OEN Awards Winners 2007

Nicole Vogel of Portland Monthly Heads List of Winners at the 14th Annual OEN Tom Holce Awards for Entrepreneurship

Meyer Memorial Trust Donates $5,000 to Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette

Sept. 20, 2007, Portland, Ore. -- The Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN) announced the winners of the 2007 OEN Tom Holce Awards for Entrepreneurship during its 14th annual awards ceremony on September 20, 2007.
The ceremony, held at the Oregon Convention Center, honored finalists in four categories: Development Stage Company of the year; Working capital Stage Company of the year; Growth Stage Company of the year; and the Entrepreneurship award for Individual achievement.

Nicole Vogel, the Founder and Publisher of Portland Monthly, was recognized as winner of the 2007 OEN Tom Holce Award for Entrepreneurship for Individual Achievement. The former CNN staffer cum entrepreneur is a passionate and committed visionary who tested her vision with extensive research data before embarking on her Portland Monthly startup.  She built a strong team around her, facilitated a "can do" culture, and produced excellent results. In less than three years, the rate base has more than doubled and ad revenue is up 425 percent. Additionally, Nicole has extended the brand by successfully launching Portland Bride & Groom as well as penetrating the Seattle market with a new and well-received monthly Seattle Metropolitan and will be soon launching Seattle Metropolitan Bride and Groom.

Innovation Asset Group, a Wilsonville-based company that provides software for intellectual property and contract management, was named 2007 Development Stage Company of the year. Its flagship product, Decipher™, enables companies to maximize the value of their intellectual property (IP), reduce risks and expenses, and optimize regulatory compliance.

The 2007 Working Capital Stage company award went to Auctionpay, Inc, a Portland company that offers a complete event fundraising solution that enables non-profits to automate and improve benefit event fundraising. Auctionpay's solutions help local, regional and national nonprofit organizations and schools create better donor experiences, while saving organizations time and money.

Jive Software, a Portland, Oregon software development company that develops award-winning collaboration software that improves a company's productivity through open collaboration among employees, partners and customers, won the 2007 award for Growth Company of the year. Jive Software is committed to innovation in flexible, practical, open-architecture collaboration software for use in any enterprise environment. Jive Software's products are designed to connect experts, expose assets, and make communication between employees and communities more intelligent and transportable.

OEN began the ceremony by honoring Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette with its third annual Tom Holce OEN Award for Entrepreneurship for Nonprofit Organizations. Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette, a reproductive health care advocate and provider, was selected as the winner because of its strong innovation and pioneering use of technology to serve its patients.

Meyer Memorial Trust CEO Doug Stamm, who chaired the committee that chose Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette for the award, presented the organization with a $5,000 donation.

“The man responsible for the Meyer Memorial Trust, Fred G. Meyer, was an entrepreneur who was ahead of his time,” said Stamm. “We at MMT take pride in investing in people and ideas that involve risk yet hold great potential to improve the quality of life in our region. In recognition of Mr. Meyer's entrepreneurial legacy and the importance of this OEN award, our trustees approved these grant funds to encourage continued entrepreneurship among Oregon nonprofits.”
 
“The recipients of this year’s awards prove how entrepreneurship can succeed in any industry,” said Linda Weston, executive director and president of OEN. “All of this year’s finalists are inspiring examples of what’s possible when innovation, diligence, a lot of sweat and a little luck come together. They can turn a vision into reality.”

The winners of the 2007 OEN Tom Holce Awards for Entrepreneurship were chosen from 14 finalists by the OEN award judging committee, chaired by Chris Reed, VP and chief marketing officer of The Cobalt Group. Companies from throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington were nominated for the Awards, and were narrowed to the 14 finalists after hundreds of hours of due diligence, including site visits and face-to-face interviews. A comprehensive list of winners and finalists follows this release. The awards event was chaired by Michael Phillips, partner in the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine.

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 comprised of entrepreneurs, investors and service providers. For more information about the OEN, visit oen.org.

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2007 Development Stage Company of the Year
Winner:    Innovation Assets Group
Finalists:   
Efficere Technologies
Remote Technologies

2007 Working Capital Company of the Year
Winner:    Auctionpay, Inc.
Finalists:   
Cayuse, Inc.
Eroi

2007 Growth Company of the Year
Winner:    Jive Software
Finalists:   
Saber Corporation
SnapNames

2007 Entrepreneurship Award for Individual Achievement
Winner:    Nicole Vogel, Portland Monthly
Finalists:   
Jim Johnson, Tripwire
Judy Johnston, Blue Lake Children’s Publishing
John Morgan, Hemcon

2007 Entrepreneurship Award for Nonprofit Organizations
Planned Parenthood of the Columbia Willamette