Yak Incorporated<\/a>\u202f(Portland,\u00a0OR)\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Received a $15k\u00a0investment\u00a0from\u00a0the\u00a0Founder First\u00a0fund.\u00a0Yak is the all-in-one, automation and AI-powered platform that automates audits for accounting firms, cutting admin work in\u00a0half\u00a0and ending auditor burnout.\u00a0<\/p>\n SokoLife<\/a>\u202f(Eugene,\u00a0OR)\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Received a $5k\u00a0investment from the Founder First fund.\u00a0SokoLife\u00a0is revolutionizing cardiac care with innovative, non-toxic patches for congenital heart defect repair, reducing reinterventions and healthcare costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Growth Stage:\u00a0<\/p>\n The Growth Stage track at BVC highlights companies that have\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0significant traction and are poised for rapid expansion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The Growth Stage finalists that\u00a0were awarded\u00a0investment this year are:\u00a0<\/p>\n Rapta<\/a>\u202f(Tigard, OR) \u2013\u00a0Was awarded\u00a0a\u00a0$110,500\u00a0investment\u00a0by\u00a0BVC investors.\u00a0Rapta\u00a0supercharges U.S. manufacturing by increasing capacity 30% through eliminating 98% of errors and accelerating workflows 10x faster.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n Photon Marine<\/a>\u202f(Portland, OR) \u2013\u00a0Was awarded\u00a0a\u00a0$65,000\u00a0investment\u00a0by\u00a0BVC investors.\u00a0Photon Marine is building the world\u2019s most capable electric fleet.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bold Reuse<\/a>\u202f(Portland, OR) \u2013\u202fWas awarded\u00a0a\u00a0$50,000\u00a0investment\u00a0by\u00a0BVC investors.\u00a0Bold Reuse reduces costs and waste from single-use packaging through reusable packaging\u00a0systems,\u00a0a Bold Reuse is critical infrastructure for the circular economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n MarineSitu<\/a>\u202f(Seattle, WA)\u00a0\u2013\u202fWas awarded\u00a0a\u00a0$32,500\u00a0investment\u00a0by\u00a0BVC investors.\u00a0MarineSitu\u00a0provides marine infrastructure monitoring through their AI software platform, preventing costly interventions, saving\u00a0time\u00a0and increasing efficiency.\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition, the EDCO Board of Directors awarded a $700 cash\u00a0award\u00a0to\u00a0BVC Future presenter Levi Waters, from Caldera High School, founder of\u00a0ClimbGrade.\u00a0<\/p>\n By standardizing grades,\u00a0ClimbGrade\u00a0empowers climbers to track progress accurately, helps setters design fair routes and gives gyms a consistent benchmark that strengthens their accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brian Vierra, EDCO\u2019s Venture Catalyst Director,\u00a0noted, \u201cThe quality and diversity of companies at BVC this year truly underscores\u00a0the maturity of\u00a0our\u00a0startup ecosystem. Our investors are not only funding great ideas,\u00a0they are\u00a0backing founders with the drive to build scalable, high-impact businesses that will create jobs and opportunities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n All investments are awarded following\u00a0detailed\u00a0due diligence of each presenting finalist. The final amounts to be distributed depend on the investment commitments received from third-party investors, as well as the ability of the winning companies and investors to agree on the terms and conditions of the investment. The Bend Venture Conference cannot guarantee that investments will be awarded in any specific amount.\u00a0<\/p>\n 2025 BVC Title Sponsors\u00a0<\/p>\n About Bend Venture Conference (BVC)\u00a0 About Economic Development for Central Oregon\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n 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\u00a0by:\u00a0recruiting 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. For more information, visit\u00a0www.edcoinfo.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) \u2013\u00a0Economic Development for Central Oregon has announced the winners and companies receiving investment at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":228473,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[45,49,48,137],"class_list":{"0":"post-228472","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entrepreneurship","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-entrepreneurship"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/qhJ7br8G-image.png\")
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The annual BVC, hosted by\u202fEDCO, is one of the largest angel conferences in the country. Over the past 22 years, BVC has served to evolve and grow the startup ecosystem throughout Central Oregon and beyond. Since its\u00a0inception, more than $14 million has been invested\u00a0in\u00a059 companies\u00a0as a result of\u00a0the conference.\u00a0For more information, visit\u00a0bendvc.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n