OEN Member NewsOEN Announces Finalists for the 22nd Annual Tom Holce Entrepreneurship Awards

Portland, Ore., Sept 1,  2015— The Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN) is pleased to announce 16 finalists—from over 60 nominees—for the 2015 OEN Tom Holce Entrepreneurship Awards.

The OEN Tom Holce Entrepreneurship Awards honors the skill, and the courage, it takes for entrepreneurs to create a business out of an idea. They are intended to not only celebrate entrepreneurs, but to highlight their importance to the region’s economy.

After a series of interviews and reviews by expert judging panels, OEN will announce one winner from each category—Launch Stage, Development Stage, Growth Stage, and Entrepreneurial Achievement—on October 22nd, 2015 during the 22nd annual awards ceremony at the Oregon Convention Center. The Game Changer winner will be determined by an audience vote.

“The entrepreneurs that evolve in the OEN ecosystem are one of the most significant reasons the Oregon region’s economy is thriving,” said Linda Weston, President and Executive Director of OEN. “The OEN Tom Holce Entrepreneurship Awards honors these entrepreneurs’ dedication and success.”

Wyatt Starnes Winner: 

• Robert Haydock — The CEO and Founder of Scratch-It, an enterprise class-cloud platform created to improve traffic and increase customer engagement.

OEN Launch Stage Company of the Year Finalists

• Bright.md Inc. — Helping patients gain the highest quality care from their primary care providers at affordable prices in less time.

• ONtheGO Platforms — Working to fundamentally alter how people interact with technology by utilizing as little hardware as possible.

• Valliscor — A chemical manufacturing company providing innovative solutions to access high-value organic building blocks for the pharmaceutical, biotech and agrochemical industries.

OEN Development Stage Company of the Year Finalists

• Cairn — A subscription gift box providing ideas, inspiration and new products to adventurers and outdoor enthusiasts.

• Green Zebra Grocery — A neighborhood store making it easy and convenient to access high quality, delicious, and healthy food.

• Time & Oak — Craft and create your favorite whiskey (customized to taste) in as little as 24 hours!

OEN Growth Stage Company of the Year Finalists

• Billups — A media specialist agency with expertise in ideation/concept development, media planning, buying, production, posting and post-buy evaluations.

• DiscoverOrg — Providing sales and marketing intelligence software to aid businesses in sales, outbound and inbound marketing, and staffing.

• Janrain — Specializing in customer identity management to better engage customer and personalize/consolidate customer data.

OEN Game Changer Award Finalists:

• AbSci — A manufacturing platform that will dramatically reduce the costs of next-generation protein based pharmaceutical therapies.

• REMzen — Revolutionizing how we sleep with an intelligent slumber mask — that tracks quality of sleep and wakes users using spectral light at the optimal point in the sleep cycle to avoid grogginess.

• Civil Co. — Civil comment sections are places where people can gather online and comment, constructively criticize, and debate without the constant threat of harassment, intimidation and abuse.

OEN Entrepreneurial Achievement Award

• Sadie and Chris Lincoln — Founders & CEOs of barre3
• Bryce Clemmer — Founder & CEO of Vadio. Inc.
• Eric Breon — Founder & CEO of Vacasa

“The OEN Tom Holce Awards is a great way to discover the breadth of creative, passionate and dedicated entrepreneurs doing really interesting things here in Oregon!”

Tickets to OEN’s 2015 Entrepreneurship Awards Dinner are on sale at https://oen.org/awards. Kristin Hammond, The 2015 Tom Holce Award Events Chair says that “The OEN Tom Holce Awards is a great way to discover the breadth of creative, passionate and dedicated entrepreneurs doing really interesting things here in Oregon!” More than 600 of Oregon and SW Washington’s most influential business people, including representatives from the nominated companies, are expected to attend.

OEN Media Contact:      

Danielle Towne
Oregon Entrepreneurs Network
503-222-2270
marketing@oen.org

About Oregon Entrepreneurs Network

A nonprofit, membership-driven organization with a 24-year track record, OEN connects entrepreneurs to a network of peers and mentors, startup funding opportunities, and hands-on training. OEN’s mission is to drive innovation, facilitate job creation, and put Oregon on the map as a center for entrepreneurial excellence.