Two startup companies out of five from the region remain in the running to compete in next month’s Angel Oregon investment conference.

If the two companies make the cut on Monday, they will be named finalists and compete April 17 in Portland.

Nick Clattenburg, founder of the holographic-technology company ARInteractive, and Carol Doyel, founder of Sisters-based Living Better at 50+, are competing in the concept stage, a competition for companies with an idea and basic business plan. ARInteractive is currently located in The Dalles, but Clattenburg plans to move it to Bend.

The Oregon Entrepreneurs Network, which puts on Angel Oregon, would not release the list of remaining companies Friday. But the three other Central Oregon companies who made it to the semi-finals confirmed they are no longer in the competition.

Even if they didn’t make it to finals, participation in the state’s first, and one of the biggest, investment conferences still benefits new companies, said Ruth Lindley, marketing manager for Economic Development for Central Oregon, which manages the Bend Venture Conference.

Each investment event has different criteria and different investors, she said, so EDCO encourages local entrepreneurs to attend other conferences throughout the state.

“We hear over and over from Bend Venture Conference participants that the experience is valuable whether they win or not,” she said. “They get all the coaching help leading up to their final presentation. They learn how to present in front of a large audience, and when there’s a Q-and-A they get to learn how to think on their feet.”

The investors often provide feedback, she said, and the entrepreneurs get to build their investment network.

Bart Mitchell, co-founder of Bend-based GoodKid! Foods, agreed.

“We weren’t selected (to compete for the finals), but we accomplished our goal,” he said. “It was about honing our business plan and getting the opportunity to meet with business mentors.”

Clattenburg said Angel Oregon isn’t his first investment conference, and probably won’t be his last.

“You get different crowds each time, so you’re able to generalize your presentations as much as possible, and you also get to refine it for a certain kind of conference,” he said.

Clattenburg declined an invitation to apply for the Bend Venture Conference last year. He wanted to “refine his pitch and business plan” first, he said. However, he hopes to compete at Bend’s conference this year and eventually move his business to the city.

“It seems like a town where people would want to come live in, so it would be good when trying to attract talent,” he said.