Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) announced the five finalists advancing in the Early Stage competition for the 18th Annual Bend Venture Conference (BVC) on Thursday, October 21 – Friday, October 22, 2021. These companies will compete for a minimum investment of $30,000 from Portland Seed Fund.
Eight companies took the stage both virtually and in-person to pitch during a recent Central Oregon PubTalk. This competition includes companies that have a great idea and are close to “proof of concept.” They are pre-revenue (or very early) and are in the process of testing their product in the market. The Early Stage companies will pitch during BVC on Friday, October 22nd.
In addition to being a finalist, Tonsil Tech won the audience vote and received a $3,000 cash award, courtesy of Washington Trust Bank.
In alphabetical order, the Early Stage finalists that will compete at BVC are:
- cannecht (Bend, OR) – A digital marketplace to help cannabis operators find and secure service contracts with trusted providers.
- KinectAir (Vancouver, WA) – Private aviation made public. Affordable, soon to be electric, aircraft booked from your smartphone using local community airports.
- LifeAir (Portland, OR) – Saving millions of lives by pioneering the first ventilator that eliminates patient to patient transmission of diseases, such as pneumonia and COVID.
- Radious (Portland, OR) – An online marketplace for rentable home office and meeting space.
- Tonsil Tech (Redmond, OR) – At-home handheld device to remove tonsil stones painlessly and effectively.
Tickets to the 18th Annual Bend Venture Conference are on sale now and are available here. Now in its 18th year, BVC, hosted by EDCO, is one of the largest angel conferences in the country. Over the past five years, more than $10 million has been invested in 40 companies as a result of the conference. This year’s conference will take place October 21-22, 2021, gathering entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders. bendvc.com
