The Westside Pitch Competition is back and six finalists will be vying for investment.
Tickets are available now for the March 9 event in Hillsboro. The startups will pitch a panel of three judges: Angela Jackson, co-founder and managing director of Portland Seed Fun; Brandon Ross, senior associate for Elevate Capital; and Gloria Zabel, venture partner and board director at Oregon Venture Fund.
Here’s who is pitching:
- CampsEZ, is an online tool that helps parents and caregivers find and register for children’s and youth activities.
- Finnegan the Dragon, a character-based learning tool to help children with language development.
- Fridie Outdoors, an app that helps people access camping and outdoor information while offline to help more people get outside.
- ReachTools.io, builds software to help build relationships between nonprofits and donors.
- UpSight Security, is a cybersecurity company aimed at helping protect PC gamers’ online accounts from takeover attacks.
The event is open to the public for networking with investors, entrepreneurs and event sponsors.
“These finalists represent the incredible breadth of innovation in Washington County,” said Westside Venture Catalyst and event organizer Laura Kubisiak in a written statement. “I am super proud to highlight these entrepreneurs who are creating unique solutions to address industry problems.”
The role of the Westside Venture Catalyst is part of a statewide network of support for entrepreneurs. The roles are funded through grants and operate under different fiscal agents. Kubisiak works through the TiE Oregon Foundation and she is funded in part by the Oregon Community Foundation, the cities of Hillsboro and Forest Grove and Washington County.
The event is sponsored by the cities of Hillsboro, Tigard, Tualatin, Beaverton and Sherwood; PGE; Washington County; Buchalter; Columbia Bank and TiE Oregon.
Last year, startups competed for $7,000 in prize packages. The 2022 winners were companies in food service, coworking and cannabis businesses.
