Angel Food Conference & Education Series 2019 - Oregon Entrepreneurs Network

After a year-long break, the signature OEN event, Angel Oregon, is BACK! This year’s event, the Angel Food Conference, will showcase scaling food & beverage companies from Oregon and SW Washington and represents the state’s first fund designed exclusively for Oregon’s valuable food and beverage sector. There will also be a robust three-month educational program leading up to the conference.

LEARN | CONNECT | LAUNCH | FUND | GROW

Oregon is an epicenter of artisan food and beverage innovation and OEN is the first stop on any entrepreneur’s journey.

What:

A four-part, three-month educational program
A one-day angel conference with investors, industry experts, “Pitch Fest” and food fair
Visibility and media coverage
An opportunity to win pro bono professional services
Concept Stage applicants also get an opportunity to pitch at the May PubTalk
An opportunity for later-stage companies to win an investment of approximately $100K

Who:

Any entrepreneur – from concept to growth stage – who wants to expand their food & beverage company.

Where:

Educational sessions will be hosted at partner locations and will include ample time for networking. The Angel Food Conference on June 19 will be at The Redd East.

Why:

Because every entrepreneur can use assistance. OEN connects entrepreneurs to every resource they need along their journey including mentors, professional service providers, marketing/sales/co-packing/distribution partners, access to funding, business networking, and more.

Key Dates:

April 3: Info Session: How to Create a Winning Angel Food Conference Application—learn about the AFC process and how to use GUST to put forward a winning application
April 17: DEADLINE EXTENDED: Pitch applications due by 12:00 midnight
April 24: Education Session #1 Pitch/Presentation Session—Learn how to tell your story and develop a clear, concise, and compelling pitch
May 8: PubTalk Pitchfest for Angel Food Conference applicants
May 15: Education Session #2 Product and Brand Development—Tasks leading up to selling your first products
May 29: Education Session #3 Go to (Local) Markets—Test product/market fit and build sales
June 11: Education Session #4 Scale Up—You’ve proven locally that people want your product; now you’re ready to scale
June 17: Finalists reception with investors

Education Session Details:

The 4 Angel Food Education Sessions are being taught by top Food & Beverage entrepreneurs and industry leaders. There will be something for companies at all stages at each of these sessions. So far we have confirmed the following entrepreneurs:

Mathilde Aurelian-Wilson (Mathilde’s Kitchen)
John Boyle (Market of Choice)
Christy Goldsby (Honey Mama’s)
Michelle Hunt (Alden’s Ice Cream)
Hannah Kulberg (High Vibe Brand Amplifier)
Kim Malek (Salt & Straw)
Shannon Oliver (Red Duck Foods LLC)
Marty Parisien (Singing Dog Vanilla)
Junea Rocha (Brazi Bites)
Bruce Tillisen (Wild Friends Foods)
Chris Tjersland (New Seasons Market)

These sessions will also be taught by industry experts from the following groups:

Anton Kimball Design
Bridgetown Natural Foods
Craft3
Davis Wright Tremaine
Food Northwest
Food Innovation Center
Oregon Venture Fund
Portland Mercado
Tonkon Torp
Underhill Training and Development

All education sessions will be webcast. You can watch them live from afar or view them at your convenience. Please note: we hope you will attend all of these sessions but we realize you are busy running your companies and may need to miss one or two. Therefore, attendance at all sessions is not required but is strongly encouraged.

June 19: Angel Food Conference and Food Fair

This is it! The big event! There will be a pitch fest where Concept Stage companies compete for prizes and YOU get to pick the winner. Later stage companies will pitch for an investment award of about $100,000. Hear from some of the most successful food & beverage entrepreneurs in Oregon, and meet investors and industry experts. Taste your way around the food fair as you network with all the movers and shakers in the industry.

Investors:

Our goal is to raise $100k in $5k increments. If you are an accredited investor and interested in participating, please email Himalaya Rao-Potlapally at hraopot1@gmail.com.

Click here to read the Investors information sheet (part of the new Angel Food Conference Resources page).

Presenting Sponsor:

Applications have closed

Concept Stage Category

Companies that apply in our Concept Stage category will get admission to all four educational sessions, have an opportunity to pitch at the May PubTalk Pitchfest, will compete for a package of goods and services at the Angel Food Conference and will have a table at the Food Fair (if they have a viable product in time). In 2017, the first-place prize package for Angel Oregon included approximately over $20,000 worth of executive coaching services, strategic forecasting consulting, accounting services, and legal services.

Companies participating in the concept stage competition typically:

Have a great idea, and are close to “proof of concept”
Are in the process of testing their product in the market
Have little if any revenue – yet

Application info

Startup Stage Category

Companies that apply in our Startup Stage category will get admission to all four educational sessions, will have a table at the Food Fair, and will go through a due diligence process to compete for an investment award of approximately $100K+ (actual investment will depend on the number of investors). All applicants will be supported by a network of mentors and experts in the food and beverage sector.

Companies participating in the Startup Stage competition typically:

Have a proven concept and a complete business plan developed
Have a product and are selling it “somewhere” (farmer’s markets, local stores, national chains, etc).
Have generated initial revenues of up to $250K and are ready for market expansion
Non-consumer products companies like restaurants are eligible to go through the program but are not eligible to compete for the investment.

Application info

Developing Stage Category

Companies that apply in our Developing Stage category will get admission to all four educational sessions, will have a table at the Food Fair, and will go through a due diligence process to compete for an investment award of approximately $100K+ (actual investment will depend on the number of investors). All applicants will be supported by a network of mentors and experts in the food and beverage sector.

Companies participating in the Developing Stage competition typically:

Have a proven concept and a complete business plan developed
Have a product and are selling it at farmer’s markets, local stores, national chains, etc.
Have generated revenues of $250K to about $2M and are ready for market expansion
Non-consumer products companies like restaurants are eligible to go through the program but are not eligible to compete for the investment.

Application info

Photos from 2019:

Photos by Miles Shattuck.

Past Angel Oregon Winners

This is the first year of the Angel Food Conference but it was modeled after our flagship Angel Oregon event. Check out past Angel Oregon winners here: