On September 23, at the Gorge Angel Conference, in front of a full house at the Hood River Inn, Pistil Designs of Hood River was awarded a $100,000 investment from GAIN LLC (Gorge Angel Investor Network). Pistil Designs develops and produces headwear and accessories for men and women. According to Pistil’s Management Team, Peter Hixson, Tood Douglass and Forrest Jones, the company will utilize the investment to build their sales program and expand their collection offerings.
Fourteen Gorge area businesses submitted applications to be considered for the investment award. GAIN, LLC members evaluated each applicant based on ten measures including management expertise, quality of product or service, understanding of the market and what they will offer to the Gorge. Seven companies were invited to make face-to-face presentations to GAIN, three were then chosen to make 20 minute presentations at the Gorge Angel Conference. Companies not chosen to make full presentations were provided an opportunity to make a “one minute pitch” to gain exposure at the event. An additional feature of the Conference was a presentation by Eric Rosenfeld, Capybara Ventures, entitled “Ten Things an Angel Investor would Never Tell an Entrepreneur”.
Gary Rains, GAIN, LLC Managing Member stated, “GAIN’s mission is to support and grow local new and emerging businesses by investing expertise and capital.” GAIN is an investment group similar to the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network’s very successful Angel Oregon Fund. At the conclusion of the event, Rains continued, “Though only one company won the $100,000 investment, all of the participating companies shared three common things: a tenacious desire to succeed, each seemed to be on the cusp of doing great things and every one thought their product would change the face of the market. For having the commitment to pursue their dreams, all of the participating companies are winners.”
According to Bill Fashing, Hood River County Office of Economic Development, “The Gorge Angel Conference is a result of years of foundation laying that included visits with OEN in Portland and others involved in Entrepreneurial development. We are interested in providing forums for entrepreneurs, service providers and angel investors to network, and connect to the resources they need to facilitate the growth of local firms.” Fashing continues, “One such forum is the Hood River PubTalk™ which was launched in 2007 allowing area businesses seeking advice or capital the opportunity to pitch their business model to attendees. Hood River PubTalk events will continue and are scheduled for November, January, March and May.”
The Gorge Angel Conference is an event of the Hood River County Office of Economic Development in cooperation with the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network, the Hood River County Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Development Center and Mid-Columbia Economic Development District. For more information about the Conference and PubTalk, call 541-387-6863.
