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!

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SUPPORTING SPONSORS:

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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SUPPORTING SPONSORS:

Wednesday, April 29, 2009, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Olympic Mills Building
107 SE Washington Street
Portland, OR
Get directions

The second annual Big Idea Bash will provide entrepreneurs powerful introductions to a dozen top northwest venture capitalists and a chance to pitch their ideas. Register for a 5 minute “speed pitch,” meet other Oregon entrepreneurs and Oregon State Treasurer Ben Westlund. Join us for complimentary food-and-drink and learn more about all Oregon funding opportunities. This is a no-cost event.

Supported by:
Credit Suisse
K&L Gates
Oregon Entrepreneurs Network