Frank Helle, CEO of Axian, Inc., will lead an interactive discussion that will help entrepreneurs understand the critical areas of focus for being a successful CEO. Come share your challenges, observations and successes with other CEOs of emerging businesses.

Successful CEOs often focus on 4 tasks, 6 roles, and 5 performance dimensions. The group will discuss what this means and help you become a more successful leader. You will also receive a high-level recap of the discussion from Frank.

Open only to CEOs or Presidents of currently operating companies that have employees. Box lunch will be served. This program is limited to 12 participants, and is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Speaker: Frank Helle, Axian, Inc. - www.axian.com

Frank Helle is CEO of Axian, Inc., a 20-year old privately-held web-services company creating collaboration portals and business intelligence (software & data). Prior to 2002 he was a senior global manager at Monsanto Company. During that career he lived in Brussels Belgium for 5 years managing manufacturing, engineering, and supply chain for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. He then lived in Singapore for 5 years as Asia-Pacific Managing Director for 3 Monsanto Divisions.

Frank's leadership helps organizations realize more of their full potential, and often focuses on turnarounds and turbo-charging growth.

Aside from positioning Axian to be "built to last," Frank mentors and coaches local CXOs to help them compete in the global marketplace and create more jobs in Oregon. Frank is an active Board Director of Oregon's Association for Corporate Growth as Chair Emeritus & Past-President, is an active Board Director of Oregon’s high tech trade association,Tech America, and is an active volunteer with the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network - chairing the CEO Roundtable.

OEN Member Registration: $46.00
Non-member Registration: $86.00

This seminar reviews all components of an effective, compelling business plan. You'll learn from two seasoned OEN experts why certain information is important and how your audience will evaluate what you present. Besides learning what is critical to include in an effective business, you'll take away valuable handouts and a listing of key resources.

Registration is required, and space is limited to 15 entrepreneurs.

When: Wednesday, January 20th Time: 4:00 - 6:15 PM Where: Beaverton Library, 12375 SW 5th St, Meeting Room B, Beaverton, Oregon 97005 (corner of SW 5th St. and SW Hall Blvd)

OEN Member Registration: $30.00
Non-member Registration: $70.00

Failure isn’t always a bad thing as long as you learn from it. SplashCast, launched in 2007, was originally founded around the notion of helping consumers put together videos, text, graphics and music embedded in broadcast "channels." Despite raising over $4 million in funding, SplashCast was unable to survive and closed its doors in 2009.

Please join OEN for the April 14th PubTalk to hear what happened, and what the team learned from failure. You will hear from one of the Founders of SplashCast, as well as a few investors in the company. This panel discussion will highlight the positive moves the company made, as well as share some valuable lessons of what to avoid. Learning from their insights and knowledge will undoubtedly help you in your decision making processes so that your company may avoid the same pitfalls.

Speakers: Tom Turnbull; Investors: Angela Jackson and Jon Karl; Moderator: Dave deFiebre

Tom Turnbull Tom Turnbull is a lawyer and entrepreneur. He has worked in business development, product, and legal roles at three venture backed startups. Of the three startups, one was a success (Internet Brands, Inc. NASDAQ: INET), one a soft landing (BizBuyer.com), and the last a sad ending (SplashCast Media). Tom also headed up new media strategy and business development for the LA Times and business development for Knowledge Learning Corporation. Additionally, he was a consulting manager at Andersen and a transactional lawyer. He received a law degree from the University of Washington and an M.B.A. from New York University with an emphasis in finance and entrepreneurial studies.

Jon Karl Jon is an experienced entrepreneur who co-founded two Portland companies, ieLogic and iovation. As Vice President of Corporate Development for iovation, Jon plays a role in defining the company's business strategy, and is responsible for the creation of strategic partnerships, technology alliances and mergers or acquisitions. At ieLogic, Jon was instrumental in creating and driving the company brand and technology innovation that led to the company's successful sale in just five years.

An expert in the areas of Internet security and fraud management, Jon is a frequent speaker at industry trade shows, where he speaks on various topics including online fraud management, online privacy, and emerging technologies that protect online environments against fraud and abuse.

Jon holds a B.S. in Economics from Oregon State University, and has been an active investor over the last 5 years in a diverse range of start-up ventures. He lives in Tualatin with his wife, two boys, a dozen chickens and a dog.

OEN member registration is $15.00 Non OEN member registration is $25.00

Please visit the OEN Website to register for this event

Come learn how to get the most out of your OEN membership at the New Member Orientation, on Thursday, April 22nd, at the offices of Moss Adams (805 SW Broadway, Suite 1200, Portland, OR 97205) in downtown Portland at 4:00 PM.

This is a great opportunity to learn about OEN educational programs and networking events, meet other members, OEN staff and volunteers.

Please register for this event online or contact us by phone at 503.222.2270 or by email at [email protected].

Check-in instructions: Please check-in at the reception desk on the 12th floor. There the receptionist will direct you to the 11th floor for the orientation.

Multnomah Athletic Club 1849 SW Salmon St. Portland, OR 97 -

The Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN), Software Association of Oregon (SAO), Oregon Business Association (OBA) and the Portland Business Alliance are presenting the 2010 Gubernatorial Candidate Forums. Tech America will be a supporting organization for the forums

Oregon’s economy is facing great challenges. The state is struggling with serious budgetary shortfalls and that is exacerbated by an unemployment rate that is hovering above 10 percent. With the recent passage of measures 66 & 67 many Oregonians question what the impact will be for Oregon businesses. Policies that support and encourage business growth and economic development are a top-of-mind priority for many Oregonians. These candidate forums are intended to provide an opportunity for members of the business community to ask the candidates from each party what they would do to help support business and economic growth in Oregon.

The Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate forum will take place on Wednesday, April 7 at Portland General Electric’s auditorium located at 121 SW Salmon St, 2WTC in Portland. It will feature Democratic candidates Bill Bradbury (www.bradburyfororegon.com) and John Kitzhaber, (www.johnkitzhaber.com).

The Republican Gubernatorial Candidate forum will take place on Tuesday, April 27 at 1849 SW Salmon St. in Portland. It will feature Republican candidates Allen Alley (www.allenalley.com and Chris Dudley (www.chrisdudley.com).

Tickets are required for onsite attendees and individual live stream access. Registration is recommended for satellite venues.

The gubernatorial candidate forum will be held prior to the primaries and will be moderated by Laural Porter of KGW News (twitter.com/lauralkgw). Check-in begins at 4:00PM. The program will begin at 4:30 PM and will run to 6:00 PM. Tickets are $20 for members of presenting or supporting organizations and $40 for non-members. We encourage attendees to pre-register online using the link below.

The forums will be streamed live over the web. Individual web stream tickets can be purchased for $10 in advance, but business community members outside of the Portland area may attend a satellite event in their local area at no charge.

For more information about the forums, or to register for either of these events, please go to:

Democratic Candidates Forum: www.sao.org/event/dgp

Republican Candidates Forum: www.sao.org/event/rgp

Follow the discussions on twitter: #pdxGDP & #pdxRGP.

Join OEN at the May 12 PubTalk where five successful entrepreneurs will reveal to you their secrets on the art of bootstrapping. The founders of Jama Software, Paydici, Rumblefish and Reliable Remodeler will share with you how, prior to their first round of funding (if any), they used creative solutions and drew from nontraditional resources to build their companies with limited capital. They'll share their advice on where to cut corners and help you identify when you can't afford to be cheap. You’ll also learn how to grow a company organically; creative ways to generate and manage cash flow, and the challenges of putting everything at risk.

This panel discussion will be moderated by Rick Turoczy, the founder and principal writer of Silicon Florist, Portland's premier blog on technology and entrepreneurship.

Moderator: Rick Turoczy of Silicon Floriist Panelists: Eric Winquist of Jama Software, Eli Alford-Jones of Paydici, Paul Anthony of Rumblefish and Eric Doebele of Reliable Remodeler.

Panelist Bios

Eric Doebele, Reliable Remodeler Eric Doebele is a serial entrepreneur and active advisor to startup companies. He started several companies including HandymanOnline in 1997, which raised over $27 Million in venture capital grew to over 300 employees, and was later acquired by ServicMagic.com. In 2001, he founded ReliableRemodeler.com, a leading nationwide home improvement contractor matching service that has matched remodeling contractors to over 700,000 home improvement projects. In 2007, ReliableRemodeler.com ranked 187th in the 2007 Inc. 500’s list of fastest growing companies. Eric sold ReliableRemodeler.com to Quinstreet in 2008, where he then held the role of Vice President of Home Services. He was named a "Leader of the Pack – 20 young(ish) Oregonians who are making things happen" by Oregon Business Magazine. Eric is a board member or active advisor to several companies, including ISG Illumination Systems, SecondPorch, Giftango, Paydici, and EnhanceScape. He is an active member of the Oregon Angel Fund, and served on the planning committee for Angel Oregon 2010.

Eric Winquist, Jama Software Eric Winquist is an accomplished entrepreneur and project manager with over 15 years experience working with a wide range of enterprise organizations, teams and technologies. In 2001, Eric founded Redside Solutions, a software development consulting firm. As CEO, Eric grew Redside to a multi-million dollar business with 100% annual growth rates. At Redside, Eric saw first-hand the need companies had for collaborative requirements management which led to the creation of Jama Software and the development of Jama Contour. In March 2006, Eric founded Jama Software with the vision of providing customers a more collaborative way to develop new products and eliminate the common frustrations with traditional approaches to requirements management. Jama has created a powerful Web-based application called Contour that's used by thousands every day to manage billions of dollars in research and development projects.

Please visit the OEN website to register for this event.

OEN Members: $15.00 Non OEN Members: $25.00

Perkins & Company 1211 SW Fifth Ave, Suite 1000 Portland, OR 97204-

•Improve your own interviewing communication skills

•Identify what questions you would like your candidates to ask

•Know what you’re listening for when you ask, “Do you have any questions?”

•Uncover how serious your candidates are about your job offering

Speaker: Kathy Maixner www.sellingsmartonline.com.

When: Tuesday, May 4, 2010 Time: 4:00 - 5:30 pm Where: Perkins & Co., 1211 SW Fifth Ave, Ste. 1000, Portland, OR 97204 What: Hiring Right: Asking the Right Questions (seminar and discussion) Cost: FREE to OEN members, $30 for non-members

How can I better predict if my business will likely survive or fail? Is it possible to know in advance whether I'm going to beat the competition? How can I shape my business into a strategy that is more likely to succeed?"

As it turns out, relatively quiet empirical models have surfaced that begin to answer these questions with astonishing results. Pioneering this research, first at Intel and then at Harvard, Thomas Thurston has offered to share this fascinating work, the results, and the actionable implications for managers.

Thomas Thurston is President and Managing Director of Growth Science International, LLC. - www.growthsci.com

Outline: 2 hours 1 hour, 15 minutes - lecture (including Q&A and discussions) 30 min group activity 15 minutes - wrap up

To register for this event, please visit the OEN events page.

Backspace 115 Northwest 5th Ave. Portland, OR 97209-

Oregon is a utopia for beer, contributing more than $2.3 billion to the economy and employing more than 4700 employees. With 74 brewing companies (32 in Portland alone), operating 102 brewing facilities in 45 cities in Oregon, its no wonder that we are the envy of beer lovers everywhere (source: Oregon Brewers Guild).

Join OEN at the June PubTalk where 3 Oregon Beer-preneurs: Charlie Devereaux of Double Mountain, Irene Firmat of Full Sail and Jamie Floyd of Ninkasi Brewing will share their stories and answer your questions including:

What does it take to start a brewery?

Should I invest in a craft beer startup?

What’s the outlook for the industry?

A PubTalk™ in the truest sense - this is an event not to be missed!

Speakers

Charlie Devereux, Double Mountain Irene Firmat, Full Sail Brewing Company Jamie Floyd, Ninkasi Brewing

Please register for this event at the OEN events page

Member Registration: $15.00 Non Member registration: $25.00

309 SW Sixth Avenue (Ironstone Bank Conference Room) Portland, OR 97204-

Frank Helle, CEO of Axian, Inc., will lead an interactive discussion that will help entrepreneurs gain some insightful perspectives on Business Models. Come share your challenges, observations and successes with other CEOs of emerging businesses.

We all talk about business models but do we really understand what they are? In this session of the OEN CEO Roundtable, the group will discuss the different types of business models and delve into understanding which type may be the best fit for your company. You will also receive a high-level recap of the discussion from Frank.

Open only to CEOs or Presidents of currently operating companies that have employees. Boxed lunch will be served. This program is limited to 12 participants, and is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Speaker: Frank Helle, Axian, Inc. - www.axian.com

Frank Helle is CEO of Axian, Inc., a 20-year old privately-held web-services company creating collaboration portals and business intelligence (software & data). Prior to 2002 he was a senior global manager at Monsanto Company. During that career he lived in Brussels Belgium for 5 years managing manufacturing, engineering, and supply chain for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. He then lived in Singapore for 5 years as Asia-Pacific Managing Director for 3 Monsanto Divisions.

Frank's leadership helps organizations realize more of their full potential, and often focuses on turnarounds and turbo-charging growth.

Aside from positioning Axian to be "built to last," Frank mentors and coaches local CXOs to help them compete in the global marketplace and create more jobs in Oregon. Frank is an active Board Director of Oregon's Association for Corporate Growth as Chair Emeritus & Past-President, is an active Board Director of Oregon’s high tech trade association,Tech America, and is an active volunteer with the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network - chairing the CEO Roundtable.

"How can I better predict if my business will likely survive or fail? Is it possible to know in advance whether I'm going to beat the competition? How can I shape my business into a strategy that is more likely to succeed?"

As it turns out, relatively quiet empirical models have surfaced that begin to answer these questions with astonishing results. Pioneering this research, first at Intel and then at Harvard, Thomas Thurston has offered to share this fascinating work, the results, and the actionable implications for managers.

Thomas Thurston is President and Managing Director of Growth Science International, LLC. - www.growthsci.com

Outline: 2 hours 1 hour, 15 minutes - lecture (including Q&A and discussions) 30 min group activity 15 minutes - wrap up

An hour of time with an experienced attorney can sometimes run $400. Join us at OEN's 'Ask the Attorney' PubTalk on June 8th, 2011 and an hour of legal advice will only cost you the price of admission. We have put together a great panel of attorneys representing IP/Start Up, Corporate and Employment issues. Come by and bring those questions you have been dying to ask an attorney, as the event will include insights from our experienced panel, but also look to have an active Q&A element from the audience.

Moderator David Uslan, Perkins & Company

Panel Vicky Ballou, Tonkon Torp - IP Michael Phillips, Davis Wright Tremaine - Corporate Stacy Mark, Ater Wynne - Employment

Pre-Register and Save OEN members can save by pre-registering online. Online registration for this event closes Wednesday, April 13th at 12:00 pm. Please register at the door after that time, no discounts will be applied.

5-Minute Pitch PubTalk is a lively forum where very early-stage entrepreneurs from any industry get a chance to test their company pitch in front of an audience of their peers. Presenters and attendees alike, learn from the challenging questions, which test the presenting entrepreneur’s business model. Companies who would like to apply to present at an upcoming PubTalk can apply here: http://www.oen.org/5_minute_pitch.aspx.

Sponsors Ater Wynne Comcast Business Services

Are you thinking of starting a new company? Or already have, but sales aren't what you think they should be? Are you questioning your market's "readiness" for your products or services? Your company?

If you are concerned about market acceptance - and want to learn how to quickly ‘identify’ how well the market will receive your product, don't miss this webinar.

Mark Paul, Managing Director at Synergy Consulting Group and the author of The Entrepreneur's Survival Guide, will walk you through two (of the six) methods to help you determine if there is a market for your product or business - before you invest time and money developing products that may never be what the market wants.

Speaker: Mark Paul Mark Paul has extensive executive leadership experience. He has led start-ups through public companies in his 22 years in interim executive and consulting work. Before Synergy, he spent 10 years at Northrop Corporation (Global 500 company), where (as an intrapreneur) he built a 250-person business unit in two years. He has a degree in Physics, a patent, and published several editions of two business books: The Entrepreneur's Survival Guide, and How to Attract Significantly More Customers.

Sean Beers, CEO, Korkers Footwear and Bill Berta, CEO, Hi-Tec share their entrepreneurial insights that will help you develop new products with limited resources and market them with even fewer resources. What is the process for evaluating new markets? What is the process for creating new products? How do you take a product to market through a retail distribution channel? What is the most cost effective way to get noticed?

Find the answers to these questions and ask your questions directly to Sean and Bill during this interactive Live video webcast.

Sponsored by Brandlive.

To register, visit: http://www.oen.org/events.aspx?id=215

As an early stage entrepreneur looking for the first round of funding, one of the most daunting tasks may be determining the valuation of your company. In this workshop, we will cover the basics of valuing a seed or launch stage company, and answer some questions, such as:

* Who sets the valuation - the company or the investor?
* What does pre-money and post-money valuation mean? How do I calculate it?
* How do I value my company if we don’t yet have revenues?
* How do investors determine the valuation?
* How have valuations changed in the economic downturn?

We'll explain the terminology, demystify the math and explain some of the ways that valuation is set during the funding process. There will be plenty of time for Q&A, so come armed with your questions and be ready to participate in a lively discussion about valuing early stage companies.

$30 for OEN Members; $70 for non-members.

Speaker: Naomi Derner

Naomi Derner, CFA is the founder and managing director of Derner Valuation Consulting, where she values securities and intangible assets for companies at all stages of development, from startups to large public companies. Prior to 2008, she was a Vice President in the San Francisco office of Houlihan Lokey Howard and Zukin, where she performed and managed fairness opinions and the valuations of public and private securities as well as intangible assets. Ms. Derner has valuation experience across a wide variety of industries, and possesses specific expertise in technology and life sciences companies at all stages of development.

Prior to joining Houlihan Lokey, Ms. Derner was a senior analyst in the financial valuation services group at Arthur Andersen LLP, where she conducted valuations of public and private securities, closely held companies and intangible assets. Prior to joining Arthur Andersen, Ms. Derner held positions in the equity research department of NationsBanc Montgomery Securities covering financial institutions and in the financial analysis unit at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Ms. Derner holds the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst and is a candidate member of the American Society of Appraisers. She holds a bachelor’s degree in managerial economics from Carnegie Mellon University and a master’s degree in economics from the University of California Santa Barbara. She is a member of the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network, Software Association of Oregon, and Silicon Valley Fair Value Forum.

To register, visit: http://www.oen.org/events.aspx?id=216

OEN offers many ways for you to connect with the Portland entrepreneurial community and leverage your contacts to create success for your business. Come to our next event, meet other OEN members, and hear how you can use all of the benefits that are part of OEN membership from a veteran OEN member.

Need to learn how to develop a solid business plan? This seminar is for you. Join OEN at OTBC to attend the OEN Business Plan Development Seminar. It reviews all components of an effective, compelling business plan. You'll learn from two seasoned OEN experts why certain information is important and how your audience will evaluate what you present. Besides learning what is critical to include in an effective business plan, you'll take away valuable handouts and a listing of key resources.

Registration is required, and space is limited to 15 entrepreneurs.

Presenter: Steve Morris Steve Morris is the Executive Director of OTBC and the Managing Director of OregonStartups.com. He is a veteran of three start-ups, and has more than 25 years of management experience in the software, service, and semiconductor test industries at companies such as Hewlett Packard, Integrated Measurement Systems, Cadence Design Systems, Mentor Graphics, Credence Corporation and Teseda Corporation. He holds a B.A. in mathematics from Reed College and a Masters of Science degree from Carnegie-Mellon University Graduate School of Industrial Administration (now The Tepper School of Business).

When: Wednesday, September 7 Time: 4:00 - 6:15 PM Where: 8305 SW Creekside Place, Suite C, in Beaverton. OR 97008

Link to map: http://www.otbc.org/directions

Items For Purchase

Join OEN member companies for a ½ day of riverside restoration projects in partnership with SOLV. Network with your fellow OEN members while enjoying hands-on community service and team building for your employees. This is a great opportunity to build ties with fellow community-minded entrepreneurs.

Date: Saturday, September 17, 2011 Time & Location: TBD Cost: $100

(*Limited to 5 participants per OEN member company & OEN company-level membership required.)

What does it take to be an OENtrepreneur? An all OENcompassing vision. Unbridled OENthusiasm. Abundant OENergy. And the limitless capacity for starting--and restarting--an unprecedented OENdeavor in the face of daunting odds and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Join us Wednesday, September 21st at the Hilton Portland Downtown as we recognize this year's winners of the prestigious OEN Tom Holce Entrepreneurship Awards. These men and women are second to none in creating jobs, revitalizing our economy, and OENriching our community. And on top of everything else, it’s just a darn OENjoyable evening.

Registration Fees Earlybird: Until August 15, 2011 Individual seat: $175 Table of 10: $1700

Regular: August 15 – September 21, 2011 Individual seat: $195 Table of 10: $1900

Cancellation Policy: For cancellations before August 19th registrants will receive a refund. Sorry no refunds after that date.

Sponsors

Comcast Business Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt USI

Contact Us Do you have questions about registration or the event? Would you like to become an event sponsor? If so, contact the OEN Staff at [email protected] or via phone at 503-222-2270, and we'll be happy to assist you.

As a startup CEO, do you know the things your investors are monitoring to determine whether or not you get to keep your job? Some of them may be metrics from your official business plan, but many are not.

If you want your company to succeed, and for you to succeed along with it - know the 7 deadly sins to avoid - the 7 reasons why Boards replace the CEO - and then you’ll know how to avoid them. Gerry has had the pleasure of working with many successful start-up CEOs, and the duty along the way to part company with some who were not so successful. Get it straight from the VC's mouth...

Speaker: Gerry Langeler, OVP.

OEN offers many ways for you to connect with the Portland entrepreneurial community and leverage your contacts to create success for your business. Come to our next event, meet other OEN members, and hear how you can use all of the benefits that are part of OEN membership from a veteran OEN member.

OEN offers many ways for you to connect with the Portland entrepreneurial community and leverage your contacts to create success for your business. Come to our next event, meet other OEN members, and hear how you can use all of the benefits that are part of OEN membership from a veteran OEN member.