2019 Bend Venture Conference: Investing in Uncertain Times
2019 Bend Venture Conference Speaker: Matt Abrams
General Partner, Seven Peaks Ventures
Winter is Coming: Startups & Investing in Uncertain Times
Matt is a General Partner with Seven Peaks Ventures with primary focus areas and expertise in: Enterprise Data & Analytics; Artificial (AI) & Machine Intelligence; and Information + Data Trust, Integrity and Security.
He also focuses heavily on Augmented Reality (AR), Blockchain and Quantum technologies and spends a significant amount of time within the healthcare sector. Matt also serves as an Innovation strategy & technology advisor to Enterprise, Governmental and Healthcare organizations. In addition, he currently serves on the board of Northwestern’s Master’s of Science in Analytics (MSiA) program as well as the Cyber Security Analysis Center (CSAC), an organization partnering with a network of academic institutions and select private sector entities focused on helping solve the threats faced by rural and underfunded critical infrastructure organizations.
2019 Bend Venture Conference Speaker: Bruce Cleveland
Founding Partner Wildcat Venture Partners
Winter is Coming: Startups & Investing in Uncertain Times
Bruce Cleveland is a Founding Partner at Wildcat where he focuses on early-stage software startups that enable digital transformation across business, government, and education markets. Bruce enjoys working with companies that use technology and data to increase revenue and decrease costs. He is interested in growing entrepreneurial hubs outside of Silicon Valley, with a particular focus on the Pacific Northwest. Bruce also is committed to sharing his knowledge and experience through the Traction Gap Framework®, which helps entrepreneurs navigate the critical go-to-market period between initial product release (IPR) and reaching minimal viable traction (MVT). Previously, he founded GreenFig, held senior executive roles with companies such as Apple, AT&T, Oracle and Siebel Systems. Bruce’s last operational role was as a member of the founding executive team of Siebel Systems, where he served as senior vice president and general manager of Marketing and Products. In this role, Forbes and IDC credited him with creating the most effective B2B alliance program in the software industry.
2019 Bend Venture Conference Speaker: Luke Kanies
Founder and Executive Chair, Puppet
Winter is Coming: Startups & Investing in Uncertain Times
Founder and former CEO of Puppet, Luke started the company because he figured he’d be better off failing to start a software company than successfully getting an MBA. He grew it to 500 people and more than $50m in revenue, helping to start the DevOps movement along the way. Since stepping down from Puppet, he has been researching and writing at http://lukekanies.com/ about tools, venture capital, and crypto.
2019 Bend Venture Conference Speaker: Patricia Moss
Former CEO, Vice Chairman, Cascades Bancorp, Bank of the Cascades
Winter is Coming: Startups & Investing in Uncertain Times
Patricia served as CEO of Cascade Bancorp and Bank of the Cascades from 1998 to 2012, previous to that time she served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer.
She currently serves as a board member of First Interstate Bank Systems, (FIBK), MDU Resources (MDU) and as a trustee to funds under the Aquila Group of Funds. She currently serves on the Oregon Investment Council and recently served on the Oregon Growth Board. She has served on several public boards and one private company board, ranging from banking, mutual funds, natural resources, health care, utilities and construction as well as multiple non-profit boards.
Patricia’s active involvement in local organizations is evidence of her strong commitment to community leadership. She has served as a board member or chairman for Central Oregon Community College, St. Charles Medical Center, Bend Chamber of Commerce, Greater Bend Rotary, United Way, and Central Oregon Regional Advisory Board for Higher Education, Oregon State University Advisory Board, Oregon Ethics in Business and participated in several other community roles and fundraising campaigns.
She and her husband, Greg, have been fortunate to live and raise their family in Bend, OR for more than 40 years; they are outdoors enthusiasts and cyclists.
