OVF 2025 Annual Meeting
April 2025
Lynn Fletcher
The Oregon Venture Fund's 2025 Annual Meeting this week brought together the fund’s entrepreneurs and investors for company updates, thoughtful conversations, and shared connection — we are grateful to everyone who joined us. This year's meeting was a fun celebration of our community’s achievements and milestones and also a testament to the vibrant, collaborative spirit that fuels innovation and growth in our region.
The meeting featured performance and impact updates, our Community Giving Fund award, company updates, fireside chats, and inspiring conversations. A few highlights…
Keynote & Co-host:
Lisa Mensah, CEO of the Oregon Community Foundation emphasized the importance of community-driven growth and the impact of our collective efforts to foster a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Company Updates:
Jessica Murrey, CEO of Wicked Saints, inspired everyone with her vision of using storytelling and media to drive social change and empower young women. World Reborn, a story game for teens/young adults, is now available on a soft launch to demo. We encourage you to explore it in the app store. We invite you to read more about the company and why we invested here and in the featured company section of our website here.
Lauren Schneider CCO & co-founder at TrovaTrip captivated the audience with her passion for creating transformative travel experiences that open minds by connecting people and cultures. Please read more about the company and why we invested here and in the featured company section of our website here.
Ryan Comingdeer CEO at Platformr shared the business’ focus to streamline operations and enhance business efficiency for companies utilizing AWS and CloudOps. Learn more about the company and why we invested here.
Toban Zolman from Kivo addressed the significance and complexity of document management for regulatory, clinical, and quality teams. Kivo accelerates drug discovery by simplifying the complex process of document collection and collaboration. They are helping biotech teams stay focused on innovation instead of administration. Kivo’s solution streamlines processes and brings life science software into the 21st century. Discover more about the company and why we invested here.
Fireside Chats:
Colin Nederkoorn, CEO of Customer.io, provided an update and shared insights on the value of bringing AI into growth companies. Even with the company's tremendous growth, he emphasized the need for AI to be incorporated into all functions. Learn more here in the featured company section of our website.
Scott Clark, CEO of Distributional highlighted the importance and power of AI, and the need to make AI safe, reliable, and secure. Explore further and discover why we invested here.
Marty Kagan, CEO of Hydrolix, humbly spoke about the company's impressive growth [8X year-over-year] and the impact their data management solutions are providing to customers. Please read more here in the featured company section of our website.
Sam Kolbert-Hyle CEO of Brandlive closed the session with an inspiring and intimate talk revealing the journey of Brandlive over the last few years.
Their words resonated deeply with us and underscored the importance of vision, resilience, and collaboration.
OVFie Awards & OVF Community Giving Fund:
We recognized investors receiving the coveted crystal OVFie Awards for their many contributions to the fund and our venture community, and to Lauren Schneider and team at TrovaTrip for their civic engagement and leadership. In appreciation, the Oregon Venture Fund Giving Fund is contributing $2,500 in TovaTrip’s honor to the charity of their choice: Oregon NOW. Read more about the OVF Community Giving Fund here.
With Gratitude:
As we look to the future, we are filled with optimism and excitement. The Oregon Venture Fund is committed to continuing its support for visionary entrepreneurs and fostering an environment where innovative ideas can flourish. We believe that the collaborative efforts of our community will lead to even greater successes in the coming year. We are profoundly grateful for the dedication and enthusiasm of everyone involved. Your contributions are the backbone of our success, and we are excited to embark on this journey of growth and innovation together.
We are especially thankful to the Oregon Community Foundation for co-hosting the event and being a driving force in our local community. Your unwavering support and commitment to fostering growth and development have been invaluable.
Thank you for being part of this incredible community. Together, we will continue to drive progress, unlock new opportunities, and make a lasting impact on our region and beyond.