber of Commerce, and a chapter of the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network headquartered in Portland. Smart-ups was started by two entrepreneurs in Feb 2008. Smart-ups hosts eight “pub-talks” a year where the focus is to provide emerging growth/traded sector start-up companies with education, access to capital and networking. This Start-up Expo is our first event of this type and we will be featuring up to 20 start-up companies from our region.

WHERE:

Valley River Inn, McKenzie Ballroom | 1000 Valley River Way, Eugene, OR 97401-2115

WHEN:

Thursday, August 26, 2010 | 5 – 8PM

WHY:

The Willamette Valley has numerous emerging growth start-up companies, but most people are not aware of these companies and/or the entrepreneurs starting, running and growing them. Many of these companies are started in garages, back offices, home-based offices and university labs – so they are under the radar of most people in the community. You may remember the Willamette Angel Conference that was hosted in Eugene for the first-time this past May – where Eugene-based start-up Good Clean Love walked away with a $165,000 seed investment prize. There are many “firsts” happening in our community related to supporting entrepreneurship. Don’t miss this next first!

This Start-up Expo will give people the opportunity to mingle with these Super Entrepreneurs and see the exciting new innovations coming out of our region. Investors, entrepreneurs, lawyers, bankers, accountants, educators, politicians, students, and people from the media are encouraged to attend this event.

HOW: Online registration is closed – you can pay at the door…

Fees:

$20 if you pre-registered ($25 at the door)

$15 for Eugene and Corvallis Chamber and SAO members

$10 for students

Table Space to Showcase Company: + $29 (when you display you get an extra free ticket into the event)

The following individuals are also available for interviews:

Dave Hauser | president of the Eugene Chamber of Commerce

Caroline Cummings | co-founder of Smart-ups, and leader of the Eugene Chamber’s entrepreneurial efforts; regional representative for the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network

Don Gerhart | associate vice president for research and innovation, UO, and member of the Eugene Chamber’s Entrepreneurial Advisory Board

Tim Berry | founder/president of Palo Alto Software, sponsor of Smart-ups, member of the Smart-ups Committee, and local angel investor

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Small Businesses and LinkedIn

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 03:24:13 +0000

Did you know how absolutely wonderful of a resource LinkedIn is for entrepreneurs? Well if you did, good for you and pat yourself on the back. If you didn’t, now you do, so get to gettin’! Mashable recently posted an article from the American Express OPEN Forum on how small businesses can reap the benefits of the social networking site. Here’s 5 ways Mashable believes that LinkedIn can help you and your small business grow (they’re pretty smart, so listen to them):

Stay Top-of-Mind
Find New Talent
Crowdsource Solutions and Get Feedback
Promote Special Event You Host or Attend
Lead Local and Industry Thought

Be sure to read the rest of the article for the nitty-gritty know how.

Why You Should Start a Company in… Portland, Oregon

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 06:43:32 +0000

I came across this article on Fast Company’s website and decided, given our location (yes this is a reference to my last post), I had to post it. According to Fast Company these days, location DOES matter. For Part Ten of Fast Company’s series about where to start a business (Why You Should Start a Company in… Portland, Oregon), Laura Rich interviews Jive’s Chairman of the Boards, David Hersh, in a very honest article about why one would want to start a company in the Pacific Northwest’s “Silicon Forest.” So for all you Portland based entrepreneurs, why did you choose the Rose City?

Ada Lovelace Day

admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 06:54:20 +0000

So today (yes, this is a little late) is Ada Lovelace Day. Ada was one of the world’s first female computer programmers. No, this post doesn’t really have to do much with entrepreneurship or start-ups, but is more of a homeage to the all of the women out there in the world of tech start-ups (and industry itself).

What woman do you want to blog about and celebrate in technology and science? For me, it’s my Aunt Carol. She’s an amazing, all-knowing, all-seeing woman of all things computer related, especially Macs. She got me hooked on Twitter and is always there to help me through my technological glitches; she always keeps me learning. Learn more about Ada Lovelace Day and how to get involved at Finding Ada!

Web Entrepreneurship

admin — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:29:56 +0000

In a world that has been become flattened, where companies can have employees working around the globe, one must ask themselves, does it still matter where you start your company? According to Ben Parr, it still does. In his article “Web Entrepreneurship: Does the City You Live in Matter?”, from Mashable, he argues that entrepreneurial support communities, talent pool around location, in-person meetings, partnership, talent, and ultimately, happiness, are among the things one needs to consider when starting a company.

For me the biggest take away from the article was this quote: “Location matters for your startup, but it doesn’t define success. Hard work, smart execution, and the right team are far more important. Don’t compromise those things in your quest to find your perfect startup city.” On that note, what were some of the factors that played into you choosing a city to start your business?

How to Make Your Small Business Geolocation-Ready

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:51:49 +0000

This new trend of geolocation through social media is something that even a young whippersnapper like me is having trouble understanding. Names like Foursquare and Loopt are becoming more and more common buzz words in regards to the next platform of social media. Even Twitter and Google Buzz now have geotracking capabilities. So what does this mean for small businesses? As Bob Reed mentions, “…businesses are going to have to be search engine optimized, social media optimized, and geographically optimized.” Check out the full article from Mashable and the American Express OPEN Forum, HOW TO: Make Your Small Business Geolocation-Ready, to see how this fad can help your business.

The Start-up Survival Kit

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:00:40 +0000

I’m all about those cool, new, flashy tech innovations that businesses “need” (or at least I pretend to be and just admire them from afar). However, this article gives a refreshing perspective on businesses that thrive by using simple productivity enhancers. Some of these suggestions might seem overly simple, random, or blatantly obvious, but every little bit of advice counts.

You may think I’m wasting you’re time by posting some silly little tips about organization and efficiency, but think again. In the words of the author, Joe Ippolito, “The people who are succeeding are those who’ve found ways, methods, and routines to help them get things done.”

Check out the interview with some of the author’s favorite entrepreneurs from GOOD’s Diary of Social Venture Start-up. So all you entrepreneurs out there, get ‘er done (sorry, I couldn’t help myself)!

When Life Gives You Lemons…

admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:00:44 +0000

If you got fired from your job because of the current economy, what would you do? This was the situation with the “stars” of a documentary called “Lemonade”, available on Hulu. “Lemonade” follows around a handful of employees that got laid off from a well-know (and undisclosed) advertising agency two years ago. Some saw it coming and some were blindsided. Regardless, these people had to move on, refresh, and start over from an industry and job that had once defined them. What did all of their solutions have in common? They all became entrepreneurs, all influenced by the things that they loved most in life or were inspired to do given their blank slate. Just remember, if this happens to you, remind yourself: “It’s not a pink slip. It’s a blank page.” (this being the tagline of the documentary…I couldn’t help myself).

Being someone myself who will be unleashed into vast unknown (a.k.a., the scary job market) this June, I found this movie refreshing and inspiring. I hope you do too.

The Biggest Small Business Competitions

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:00:51 +0000

Forbes recently came out with an article about “The Biggest Small Business Competitions” across the country. The article gives insight to the 15 biggest university-sponsored events. Granted, some competitions are only open to students and/or alumni of the hosting university, but it’s not the situation for all. Some competitions are even right here in Eugene, like the New Venture Championship at the University of Oregon. Hey, the article even has some tips from our very own Tim Berry, president of Palo Alto Software…which I advise you to pay attention to since he’s a judge at three of the competitions listed.

Tech Events for Women

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:01:46 +0000

My aunt sent my a post from ReadWriteStart, a resource for entrepreneurs and start-ups from Microsoft BizSpark. “Why We Need Tech Events for Women” addresses the very essence of the title. The technology industry is a male dominated one, so why not create conferences and workshops to educate and encourage female participation? Some conferences tackle blogging, others address the general topic of technology and its opportunities for women, some are for kids and young adults, and some are for professionals. Check ‘em out; who knows, you could become the next Bill Gates…