Tag Archives: startup

2019 Bend Venture Conference: Raising Killer Dough

Conference Speaker Dave Dahl


2019 Bend Venture Conference Speaker: Dave Dahl

Creator & Co-Founder of Dave’s Killer Bread

Raising Killer Dough: How Dave Dahl Helped Build Dave’s Killer Bread

 

Dave Dahl is best known as the creator and co-founder of Dave’s Killer Bread. An inspirational figure, Dave once led a troubled past, having served over 15 years in prison prior to his business success. In 2015, Dave’s Killer Bread was sold to Flower Foods, the 2nd-largest bakery in the country for $275 million. Today, millions of people enjoy the #1 organic bread in America that bears his iconic cartoon-figure, guitar-strumming likeness.

Dave currently hosts the podcast “Felony Inc.” where he has candid conversations with formerly incarcerated entrepreneurs.

Dave’s overarching goal is to inspire and enable better people, businesses and communities—in his words, “to help anyone who is willing to do the work to enjoy the journey like I have…to create their own success story.”



2019 Bend Venture Conference: Robert Ricciardelli

Robert has had a successful career, with more than 30 years of executive sales and management experience in Fortune 200 companies. He has served as a coach, consultant and trusted advisor.

Currently, he is the Regional Consultant for TriNet, providing HR support and Technology for small and medium businesses. Additionally, he is also the founder of Converging Zone which inspires inclusivity and collaboration while being a catalyst for businesses and nonprofits to grow their communities. Previously, he was a talk show host and VP of sales for former Bend startup Choose Growth.

Robert is a networker and an experienced philanthropic adventurer. He resides in Seattle WA, with his wife Joyce.


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2019 Bend Venture Conference: Investing in Uncertain Times

BVC Speaker Bruce Abrams


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.


Speaker Bruce Cleveland


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.


Speaker Luke Kanies


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.


Speaker Patricia Moss


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.


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