The Bend Venture Conference concluded over the weekend and awarded $595,000 across investments in eight companies.
Additional investments based on the weekend’s networking and pitching are also expected, said organizers. The event is put on by the group Economic Development for Central Oregon.
Two companies were selected for the Growth Stage investment, which recognizes companies that have a proven product and are generating revenue:
- Vancouver-based ToolBelt was awarded $165,000. The company has a mobile app that connects contractors directly with skilled tradespeople.
- Mountain View, Calif-based iDentical was awarded $75,000. The company developed a new way to make personalized dental implants.
Two companies were awarded the Impact investment, which recognizes for-profit companies that have social or environmental missions:
- Kensington, Calif-based Harvest Thermal was awarded $90,000. The company has created a home system for electric heating, cooling and hot water.
- Portland-based OpConnect was awarded $25,000. The company created smart charging hardware and software for EV fleet operators or multi-family properties.
Three companies were awarded Early Stage investment. These investments are made by the Portland Seed Fund and recognizes companies that typically have a proof-of-concept, are testing the market or have early revenue:
- Hillsboro-based Finnegan the Dragon was awarded $25,000. The startup has created a preschool learning and mobile game that targets language development. The company also received a separate $15,000 investment from investor Peter Horan.
- Bend-based Polaris was awarded $25,000. The startup developed a site reliability tool that uses AI to detect outages and incidents in real-time for web applications.
- Bend-based Symphony Markets was awarded $25,000. The company created an online exchange that allows music IP owners to list shares of their music and offer investors a new asset class.
In addition to these awards from the event itself, Business Oregon awarded $150,000 to Bend-based Square Baby. The company was a semi-finalists in the program. The Business Oregon award comes from the state’s Oregon Royalty Loan Program and is a debt award, meaning the amount will be paid back over time. The program is designed to support growing companies that don’t yet qualify for traditional financing.
Square Baby makes personalized baby food based on age and dietary needs that meet daily nutrition and are delivered every two weeks.
The Bend Venture Conference is held annually in downtown Bend. This year, the event coincided with High Desert Innovation Week. Ten organizations held six events over the course of the week. This included the Built Festival, which focuses on consumer product startups, and events from Bend Outdoor Worx, which is focused on startups in the outdoor industry.
Over the last 20 years the BVC has resulted in $14 million invested in 59 companies.
