EDCO Announces the 2021 BVC Impact and Growth Stage Semi-Finalists

EDCO ANNOUNCES THE SEMI-FINALISTS FOR THE GROWTH AND IMPACT COMPETITIONS, ADVANCING ONE STEP CLOSER TO PRESENTING AT THE 2021 BEND VENTURE CONFERENCE

BEND, OR – September 17, 2021 – Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) announces the semi-finalists advancing in the Growth Stage and Impact Competitions for the 17^th Annual Bend Venture Conference (BVC) on Thursday, October 21 - Friday, October 22, 2021.

The semi-finalists below have one more round of cuts to go before qualifying to present at this year’s conference. Companies in the Growth Stage have historically won investments ranging from $100,000 to $2,500,000, while the Impact winner could walk away with $100,000 or more. The Early Stage semi-finalists announced earlier this week will present at the September Central Oregon PubTalk on September 23^rd at McMenamins in downtown Bend in hopes of moving on to present at BVC.

In alphabetical order, the eight Impact Competition semi-finalists are:

   
1. Gamma Diagnostics (Portland, OR) – A biotech start up developing companion diagnostics for COVID-19 and other infectious and inflammatory diseases.
   
2. HILOS (Portland, OR) – A digital product platform that completely replaces legacy supply chains, allowing brands to launch sustainable product on-demand without inventory or waste.
   
3. LeapFrog Design (Bend, OR) – Designs, develops, and commercializes cost-effective, superior performance, residential, rainwater, greywater, and wastewater recycling systems for homebuilders and building owners.
   
4. Odysseus Technology (Olympia, WA) – Inventors of a new way to synthesize carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to manifest their tremendous strength & conductivity properties, enabling an environmentally responsible world.
   
5. Skip Technology (Portland, OR) - Developing and manufacturing a novel flow, low-cost battery for use in utility scale energy storage, focusing on solar, wind and waves production facilities.
   
6. TENZR Health (Vancouver, BC) – Intelligent wearable sensors, gamification and healthcare expertise, providing patients with motivation, guidance and certainty in their recovery.
   
7. Upcycle and Co. (San Diego, CA) – Leading the sustainable soil movement by creating a dynamic fertilizer that simultaneously replenishes soil health, creates a stable environment for growth and generates a more balanced ecosystem.
   
8. UV Health Group (Hillsboro, OR) - Designs and produces the SafeAirUV System to eliminate 99.99% of airborne viruses, like COVID-19, from indoor rooms, while people are in the room.

In alphabetical order, the 12 Growth Stage semi-finalists are:

   
1. BARBARI (Portland, OR) – A national cannabis brand providing low dose cannabis solutions through their THC, CBD and botanical product lines.
   
2. CampsEZ (Portland, OR) – An online platform that helps families organize, consolidate and collect registration activity information for activities, camps and sports.
   
3. Compright (Portland, OR) – Simple and empowering compensation planning software for mid-sized enterprises.
   
4. DeepSurface (Portland, OR) – A risk-based predictive vulnerability management platform that contextualizes vulnerabilities within a business’s digital infrastructure.
   
5. Everyday (Portland, OR) – An AI-based tool providing organizations first-to-market access on customers, trends and competitors by measuring brand and customer analytics across digital networks.
   
6. FleetNurse (Eugene, OR) – An app-based on-demand staffing service for healthcare facility supervisors, designed to reduce short-staffing.
   
7. HealthSaaS (Portland, OR) – AI patient assessment and remote patient monitoring that reduces hospital readmissions, reducing costs and increasing care provider value-based revenue.
   
8. Lora DiCarlo (Bend, OR) – Sex tech products using advanced technology to mimic human touch and movements.
   
9. MessageDesk (Reno, NV) – A proprietary, cloud-based business text messaging application that helps companies stay connected to their customers and get paid faster.
   
10. Portl (Eugene, OR) An innovative tech platform dedicated to empowering creators with equitable tools for monetizing content and building community.
   
11. PupPod (Hood River, OR) – A multispecies gaming platform that provides dogs with software-driven, positive reinforcement games and humans with a powerful tool to be great pet parents.
   
12. The Run Experience (Bend, OR) – A daily fitness app with daily audio runs and training programs designed to build a healthy running habit.

Hosted by EDCO, this year’s BVC will once again feature three competition categories: Growth Stage, Impact and Early Stage, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders, both virtually and in-person in Bend, Oregon.

Ticket Sales

Tickets to the 18^th Annual Bend Venture Conference are on sale now and are available here.

About Bend Venture Conference (BVC)

Now in its 18^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 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

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. edcoinfo.com