END//outdoor Selected Winner of Oregon Entrepreneurs Network Angel Oregon Investment Competition

END//outdoor to Receive $150,000 Investment Award; Revelation and OsoEco Win $57,500 Each as Standouts in Technology/Biotech and Sustainability Tracks Respectively

PORTLAND, Ore. – March 5, 2008  -- The Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN) today announced that END//outdoor was selected as the overall winner of the Angel Oregon 2008 investment competition, held Wednesday, March 5th, in Portland. END//outdoor, a maker of high-performance, sustainable outdoor gear, will receive the $150,000 angel award investment as the overall winner and for winning the NIKE Consumer Products Track.

Revelation, a software company that optimizes qualitative market research, enabling companies to develop and harness rich understanding of customer experiences, behaviors and needs at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional research techniques, and OsoEco, the first online community that allows consumers to shop and research green products and services with friends, interests groups and consumers, both received $57,500 investment awards for winning the Technology/Biotech and Sustainability Investment Tracks.

“END//outdoor did a great job in winning OEN’s Angel Oregon 2008. The entrepreneurs participation in the investor presentation coaching and exhaustive due diligence process really helped them to articulate their business plan and demonstrate the potential return for investors,” said, Bob Ward, Angel Oregon chair. “Angel Oregon is attracting really high caliber companies. Couple that with value of the exposure and the experience that competing companies get, and the value proposition of the event is pretty compelling for Oregon’s economy.”


This year’s finalist companies were selected from nearly 50 companies that applied to compete at Angel Oregon 2008.  A rigorous selection process was undertaken by the 53-member panel of active angel investors to select the overall and track winners. Each investor staked $5,000 to create the $270,000 investment award for this year’s event. The record number of investors OEN recruited to participate in this year’s conference has made Angel Oregon the largest single investment award competition in the northwest and perhaps, nationwide.

“Historically many of the companies who have gone through the process and competed in past Angel Oregon events have gone on to get millions more in funding,” commented Ward. “The Angel Oregon competitive process challenges the competing companies to elevate to new levels, which is necessary to be successful in today’s entrepreneurial environment.”

Angel Oregon, which is staged by OEN, is the Northwest’s premier deal flow and networking event for Oregon and SW Washington based angel investors and early-stage entrepreneurs. The competition has real economic impact for Oregon. Of the 20 company alumni that have presented at Angel Oregon since 2003, 19 are still operating with more than $45 million in combined revenues (up 44% from last year) and employ more than 380 people. This year’s event drew an audience of 325 angels, potential angels, entrepreneurs and OEN supporters.

About OEN

Founded in 1991, the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to providing opportunities for Oregon entrepreneurs and improving the business climate for emerging, growth-oriented companies statewide. The organization has members throughout Oregon and southwest Washington. For more information about the OEN, visit its website at www.oen.org.

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