Bend Venture Conference (BVC) 2024

As Central Oregon’s flagship entrepreneurship event, BVC creates an opportunity to connect investors and industry leaders with startups looking to scale.

Welcome. We are glad you are here because you are why BVC exists. Please read all the information below and reach out with any questions to: brian@edcoinfo.com.

The Bend Venture Conference, held on October 17 & 18, 2024 in Bend, Oregon, is the longest standing angel investing conference in the Pacific Northwest. The major objectives of this event are to provide exposure and investment opportunities for entrepreneurs and build an engaged community of investors in Central Oregon.

The event attracts hundreds of attendees, many of whom come from beyond Central Oregon (50% of attendees come from outside the region). Investments, awards and prizes have totaled over $14 million since its inception and the conference has served as a catalyst to mobilize additional capital for participating companies.

There are three tracks for the competition: Early, Growth and New Economy (formerly Impact).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Companies applying in the Early track typically:

• Have proof of concept and/or MVP (minimum viable product).

• Have customer traction and/or early revenue.

• Are testing their product in the market.

• Aim to generate long-term enterprise value and attractive returns on capital.

This category is open to companies that have a business concept close to or fully developed, are working on product market fit, and are likely pre-revenue or very early revenue. The company may have raised a pre-seed round and is seeking to raise at least $200K in investment capital. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Companies applying in the Growth track typically:

• Have traction and/or generated revenues.

• Are prepared to scale in the next 12 months with investment.

• Are in conversations with additional investors.

• Aim to generate long-term enterprise value and attractive returns on capital.

This category is open to companies that are post-revenue who have a complete business plan, are ready for market expansion, and in need of growth capital. The company may have raised an earlier seed round and is currently raising at least $500K in investment capital.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Companies applying in the New Economy track typically:

• Are creating products and technologies that accelerate the ability for marginalized/SEDI (socially, economically disadvantaged individuals) communities to meaningfully participate and contribute to the innovation economy.

• Have founders proximate to the problem they are solving and the community they are serving.

• Can demonstrate the activation of both internal and external impact metrics.

This category is open to for-profit companies who are creating products and technologies that accelerate the ability for marginalized communities to meaningfully participate and contribute to the innovation economy. Generally speaking, New Economy applicants have generated between $100K - $900K in revenue in the last 12 months and are seeking their first institutional funding round.

*formerly named Impact Track

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: Companies may not necessarily meet every criterion to the same degree. Each criterion will be evaluated independently in the assessment of the company.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We welcome startups from across the country. Given the expertise of the Central Oregon community of investors, entrepreneurs focusing on Software and Tech, Outdoor, Food/Agriculture, Climate Resiliency, and Biotech are targets. The magic of BVC is in the connections made and sustained, so we encourage all companies to have (or find) a tie to Oregon. It is a great place to build a company.

The BVC event information is available at www.bendvc.com. All applications to BVC will be reviewed with the event in mind. Companies are expected to participate in due diligence, present in-person at the conference and have a deal instrument and structure ready to receive investment.

*Bend Venture Conference cannot guarantee that investments will be made in any specific amount because the final amounts to be awarded are dependent on investment commitments received from third-party investors and the ability of the winning companies and the investors to agree on the terms and conditions of the investment. 

Please check out our FAQ page for additional information.