Lifetime Achievement

Eric Rosenfeld - October 2020

View video https://youtu.be/8VKOFUlZ2_8

The Technology Association of Oregon (TAO) was kind enough to present me with a lifetime achievement award, which is wonderful recognition of what we have all accomplished as a fund and community.

OVF is very grassroots in origin and nature - it was created by our community, for our community; a community of hundreds of investors, local entrepreneurs, and organizational partners, including TAO. What we’ve accomplished, we’ve accomplished together.

In 2006 when we proposed creating a collaborative, Oregon-focused venture fund, the idea was met with a fair bit of skepticism…

-       “1st of all, you can’t bootstrap a venture fund with just $1M in capital. The economics don’t pencil.”

-       Some lawyers said our collaborative model posed too much liability.

-       Accountants thought our annual venture-as-a-service subscription model too administratively complex.

-       Some thought our geographic focus on Oregon too narrow; that we wouldn’t find enough fundable startups.

-       Others said, “You can’t raise money in Oregon – there are only a few people with deep pockets…and unfortunately, they have short arms.”

Nevertheless, we followed the lean startup playbook and bootstrapped. 14 years later we’ve raised over $100 million and supported 66 local startups that have gone on to create over 4,000 jobs and $2.2 billion in combined market value.

I’m proud of the game-changing innovations pioneered and popularized by our fund that contribute to a highly rewarding investor and entrepreneur experience, reduced risk, and enhanced returns for all. Namely…

The Optional Capital Call – Borrowing from the SaaS business model, fund investors have the option, but not the obligation, to renew their participation annually. This places a constant onus on the fund to perform and communicate well. If Salesforce.com can take credit for pioneering the software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscription model then OVF should get credit for pioneering the venture-as-a-service (VaaS) subscription model.

Investing Local – Oregonians are famous for shopping local and eating local. OVF enables Oregonians to invest local.  

Harnessing the Power of Collaboration – Fund investors, 85% of whom have run or started a business, collaborate in small teams to help research, select, and support the portfolio. 

Making Venture Capital Accessible – With just a $50K minimum buy-in, the fund allows a broader and more diverse base of investors to affordably create a diversified portfolio of professionally managed venture investments.  

Free Ice Cream or Beer for Life – We’re the only venture fund promising its investors and entrepreneurs free ice cream or beer (you have to choose) for life when a fund generates a 10X return. Will be fun to see which companies get us there first! 

Congratulations on what we have all accomplished together in investing meaningfully, ambitiously, and locally!

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