EDCO announces nine Early-Stage Bend Venture Conference semifinalist companies to present at PubTalk

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Economic Development for Central Oregon announced Monday the nine semifinalist companies advancing in the Early-Stage competition for the 19^th annual Bend Venture Conference on Thursday-Friday, Oct. 20-21. This group of companies is one step closer to presenting at BVC.

The following Early-Stage semifinalists will pitch against each other at the Thursday, Sept. 22 PubTalk: Road to BVC. This high-energy entrepreneurial event showcases the BVC Early-Stage semifinalists as they deliver fast-paced, three-minute pitches to a live and virtual crowd.

The audience, along with an expert panel of judges, will vote to decide which companies advance to present at BVC, where finalists will compete for a minimum investment of $30,000 from Portland Seed Fund.

In alphabetical order, the BVC Early-Stagesemifinalists that will compete at the September 22^nd PubTalk are:

1. DailyChela.com (Portland, OR) - An OTT app for Latinos that solves the problem of the lack of Latino news, opinion and sports on Roku, IOS and Android.
2. Glassbuilding (Bend, OR) - A document agnostic AI platform that democratizes negotiation of a commercial lease while promoting industry transparency, authenticity and trust.
3. GoCrew Health (Portland, OR) - A white labeled, HIPAA compliant communications platform that allows healthcare providers and patients to communicate easily and effectively.
4. Instinct Environmental Company (Hillsboro, OR) - Wireless sensor networks that detect wildfires and bring real-time environmental monitoring to the fingertips of forest and natural resource managers.
5. Osheru (Bend, OR) – A device that simplifies upper eyelid surgery to make this vision and appearance enhancing procedure available to anyone.
6. qChange (Bend, OR) – A real-time technology that objectively measures and grows soft skills in the flow of work.
7. Range Revolution (Madras, OR) - The world's first leather luggage company using only traceable and regenerative hides.
8. TapeDeck (Tigard, OR) – A mobile app that connects people online through conversation.
9. Tough Cutie (Austin, TX) – A women's outdoor brand dedicated to helping women and people of color step into their authority in the outdoors.

PubTalk Agenda
4:00 pm to 5:00 pm Networking, drinks and appetizers
5:30 pm to 7:45 pm Early-Stage Company Pitches, Audience Vote, Winner Announcement

PubTalk Cost and Registration
In-Person: $26 EDCO and OEN Members (become a member here); $36 Non-Members
Virtual: $10 EDCO and OEN Members; $15 Non-Members
In-person attendance includes appetizers and a free beverage (choice of beer, wine or soda).

Bend Venture Conference (BVC)
Now in its 19^th 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 45 companies as a result of the conference. This year’s conference will take place October 20-21, 2022, gathering entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders. Tickets to the 19^th Annual Bend Venture Conference are on sale now.  Find out more at bendvc.com.

About Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO)
EDCO is a non-profit corporation supported by private and public members and stakeholders, whose mission is to create middle-class jobs in Central Oregon by recruiting new employers to move to the region; helping entrepreneurs start new, scalable businesses; and working with businesses that are already here to grow their operations. Learn more at edcoinfo.com.