A day in Oregon Entrepreneurs Network Venture Northwest 2009
Session 1: Presenting companies of OEN Venture Northwest 2009-Wicked Quick, Giftango, Lucid Commerce
Success story: Dave Moffenbeier of Zeba– Absorbent Technologies
"You could raise money in town, with a great story and distribution strategy" - Dave Moffenbeier
Wicked Quick is a premium clothing and accessories brand rooted in the world of speed, rebellion and attitude. We currently offer lifestyle product at Nordstrom, Metropark, select Harley Davidson Dealership's and others. We also produce performance gear for professional teams including three-time NASCAR champion team Joe Gibbs Racing.
Giftango –
Giftango is focused on the NEXT stage of gift, loyalty and member cards with virtual cards delivered through computer and mobile phones. This means new promotions, incentives and rewards capabilities for merchants through an all-digital, carbon friendly fulfillment channel that is already proving more popular than plastic.
Lucid Commerce -
Lucid Commerce is the leading provider of media optimization solutions for marketers. Lucid Commerce enables marketers to see exactly what their real return on investment is for every marketing dollar they spend. Lucid Commerce has optimized over $600,000,000 in revenue for its clients.
Session 2: Presenting companies of OEN Venture Northwest 2009- Elemental Technologies, Shore power, Prolifiq and Calidora skin clinics
Success story: Jim Johnson of Tripwire. Tripwire's powerful configuration assessment and change auditing solutions let IT gain configuration control of the entire IT infrastructure.
Elemental Technologies is the leading provider of massively parallel processing solutions for video applications. Using off-the-shelf, programmable graphics processing units (GPUs) for compute-intensive video processing and conversion tasks, Elemental’s products are ideally suited for a variety of video applications including consumer media processing, professional video editing and Internet video processing.
Shore Power –
Shorepower Technologies builds, deploys and operates road-side plug-in stations that allow the nation’s 500,000 long-haul truck drivers to eliminate unnecessary idling during required rest periods, saving drivers an average of $4,000 per year on diesel fuel while significantly reducing associated toxic emissions.
Prolifiq -
Prolifiq provides on-demand software that accelerates sales and helps companies meet regulatory requirements by organizing, sending and tracking approved digital content throughout their sales processes. Prolifiq has transformed the sales operations of leading companies in the life sciences, technology and digital media industries.
Calidora offers custom tailored aesthetic solutions using cosmetic technologies and products under the care of medical practitioners and aestheticians in a friendly, retail environment. With 7 locations, 4 in Washington and 3 in Southern California, our goal is to become the leading national brand in this emerging, multi-billion dollar industry.
Session 2: Presenting companies of OEN Venture Northwest 2009- Shop Igniter, Advanced Inquiry systems, DesignMedix and Secondporch
Cularis, Inc. –
ShopIgniter is a real-time, social eCommerce platform with an intent-based search engine for Twitter, FaceBook and other popular social networks. It can manage multiple sales channels for products, including their marketing and promotion. Built for boutiques, small businesses and the enterprise, and delivered as a Software as a Service or download, ShopIgniter is a complete end-to-end solution for online sales.
Advanced Inquiry Systems, Inc. (AISI) is revolutionizing semiconductor test, helping our customers combat rising costs in the midst of falling product prices. Our unique solutions enhance flexibility for device design, greatly reduce test floor WIP, and nearly eliminate pad scrub, enabling at speed wafer test for flash, DRAM and logic devices.
DesignMedix –
DesignMedix develops novel pharmaceutical products for the treatment and prevention of life-threatening infectious diseases based on its proprietary approach to overcoming drug resistance. The company’s lead program for a low cost, safe medicine for malaria is in preclinical studies, with a second program in development for a broad-spectrum antibiotic.
Second Porch -
Second Porch facilitates renting and trading vacation homes through owner’s trusted network, avoiding pitfalls of dealing with strangers. The application spreads awareness of vacation properties across social platforms like Facebook. Owners list and renters search properties free. Revenue comes from premium features via subscription, referral and transaction fees.
Top 3 finalists are: WickedQuick, Prolifiq, Design Medix
Congratulations to Prolifiq , winner of Venture Northwest 2009
A few takeaways from Gerry Langeler
Myth 1 - You can't grow a company here as fast as in the valley. Busted! Mentor graphics is the fastest growing software company.
Myth 2 - You can’t raise Venture Capital in OR. Busted! Dave Moffenbeier has raised a quarter of billion in angel funding
Myth 3 - Nobody has built a major company here in decades. Busted! Tripwire has trumped it.
Myth 4 - Entrepreneurs are easy, it’s investors that are tough - It's a two way street, manage your relationships wisely.
Myth 5 - Nobody has gotten any liquidity here in decades - Keith Oelrich of Insight Schools found liquidity in 15 months.
Myth 6 - Limited Partners have abandoned Venture Capital - Ron Schmitz OR CIO, have dedicated targets for Venture investment
