Moretto

When Nouvola cofounder and CEO Paola Moretto took the stage Friday at the Bend Venture Conference, it wasn’t the first time she pitched her company to investors, nor her first investment competition.

But it was the first time Moretto and her cofounder, Paola Rossaro, walked away winners, earning a $250,000 investment for their startup company.

“It’s all about commitment and having the right level of perseverance to get to your objective,” she said, noting she previously competed in two conferences.

The Portland-based company, which started in June 2012, helps small- to medium-sized companies scale their applications, such as social networks, websites, gaming platforms, e-commerce sites and other software, for higher traffic in the cloud.

Six concept-stage companies from Central Oregon and five launch-stage finalists from around the state presented to an audience of more than 400 at the Tower Theatre.

Independent investors, combined with a $50,000 match from the Oregon State Treasury’s Oregon Growth Account and $25,000 in matching investment from The Oregon Community Foundation, funded the launch-stage competition purse. And for a second year, investors gathered additional funds to award another launch-stage company, The Flybook LLC, a $65,000 investment during the awards presentation at the Liberty Theater, 849 N.W. Wall St.

Ochoco Arms, a Prineville company with a patented laser-sighting system for firearms, won the $10,000 concept-stage competition, sponsored by BendBroadband. And Syndical, a Portland company that has created an online events publishing system, won a new, $1,500 award.

Launch-stage panelist Caroline Cummings predicted Nouvola would take home the big prize.

“My top choice would be Nouvola and that would be because I think they have the biggest scalable opportunity right now,” said Cummings, who is also the vice president of business development for Eugene-based Palo Alto Software. “When I look at all five of the companies, I think, ‘Who could I use today, or who could I refer someone to today?’ and that’s one of the companies.”

In addition, Cummings said, Moretto has come a long way since she presented and was passed over at the Willamette Angel Conference in Eugene about a year ago.

“She’s had a lot of traction and improvement since, and that’s one of the things investors look for, ‘Can you improve? Are you coachable?’ and she’s proven that.”

But Cummings, a conference attendee the past six years, said each year the quality of pitches at the conference continues to improve. She attributed that progress to the local support system for entrepreneurs, including Economic Development for Central Oregon, the conference organizer, investors, experienced entrepreneurs who are willing to mentor new startups and the Bend accelerator FoundersPad.

Moretto agreed, adding she graduated from FoundersPad in July and is in discussions about a possible investment through Seven Peaks Ventures, another Bend-based venture capital fund.

Rossaro said Bend has become a home away from home, and the company may someday open an office in Bend.

“We’ve always considered Bend as a place to grow as a company,” Rossaro said. “We will be looking for talent and we know that Bend is growing into a place, an ecosystem, where the talent will grow.”