A women’s health startup, a customer data platform, and two children’s education brands were the big winners at this year’s Oregon Entrepreneurs Network annual awards.
Handed out Nov. 18 in a virtual event hosted on Brandlive, a company that got its start in part with investment from OEN’s Angel Oregon program, the event also included some new announcements from OEN on partnerships to further foster the startup ecosystem.
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But first, the winners:
- The Early Stage award went to Gabbi Inc. The company’s product helps women better understand their risks of breast cancer and then formulate action plans that can be taken to their health care provider.
- The Development Stage award went to SkyPoint Cloud. The company makes software used by consumer brands and health care companies to personalize experiences and drive engagement.
- The Growth Stage award went to Slumberkins. The company makes children's books and plush toys that help children and families understand complex feelings.
- The Futureproof award went to A Kids Company About. The company creates media to help families talk about important and challenging topics.
- The Entrepreneurial Achievement award went to Allie Magyar, founder and CEO of Hubb Inc. The company makes event management software. It was acquired over the summer by telecommunications company Intrado.
This year marked the 30th anniversary of OEN, which works across Oregon and Southwest Washington to help entrepreneurs start and scale businesses. It also has several angel investment programs designed to help educate would-be angel investors on the process.
This year, the group gave out a special 30th Anniversary Award, and the finalists were a who’s who of the region’s successful entrepreneurs. The winner, who was selected by an audience vote during the event, was Sean McClain, founder and CEO of Absci. The biotech company an AI-powered platform to create novel biologics faster and cheaper. The company (Nasdaq: ABSI) went public over the summer. The company won the Game Changer Award in 2015 and the Startup Stage Award in 2017. This year it is up for the Growth Stage Award.
It’s perhaps fitting that McClain won the award, because the same night OEN announced next year it is holding an Angel Oregon Bioscience event. Building off its past Angel Oregon brand and its new Angel Oregon Tech and Oregon Angel Food, the angel event will focus on life and bioscience startups.
Like the other two events, this one will help founders get startups with investment readiness education and due diligence. The program will be in the spring with a finale and investment announced in May, according to OEN.
OEN also announced a continuation of a partnership with the investment fund Black Founders Matter, to fund the Emerge Initiative grant program. The grants are designed to help nonwhite founders bridge the “friends and family” funding gap. These friends and family rounds typically come early in a company’s lifecycle, but because of the racial wealth gap that exists it means a swath of founders can lack that initial level of support before other investment or lending can be an option.
