FREE RESOURCES

View our free tools and webinars online.

Common Startup Mistakes 

Are you launching or growing a startup company? Are you seeking investment?
In this webinar, you’ll learn about:
  • Sharing stock with co-founders
  • Getting investment under current securities laws
  • Making use of regulation crowdfunding to raise money
  • Complying with tax provisions
  • Using template contracts.

The webinar was  hosted by OSU-Cascades Co-Lab online and is now available for viewing online. Slides are available for download.

The Truth About Intellectual Property

Do you want to know more about patents, copyrights, trademarks, or trade secrets and how to use them? Do you want to want to know what is worth pursuing and what is not?
In this webinar, you’ll learn about:
  • Common misconceptions of intellectual property (IP);
  • What a patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret are;
  • How you get them and how much you should expect to pay;
  • What they are useful for and what they are not;
  • Common mistakes that founders make regarding intellectual property;
  • How to get help from others in building your invention, software, or product without losing your IP
  • How to protect your IP when working with other companies or employees.

The webinar was  hosted by OSU-Cascades Co-Lab online and is now available for viewing online. Slides are available for download.

Funding Blitz

Are you interested in funding for your idea, invention, startup, or small business? Once a year, the OSU-Cascades Co-Lab hosts a free “Funding Blitz” where you can learn about 50+ ways to get funding.

On March 27th 2020 the Executive Director of the Co-Lab held a free webinar about:

  • Government grants for entrepreneurs;
  • Grants for women, minority, and underserved entrepreneurs
  • The three types of crowdfunding and how to use them;
  • Private sources of seed funding, angel funding, and venture funding;
  • Bank and debt-based sources of funding;
  • Available funding from Business Oregon;
  • A new(ish) source of funding called Revenue Share Agreements;
  • Commonly overlooked sources of funding for equipment and infrastructure; 
  • Government guarantees, and how to use them to your advantage.

The webinar was  hosted by OSU-Cascades Co-Lab online and is now available for viewing online. Slides are available for download.

The Pitch Prep Workbook 

Describing your idea to a customer or investor can be be tough.  What do you tell them? What don’t you tell them? How much should you tell them?
To help businesses and nonprofits succeed, we’ve created a short workbook to help you develop your pitch quickly.  In the workbook, you’ll learn:
  • How to write an elevator pitch
  • How to write your one sentence pitch
  • How to write your hero pitch for your website
  • How to write a pitch deck for investors
  • How to answer difficult questions from investors and pitch competition judges (with 14 pages of sample questions)

This document is provided as Google Doc so you may copy it, edit it, or download it to open it as a Word Document or PDF.

Event Planning Template

When you plan an event or conference, you have numerous decisions to make and details to define.  To help you get started, we provide a free template which includes:
  • Sample Agenda
  • Session Information/Description
  • Breakout Session or Panel Discussion Agenda
  • List of Locations in Central Oregon for Events, Conferences, or Meetings

This document is provided as Google Doc so you may copy it, edit it, or download it to open it as a Word Document or PDF.

Webinar for Startups:

Have you ever wondered what sources of funding are out there for your nonprofit or what you could be missing?  This slide deck reviews:
  • How to overcome the “Valley of Death” and funding gaps
  • Grants 
  • Family, Friends, and Founders Funds
  • Crowdfunding through micro-equity, micro-debt, and pre-purchases (Kickstarter campaigns)
  • Seed Funding from Investors
  • Debt Financing for equipment, operations,
  • Angel and Venture Capital

Webinar for Nonprofits:

Have you ever wondered what sources of funding are out there for your nonprofit or what you could be missing?  This slide deck reviews:
  • What you’ll need to Fundraise
  • Common myths of Fundraising
  • Overlooked sources of Funding
  • Grant funding sources
  • Online fundraising
  • Offline fundraising
  • Days of Giving and Events
  • Corporate Sponsorship and In-Kind Opportunities
  • Sales of Products and Services
  • Partnership Opportunities

Automate Your Life:

Event in Bend

How to use "no-code" apps to build a better home life, an easier job, or more efficient business or nonprofit.

Have you ever wondered how to build a simple software application without hiring an outside developer? This presentation covers:
  • A bookings calendar to deal with meetings with Calendly or YouCanBook.me
  • A Beautifully responsive site using Webflow
  • Ecommerce shop with Shopify or WordPress
  • Facebook Messenger bot for your shop powered by Octane AI
  • Web app using Bubble
  • Mobile app with Thunkable
  • Voice app using Voiceflow
  • Complex web app combining Zapier and Airtable
  • Simple single page website with Carrd
  • Paid newsletter with Substack
  • AR/VR/3D experience in your browser with Scapic
  • Online magazine hosted by Readymag
  • Turn a Google Sheet into a website with Sheet2Site
  • Internal dashboards and tools with Retool
  • Maker communities that you can access

 

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

Virtual collaborative events

Lessons from Graduates of the School of Hard Knocks:

Please join Opportunity Knocks and OSU-Cascades Innovation Co-Lab for a virtual event with current and former high profile CEO’s, Amy Tykeson, Connie Druliner, Gary Fish, Scott Allan & Teague Hatfield as they provide wisdom and insight on how to survive, lead and communicate during challenging times. The Event was moderated by Adam Krynicki & Donna Britt with opportunities for guests to submit questions.

Marketing Your Business During a Crisis:

Co-hosted by Opportunity Knocks and the OSU-Cascades Innovation Co-Lab

Sponsored by:
Bend Broadband
SGA
Five Talent
Bryant, Lovlien, and Jarvis
Bend Magazine
BBSI

Is it Time to Pivot Your Company?

Pivoting a company’s business model is not new. It has been an integral part of business innovation for many years. Some companies are forced to pivot defensively because their original models are doomed. Other companies pivot proactively when they see opportunities to change the competitive environment and seize an advantage. What’s your pivot?

Startup Checklist:

The Oregon Startup Checklist is a centralized, online resource that helps entrepreneurs find help, funding, and tools.  Unlike traditional business books that can be hundreds of pages long, this document is an intense, 20+ page look at what it takes to start and grow a business. Unlike blogs and other online resources, it covers a wide variety of topics all in one place.  It’s updated almost everyday with new links and information.

Additionally, this document includes information about:

  • Where can entrepreneurs learn about registering a business in Oregon?
  • Where can an entrepreneur get help?
  • What funding is available for startups?
  • Where can entrepreneurs find more information about hiring employees?
  • What are some regulatory issues that Oregon startups need to address, and where can entrepreneurs find more information about them?
  • Where can entrepreneurs find out more information about taxes?
  • Where can people find information about local events for innovators and entrepreneurs?
  • And many more.

This document is provided as Google Doc so you may copy it, edit it, or download it to open it as a Word Document or PDF.