This Thursday, October 22, over 500 entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders will gather for an evening of camaraderie and celebration at our 2015 OEN Tom Holce Entrepreneurship Awards. Will you be one of them? You simply can’t miss out, and here’s why:

See Ricky Gervais co-host this year’s OEN Awards!

Actually, we just got word that the evening will in fact be hosted by Ricky Gervais look-alike Mat Ellis, who also happens to be the co-founder of PDX-based Cloudability. But don’t worry – he’ll still make you laugh… though perhaps not quite as much as co-host Emma Mcilroy, co-founder of Wildfang. Emma says, “Mat Ellis is the Amy Poehler to my Tina Fey. By that I mean I’m the funnier one.”

Meet super richsuccessful entrepreneurs.

Elemental Technologies CEO Sam Blackman, whose company was recently acquired by Amazon, will be presenting this year’s Growth Stage Award. Just sayin’. Other previous Award winners in attendance will include Kim Malek, co-founder of Salt and Straw, and Luke Kanies, Founder and CEO of Puppet Labs.

Eat boozy jam.

Yes, that’s jam… with booze in it. SMASHED! Boozy Jams + Jellies will be one of many local food and beverage entrepreneurs to offer samples during our opening reception. You can also sample Fuller Foods Cheesy Puffs, Lucky Rabbit Granola, Pitch Dark Chocolate, NW Elixirs Artisan Hot Sauce, and free cocktails from Bull Run Distillers Co.

Help us pick Oregon’s most promising game changing product.

Who hasn’t struggled with grogginess in the morning, gotten fed up with idiotic online comments, or fretted over how to reduce the costs of next-generation protein based pharmaceutical therapies? Meet our finalists, REMZen, Civil Comments, and AbSci and cast your vote for the OEN 2015 Game Changer Award.

Have as much fun as these folks.

Seriously, our annual Awards ceremony is about celebrating entrepreneurship but it’s also about dressing up a little, letting your (literal or figurative) hair down, and making some new friends. We all know that starting a company is a lot of hard work, and there’s no better way to honor that hard work than with a little fun.

 

Don’t procrastinate a minute longer! Get your ticket or table now.