Presenters at this week’s Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN) PubTalk stepped up to the challenge of pitching their firms on the heels of OEN’s highly successful Angel Oregon 2010 competition held March 5th.

Orbo Sports, Inc., CEO Greg Johnson credits his wife for his initial and ongoing support, with whom he first shared his idea and who responded. “You’re brilliant, honey. Anything you do will succeed.” Orbo Sports is an online sports and lifestyle social network that provides connectivity, collaboration and self-expression for athletes and sports enthusiasts. Orbo Sports offers users a 360 degree online and offline experience and features relevant content about sports and the lifestyle that surrounds them.
greg@orbosports.com
www.orbosports.com
503-703-7749

Public Marketspace, Inc. CEO Nathan J. Wagner discussed what he feels is the number one issue with emerging entrepreneurs—competing on the internet with its cost of entry, available URLs, search engine optimization, and social marketing.  Public Marketspace is an online marketing channel for small businesses. The company’s first product, Publicmarketspace.com, is a social media and eCommerce (SaaS) platform for entrepreneurs, an online public market to attract customers, and a company committed to giving back to the merchant community.
nathan@publicmarketspace.com
www.publicmarketspace.com
503-866-4800

With the recent worldwide popularity of the 3D blockbuster film Avatar, CEO Mike Green made a strong case for his firm Vizitnow3D in the world of online commerce. Vizitnow3D builds revenue-generating navigable 3D replicas of real world environments, accessible via web browsers and mobile phones that can be used as marketing tools by high-traffic destinations. Introducing a disruptive innovative method of bringing consumers and merchants together in real time, Vizitnow3D capitalizes upon the exploding 3D trend by developing a niche in a wide open market.
Mike.green@vizitnow.com
www.vizitnow.com
541-730-2164

Mark April 14th on your calendar for the next OEN PubTalk. Watch for the upcoming announcement that will include the agenda and presenters.

After encountering the recently launched Idea Mensch web site, OEN couldn’t wait to interview the great mind behind it. Mario Schulzke, who is a principal at Quillion, senior director at marketing ideas agency WONGDOODY, publisher of ScrappyMarketing and a German Ironman-contender-in-training (among many other things), answers a few questions about his own entrepreneurial endeavors – and offers advice for how to be successful in yours.

1) What is Idea Mensch?

Idea Mensch is an interview-driven site where we feature people who are bringing good ideas to life. Interviewees range from ueber-successful entrepreneurs like the founder and former CEO of The Sharper Image to up-and-comers like a recent college drop-out who started a cycling and triathlon training center in Arizona – and lots of people in between.

2) What inspired you to create the site?

Personally, I am obsessed with ideas. I run an ad agency during the day but have at least another ten ideas or projects that I am pursuing. It's probably not healthy. But I’ve learned that no matter how great an idea is, it doesn’t accomplish anything if you don’t bring it to life.

I wanted to use Idea Mensch as a vehicle to celebrate some of the people who are bringing ideas to life – people across all industries, from all walks of life. It has been a fun journey and I’m completely blown away by the smart individuals we've been able to interview. More importantly, there is a community that is starting to form around our site. People are beginning to reach out to one another to help promote their ideas, and there are even a couple of business deals in the making. Good people are helping good people. I love that.

3) How do you select thought leaders and entrepreneurs to feature on Idea Mensch?

You have to be working on an idea and take the time to submit an intelligent and insightful interview. That's it. Once your interview is live, we hope you’ll help promote the site and bring more people to it. I think the simplicity of this format is surprising to some, as we’ve recently been pitched by various PR agencies about interviewing their clients on our site. It’s funny because (as our "About" section explains) you don't need a PR agency to be interviewed on Idea Mensch.

4) Tell us about your own entrepreneurial ventures, and what you’ve learned in the process of pursuing and/or founding them.

I spent the first eight years of my career as an agency guy – giving online marketing advice to large companies. On the side I've always been somewhat of a garage entrepreneur, figuring out different ways to make money online. I published a book on how to write complaint letters, ran some pretty big affiliate marketing campaigns in Europe and currently own a number of different web sites.

Now I’m helping to start a new kind of agency called Quillion – a digital performance marketing agency (where clients pay only for results we achieve). We also own our own digital properties.

In the coming weeks, we will be announcing an online course/community called CareerSparx to help recent college graduates start their careers. We're in a very tough economy and I have seen too many qualified grads who have no clue how to sell themselves to land a job in their field. We are going to help them.

5) What advice do you have for emerging entrepreneurs?

Borrowing from that large shoe manufacturer down the road from you guys: “Just do it.” If you have an idea and you're excited about it, keep moving it forward. Break it into small steps and do whatever you can do gain some momentum. There's nothing worse than a good idea that just sits there. Also, meet people. Help people. Tell them about what you are doing. Relationships make the world go round. You'll be surprised how people you've met (and have yet to meet) will shape your career and successes.

Background:

Mangrove Fund (www.mangrovefund.org) is a Portland-based 501(c)(3) entity which has been focused on providing rebuilding and development assistance to Haiti since its inception in 2007.  Mangrove is now focused on earthquake rebuilding effort in Haiti.  To support this, we are sponsoring and running a “Build a Business in a Day” charity fundraiser and competition.  The competition will foster team-building, real-time strategizing and marketing insight by requiring teams to market, promote and sell a product only handed out that very same day.  We are asking organizations, companies and entrepreneurs to join together in teams and compete for purposes of raising money for Haiti.  All of the proceeds received by Mangrove through this fundraiser will be used to support established organizations and people working directly in Haiti to reconstruct the basic infrastructure of the country.  In the past, “Build a Business in a Day” fundraisers run by the Starve-Ups organization have raised thousands of dollars  for victims of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.  Please join us by signing up one or more teams to compete in this event!

Details:
Date:  February 27, 2010.
Time: Competition starts at 8:00 AM.  Team captains will arrive at 7:30.  Competition ends at 5:30 PM, when winners will be announced.
Location:  Check in and competition start will occur at NedSpace, Old Town, located at 117 NW 5th Ave, Suite 210.   Competition will end and winners will be announced at a location to be determined.
Competition: Teams can sign up in groups of 6.  Individuals and teams smaller than 6 in size will be matched with others to create a team.  Each team will be provided with to-be-disclosed products to sell in person, telephonically and online in an event modeled after “The Apprentice”.   The objectives are simple:  (1) raise the most money for Haiti relief efforts by selling the most products, and (2) collect the most names and email addresses of interested people (whether or not they donate).   Each team will have to determine the best way to market and promote their products to obtain maximum profits.

The team with the most committed dollars at the end of the competition will win.  Teams will also be able to add to dollar totals if they achieve certain numbers of people signing up for newsletters from Mangrove.  Prizes are to be determined (at a minimum, the winner gets bragging rights).

How to Join: We are asking every organization and company to sign up as many teams and individuals as possible for this great event.  To sign up, send an email to BuildaBizEvent@mangrovefund.org with the following information:
    Company/Organization Name (if applicable)
    Name and email address of team leader
    Name names and email addresses of other team members

More Information: For more information on Mangrove Fund or this event please contact us by sending an email to Information@mangrovefund.org or calling us at 503.445.4090.

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 -                                                  

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 –                          

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 Skin Clinic –                                           

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 -                  

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

Get a free copy of Business Plan Pro Premier

July 1, 2009| 11am – 3pm | OEN | 309 SW 6th Ave. Suite 212, Portland

On Wednesday, July 1, 2009, Palo Alto Software will sponsor a one-day only event, ”Oregon Small Business Boost".  OEN is one of the event hosts and will provide OEN members (in Oregon) a promotion code card to obtain your free copy of business-planning software, Business Plan Pro Premier. The purpose is to help Oregon entrepreneurs start, run, and grow their businesses by utilizing local services, programs and tools to foster entrepreneurship and further business growth in Oregon. For more information go to www.paloalto.com/boost or contact your local Chamber or Small Business Development Center.

Visit OEN for your free copy of Business Plan Pro Premier on Wednesday July 1 from 11am-3pm.

*Please note this promotion is valid only to people in Oregon.

This article was recently published on biznik. If you haven't seen it you might want to check it out. It takes a wholistic look on the role of entrepreneurship and its relationship with job creation. It sheds an interesting perspective about how entrepreneurship which is usually considered risky is actually a potentially more stable way of controlling your revenue sources.

Here is an exerpt of the article written by Kate Phillips:

Once upon a time... the world was full of small business people and independent entrepreneurs. Every town had a butcher, a baker, and a candlestick maker.  A blacksmith, a barber, and a farmer (or two).  A shepherd, a weaver, and a preacher.  There were no factories, no corporations, and... no employees.

Read the entire article:  Why Entrepreneurs Rule the World.

Hi everyone -

Check out this upcoming event on Thursday, March 19th, at NedSpace.  It should be a fun and interesting gathering, good for perking up entrepreneurs during this dark economic times.  Many thanks to Josh Friedman for sending us this info!

You can register for the event by clicking on the Yahoo Upcoming link at the bottom of the message.

Hope to see you there!

Larry

Join Oregon's entrepreneurs Thursday evening March 19th at 5:00 PM at NedSpace (920 SW Third, between Taylor and Salmon) to explore and answer the question "What Would Your Startup Do With $250,000 in 2009?"

In the last 6 months the economy, access to capital, the cost of talent and the opportunities for innovation have all changed. We think it's time for the relationship between entrepreneurs and the State of Oregon to change, too (the state needs jobs & entrepreneurs need capital!).

Hear stories of successful, local homegrown companies that have either bootstrapped or raised funds and then grown themselves to success.

Most importantly, though, the goal of this event is to prove to the State of Oregon that there are enough jobs, compelling ideas and entrepreneurs to warrant an immediate investment of $100,000,000 for start ups that want to hire local talent.

We are working to raise a $100M fund that makes small investments in Oregon-based companies who hire Oregon-based employees. Now, in 2009. Not next year or some point in the future. In growing these new startups, we are investing in innovation, creating jobs and building Oregon's brand with innovators and entrepreneurs.

Please be prepared to answer the following questions:

• Could your company hire $250,000 worth of Oregon-based talent in 2009 to get it to the next level?
• What could your company achieve during 2009 with a $250,000 investment?
• How many new jobs would be created if 400 new Oregon startups were funded?
• How would you like to see $100,000,000 invested in Oregon startups?

NedSpace is proud to host an Oregon entrepreneurial startup event during this unparalleled time of economic chaos and disruption. Be a part of this unparalleled movement!

http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2127942

//Contact Information//
Wayne Embree - wle@refcapllc.com, 503.619.4310

Josh Friedman - josh@bw-mn.com, 503.705.7975

Mark Grimes - mark@bw-mn.com, 503.502.0185
Harvey Mathews - harvey.mathews@sao.org, 503-999-5849