OEN PubTalk - The Art of Bootstrapping May 12, 2010

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 Doeble of Reliable Remodeler.

Panelist Bios

Eli Alford-Jones
Eli Alford-Jones co-founded Paydici in 2008, an electronic payments company focused on the real estate industry. The company succeeded in building an early version of its product, as well as in commencing important strategic relationships while remaining a bootstrapped company. Eventually this traction led to Paydici's first round of funding. Prior to Paydici, Eli founded Campus Vortex, a time-sensitive online restaurant guide.

Eric Doeble, 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