JANUARY 12 PUBTALK TO FEATURE PANEL DISCUSSION ON
"RAISING CAPITAL IN CENTRAL OREGON"
The 2006 Central Oregon PubTalk season will kick off Thursday, January 12th from 5:30pm - 7:30pm with a panel discussion on “Raising Capital in Central Oregon”. Pub Talk will be held at McMenamin’s Old St. Francis School in Father Luke’s Foundation Room (Parrish Center, 720 Bond Street, Bend). The event is open to both Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) and OEF members (cost is $15) and non-members (cost is $25). To register for the event, please visit www.edforco.org or contact pubtalk@edforco.org. Presented by Economic Development for Central Oregon in partnership with OEF, PubTalks are sponsored by Ball Janik LLP.
The moderated panel will be feature three local entrepreneurs and two investors who will share their views and experiences on the myths and realities of raising funds for early stage companies from investors in Central Oregon. Bend is widely quoted as a center of entrepreneurial spirit and activity. What has been the experience of entrepreneurs in raising funds here? What are investors really looking for? How do deals actually get done?
This panel will also discuss the opportunities and difficulties entrepreneurs face in launching their business in Bend as opposed to more traditional locations such as Portland, Seattle, or Silicon Valley.
The panel will be moderated by Yancy Lind who before moving to Bend spent 19 years in technology companies in Silicon Valley were he held roles including VP marketing, VP sales, and CEO. He has been part of teams that started 3 different companies and has helped raise approximately $80M in funds from angel investors, VCs, and companies such as Intel, HP, and NEC. Yancy has been through an IPO and helped sell companies for sums in excess of $700M and $100M. He has also worked for a VC helping with deal sourcing and due diligence.
The panel will include entrepreneur panelists Tyson Pardue, CEO of RetailonDemand, Bill Briggs, CEO of Net Worth Strategies, and Paul van Eikeren, CEO of Blue Reference, and investor panelists Robin Gould, a local angel investor, and Dan Hobin, Managing Partner for Bend Capital Partners.
Tyson Pardue spent 13 years in the technology industry with companies like IBM, Accenture, and PeopleSoft. While at PeopleSoft, Mr. Pardue held many roles including Director, European and Asia/Pacific Operations, VP of International Development, and VP of Enterprise Technology. After leaving PeopleSoft, Mr. Pardue raised startup capital from angels and institutions in founding Worldwaters.com. Most recently, Tyson has started RetailonDemand, a software as a service company focused on the retail industry.
Bill Briggs, CEO of Net Worth Strategies, worked for the IBM Corporation for 26 years where he held management positions in sales, marketing, business development, product development, and strategic planning. In 1998 he founded Net Worth Strategies, the nation’s leading provider of equity compensation planning software and related educational programs. Over the past five years, the company has raised over $2 million in three equity and two debt financing rounds. Most of the company’s 30 investors live in Central Oregon.
Prior to moving to Bend in 1986, Paul van Eikeren, CEO of Blue Reference, held faculty positions in Chemistry and Biochemistry at MIT and Harvey Mudd College of Science and Engineering. While in Bend he re-channeled his efforts toward management of R&D in the commercial sector with stints at Bend Research (Director Bioprocess), Sepracor (VP Drug Discovery and Development) and Argonaut Technologies (VP R&D and Applications). In 1998 he co-founded with his son Josh, IntelliChem, directed at intelligent electronic laboratory notebooks for the pharmaceutical company market, which was acquired by Symyx in 2004. In 2005, Paul has co-founded Blue Reference, directed at software solutions for achieving product quality through process understanding, monitoring and supervision.
Robin Gould, a local angel investor, spent most of his working career with large, privately owned, family run, consumer goods companies. With the Mars Corporation he held various positions including Vice President of Finance, Chief Information Officer, and Strategic Planning Director. With E&J Gallo Wineries he was Chief Financial Officer. Since retiring in 1993 Robin has provided consulting services to various businesses and sits on the Board of Directors of several companies one of which is here in Bend.
Dan Hobin is a Managing Partner of Bend Capital Partners, an investor in private real estate opportunities and early stage/growth companies. Dan is also the founder of G5 Search Marketing and SmashCast, Inc. Previously he worked for CyberSource and Beyond.com. He has lived in Bend for 4 years.
Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) is a private, non-profit membership organization dedicated to building a strong and secure economic future for Central Oregon. EDCO has been co-sponsoring the popular PubTalk events for the last year and a half as part of its mission to cultivate a strong entrepreneurial community in Central Oregon. To learn more about the Central Oregon PubTalk and EDCO visit www.edforco.org.
CLICK HERE TO RSVP TO PUBTALK JANUARY 12
