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Andrea Bouma waited near the stage at the Bend Venture Conference, her cheeks flushed. She clutched a handful of note cards. She was preparing to stand in front of hundreds of people and pitch her business idea.

“Oh my goodness! Just getting the jitters out,” Bouma said, doing a little nervous jig. “I’m really excited to get in front of this crowd and share the Radventure story.”

Radventure is Bouma’s startup company. “It’s like the AirBnB for outdoor recreation,” she explained. “It’s a peer-to-peer marketplace that connects travelers and locals to have customized outdoor adventures.” The idea is that tourists can pay a local mountain biker or cross country skier a fee to take them on their favorite trail.

She was competing against five other entrepreneurs for a $15,ooo prize, voted in by the audience.



This competition is a big deal for Bouma. Like a lot of young entrepreneurs, she’s building her business with sweat equity.



“The 15K would mean a lot to Radventure,” she said. She needs those dollars to beef up Radventure’s web interface, and for marketing. “The stakes are very high for us.”

Bend markets itself as a destination for outdoor recreation. But it’s also turning into a city for startups. Economic Development for Central Oregon, or EDCO, hosts the Bend Venture Conference, which brings together entrepreneurs, businesses, and investors. This year the event’s startup prize was increased to $15,000, from $10,000 in 2014.

Bouma was up against five entrepreneurs with diverse companies, which had already been vetted and had survived two early rounds of competition. There was a retired fellow who make a product called the “Debooter,” to help skiers remove snow boots. There was SnoPlanks, run by two young Bend residents who make bamboo snowboards for riding on powder snow. And then, there was Airfit.

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“We are a new concessionaire company going into airports,” said 31-year-old Tyler Manegold, CEO of Airfit. “We’re putting gym and shower facilities in terminals behind security, because we believe travel days don’t mean compromising your health.”

Airfit has set its sights on JFK International Airport in New York. But to open up its first gym, the comapny needs at least a $450,000 investment.

“It’s a lot of money,” Manegold admitted. “A lot of it will be financed through equity ownership.”

Manegold attended the Bend Venture Conference to grab the attention of investors. He’d love to win the competition for the $15,000. “But there’s also a lot of marketing that comes from presenting. So that’s what we’re really excited about.”

Startups don’t have to be based in Bend to attend the venture conference. But both Airfit and Radventure chose the city as their headquarters. Right now, there are at least 80 start ups in the community, even though Bend is not close to resources that are conducive to building a business, like I-5 or a major airport.

So why do entrepreneurs pick Bend?



“Lifestyle,” said Brian Vierra, venture catalyst with EDCO. He says people do business differently in Central Oregon.

“You take off on a Friday afternoon to go mountain biking,” he said. “And that’s what your boss is probably doing as well. It’s kind of more of a laid-back attitude. But at the same time, you get the job done.”



Vierra said business owners find a way to overcome the challenges of being geographically remote. Often, they’re new residents who are determined to live in Central Oregon.

“People make a conscious decision to come here, and I think that that’s important and common between a lot of the people that are starting companies here,” he said.

At the venture conference, Ty Manegold wore a suit and had slick hair as he prepared to pitch Airfit in front of the 400-person audience.



“Part of me is a little bit nervous mainly due to the fact that it’s such a large audience, while part of what we’re doing is presenting our business idea and business model, it’s also a performance,” he said. “So there’s some pressure.”



Manegold recited his pitch like a well-rehearsed monologue, and the audience responded with hearty applause. Following Airfit, two other companies made their pitches. Finally, it was Bouma’s turn to present Radventure.

Bouma was confident and enthusiastic. Like all the CEOs pitching, she had to be multi-talented. Not only did she have to have a great idea and solid business plan, she had to be likable. And CEOs had to condense their idea into three-minutes.

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Bouma came off the stage beaming. “I have so much adrenaline going through my body right now,” she said. She felt like she got a great audience response.

“I also got a card as I was walking out from a VC firm, so that’s exciting,” she said, her hands shaking with energy. “I will be calling immediately. Once I calm down a little bit.”

Manegold was less wound up after his pitch.

“I think, looking at the audience, that they might understand what we’re trying to do, but they might not personally use the service themselves,” Manegold said. Airfit’s service targets millennial travelers, and many at the conference participants were older.

A few hours later everyone crowded into a big room for the awards. Bouma’s hand’s were clasped in front of her chest.

“Please pick up us, please pick us!” she whispered, as the announcer opened an envelope.

“And the winner of the 2015 Bend Broadband business early stage competition is SnoPlanks,” said the announcer. The crowd erupted in applause.

The bamboo snowboard company accepted an over sized check. Manegold clapped for the two winning executives, but he looked disappointed. “It was still a good experience,” he said. “This is what you have to do. You have to have a thick skin and get fifty nos for one yes.”

“I’m definitely feeling a little deflated but still very encouraged about the connections we’ve made here,” Bouma said. “You know, the SnoPlanks guys have a strong following. They’ve been nothing but genuine to me and we’re all part of the outdoor industry here. Got a big hug from them as they came by. Hopefully some of the connections we’ve made here will pay off.”



One of the conference organizers told said later that SnoPlanks won by about twenty votes, but wouldn’t reveal which company came in second.

Both Bouma and Manegold said they’ll press on with their business plans. After learning they had not won the big check, both entrepreneurs headed back into the crowd. There were more hands to shake, business cards to exchange, and potential investors to meet before the day ended.