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.

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

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!

TITLE SPONSOR:

SUPPORTING SPONSORS:

The first-ever business plan competition of its kind is coming to the Willamette Valley. Calling all entrepreneurs, investors and service providers to attend this inaugural event! We received 44 business plans – six of which will be selected to deliver their pitch at the May 14 conference. One company will be awarded the estimated $150,000 in seed funding. Don’t miss this exciting event…

LOCATION | CH2MHill Alumni Center, Oregon State University Campus, Corvallis, Oregon | map

Regular Registration: $199 for all registrations received after March 13th, 2009

Student Registration: $75 with current Student ID

Register Now

The Willamette Angel Conference is an investors conference, connecting early stage and seed businesses with Angel and venture investors.  Entrepreneurs and Start-ups can submit their business plans for review, improvement, and ultimately vying for a $150,000 investment

Connecting Start up Businesses with Qualified Investors.

Qualified Investors interested in learning more about participating in this conference should contact Nick Fowler (Fund Manager).

 The Willamette Valley boasts a high number of businesses that highlight the rugged individuality, forward thinking, technology and entrepreneurship that are part of Oregon’s proud heritage.

Keynote:  Dave Hersch, CEO Jive Software

 Attendees will include members of organized angel groups, individual angels, prospective angels, and early-stage investment firms as well as entrepreneurial ventures and start ups interested in obtaining angel funding.

Who should attend

Inventors/Researchers/IP Holders: To learn more about the start up development and funding process, and to network to meet entrepreneurs and service providers.

Entrepreneurs: To get recognition and possibly funding for your business. To develop and hone your business plan and pitch with top quality preparation sessions. To network with investors, and begin conversations that will benefit your company down the line. To network with inventors, and other early stage professionals.

Investors:  To have access to some great business investment opportunities. For new investors, to learn how to invest in early stage deals, and how to feed deals to venture capitalists.

Venture Capitalists: To identify top quality and up and coming early stage businesses in the Willamette Valley, to meet seed investors and stay connected to other venture capitalists, to learn more about commercialization from OSU, UofO and Onami.

Service Providers: To introduce your business to companies making early decisions about the direction of their company.
Politicians: To help build economic development for the local and state government.

The Conference will be held at theCH2MHill Alumni Center at Oregon State University on May 14, 2009. Links provide the Agenda and  directions to the conference.

Register Now

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: