TiE Oregon Software & Internet SIG is kicking off the first session devoted to Launching and Building Software & Internet Companies.

We will be hosting three special guests who will share their experiences on How They Did It, and offer perspectives on company growth.

Michael Berkley - CEO, Splashcast Media. SplashCast is a content syndication service for social networks and mobile devices. SplashCast enables brand advertisers and content owners to reach out and engage consumers through micro-channels of content that people want and share. SplashCast has raised funds from prominent angel investors in the last two years. Mark Friess - President and Co-founder, wired.MD, Inc. wired.MD helps patients and their families make informed healthcare decisions through access to patient education videos and comprehensive solutions that also benefit treatment providers. Following angel investor funding between 2000 to 2005, wired.MD took on debt financing in 2004 and 2007 from PDC and others before being acquired by Krames/StayWell, a division of MediMedia USA in 2008. Ranjit Pandit - Founder and VP, RNA Networks. RNA Networks makes makes memory a shared network resource to deliver high performance on commodity hardware utilizing existing data center resources, without application changes. Investors include Oregon Angel Fund, Divergent Ventures, Menlo Ventures and Reference Capital. Whether you are thinking, planning or in the midst of a startup, this is your opportunity to get insights from the diversity of industry, funding and growth experiences represented by these entrepreneurs.

Health Information Technology Gets $19 Billion Boost, Comparative Effectiveness Research Gets $1 Billion

The new economic stimulus bill is an example of the priority and urgency the new Congress and Obama Administration gives to reforming the health care system. As part of the stimulus package, signed into law by President Obama, $19 billion is now dedicated to transforming the patient record to an electronic format and adopting standards, to be developed by Jan 1, 2010.

Practitioners will receive incentives to use

Heath Information Technology (HIT) standards that must be developed by Jan. 1, 2010.
Physicians and other practitioners will be eligible for up to $64,000 in incentive payments over several years for the meaningful use of an electronic medical record for patients. By 2015 all physicians will be required to use electronic records in their practice. Hospitals will also be eligible for $1-9 million in incentives for meaningful EHR adoption. This stimulus package is expected to create new opportunities for entrepreneurs to provide technology and services to healthcare practitioners and organizations. It will also focus on developing the health IT workforce that institutions like OHSU are already doing, creating new career opportunities in this area.

TIE Oregon has partnered with OHSU and lined up a great panel of healthcare industry professionals and entrepreneurs who have pioneered the development and use of Electronic Health Records, who will provide insights into this industry and how entrepreneurs can capitalize on this opportunity.

If you are looking to get into this field this is your opportunity to network and learn!

The idea of an intelligent electricity network is being promoted by many as a way of dealing with the increasing problems of global warming, energy independence and electric grid resilience. This so called “smart grid” will create opportunities for new technologies and businesses which will emerge to satisfy the demands for improved communications, smart appliances, distributed power generation, demand response, transportation electrification and many more applications.

To help entrepreneurs and innovators in the Portland area learn more about smart grid opportunities and collaborate with others the TiE Oregon is hosting an event with industry experts and capital providers who have an interest in growing smart grid businesses.

Panelists include:

• Bill Campbell Principal at Equilibrium Capital • Bobby Kandaswamy, Investment Director, Intel Capital • Jeff Hammarlund, Adjunct Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow at PSU's Mark O. Hatfield School of Government and the Executive Leadership Institute.

By attending this event you will hear about the policies shaping the smart grid movement, learn about various technology and application opportunities and meet others who are already working in the smart grid or have an idea that could turn into a new business.

News is in the news. The last few years have seen significant changes in patterns of consumption and propagation of news content. Increasingly, the influence of online search, aggregation and community sites, niche blogs, specialized classified lists, combined with the demand for measurable advertising and audience engagement is putting pressure on traditional business models. Add in the growth of mobile internet, and we have the makings of a perfect storm.
- What is the future of printed news? - Who will invest in investigative journalism? - Will micro-payments, subscriptions or pay-walls work?
- Where is the technology or platform opportunity?

Steve Woodward, CEO Nozzl Media will provide an overview of how Nozzl helps publishers, readers and advertisers with real-time, local news streams on mobile devices.

Peter Bhatia, Executive Editor, The Oregonian will join Steve for an informative and insightful discussion with TiE members and entrepreneurs.

This year’s Marketing Loves Sales event will focus on the pivotal role Social Media plays for marketing and sales. For the first time, the event will have tracks dedicated to the nuances of social media for each of these teams. From planned marketing programs to social selling, our speaker lineup is packed with industry experts and practitioners who will deliver fresh ideas and innovative case studies.

Join more than 300 sales and marketing and sales professionals for a day focused on upping your social media game!