An enthusiastic group of University of Oregon MBA students traveled to Bend, OR to attend the fourth annual Bend Venture Conference (BVC). The BVC is one of the fastest growing venture capital competitions in the Pacific Northwest and continues to attract some of the most promising emerging companies throughout the region. Well over two hundred entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and angel investors assembled downtown at the Tower Theater to observe five fledging firms each make a 10-minute sales pitch for $150,000 of prize money.
MBA students were afforded an invaluable opportunity to not only observe what for many would be their first venture conference, but to also participate and interact with major investors within the investment community. For the aspiring entrepreneur, it was a great way to learn about the do’s and don’ts of the “elevator sales pitch”.
The festivities began with a compelling keynote speech from former Macintosh chief evangelist, now CEO of Garage Technologies, and well-known orator, Guy Kawasaki. A diverse group of presenters vied for top billing, ranging from ZebraMix, a manufacture of an educational cooking mixes for children, to Rocketbux, an innovative cell phone advertiser, to homegrown Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship alumnus, Floragenex. At the end of the day, Portland-based Elemental Technologies was privileged enough to walk away with six figures of venture capital prize money.
Upon completion of the conference, all students agreed that the experience was a resounding success. A number of promising contacts were made that may lead to potentially valuable relationships for both students and the Center. As the group drove out of the city, talk was already underway for another trip in 2008.
Oregon Entrepreneurship Club Officers experience the Bend Venture Forum
The Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship undergraduate E-Club officers including, Sean Oliver, Tim Dougherty, Quillyn Brown, Aaron Getty, Skylar Koon, and Mike Lee attended the Bend Venture Conference held at the historical Old Tower Theatre in downtown Bend. Attended by over 200 investors, entrepreneurs and other business professionals from all over the state, The Bend Venture Conference has become one of the premier events in its short 4-year history.
The group had the opportunity to talk with keynote speaker, Guy Kawasaki, CEO of Garage Technology VC firm and past Chief Evangelist for the MacII at Apple.
The group also met with the founder and CEO of RocketBux, a cell phone advertising start-up about future career opportunities with this promising firm and one of four venture companies that vied for $150,000 in start-up investment. The format allowed a 10 minute presentation to the audience and a panel of distinguished venture capitalists from California and the Northwest. Presenting companies included ZebraMix, a manufacturer of educational cooking mixes for children; Floragenex, a start-up by the Lundquist School of Business MBA graduate, Nathan Lillegard; Portland-based Elemental Technologies, which provides increased efficiency and lower costs for video editing processing; and RocketBux. The competition was won by Elemental Technologies.
