SOREDI Hosts Jim Coonan at LAUNCH Ashland PubTalk, April 18

Medford OR – Tuesday, April 18, beginning at 5:30 pm, SOREDI’s LAUNCH Ashland will offer a Pub Talk for area start-ups at the Ashland Springs Hotel Ballroom. Jim Coonan, former Executive Director of Oregon RAIN will update the group on the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Oregon. This PubTalk is free to attend. Appetizers and tea will be provided at the event, with beer and wine available for purchase.

Jim Coonan recently retired from serving as the executive director of Oregon RAIN (Regional Accelerator & Innovation Network). He is also a successful entrepreneur, former CEO and an investor. Jim not only developed the structure and success metrics of the RAIN program, he previously served as the Venture Catalyst for Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO), SOREDI’s sister organization in Central Oregon.

As the first Venture Catalyst in Oregon, Jim helped advanced the entrepreneurial ecosystem in that region through efforts that included managing the Bend Venture Conference and developing regional entrepreneurial assets. He has been deeply involved in Oregon’s Angel and venture community, having previously served as chair of the Oregon Entrepreneurs’ Network (OEN), the largest entrepreneurship assistance organization in Oregon and Portland Angel Network (PAN). Jim has held leading roles in the development of the Oregon Angel Fund, Portland Seed Fund, FoundersPad Accelerator, Cascade Angels, OEN’s Oregon Initiative, OEN’s foundation, Oregon’s signature research centers, strategic partnership with Pacific Northwest National Labs (PNNL) and the Oregon University System and Oregon Inc. Jim has offered SOREDI mentoring and advice from the inception of our Southern Oregon Angel Investors Network and Conference.

As a small business leader, Jim is currently Chair of Peak Audio Group, and he is the former chairman and largest shareholder of Kentrox, LLC, and Hotel Software Systems, Ltd. He also served as CEO and chairman of Portland’s OECO Corporation. Jim serves as an advisor to several Oregon funds including Mount Hood Equity Partners and Northwest Technology Ventures. Previously, Jim served in executive marketing positions for Van de Kamp’s Frozen Foods, The Pillsbury Company and General Mills, Inc.

About SOREDI: SOREDI is a private non-profit organization, funded by its members and governed by a board of directors. Its seven-person staff is charged with local business expansion and new business recruitment efforts, financial assistance to start-up companies, through its business loan fund and management of Enterprise Zones in Jackson and Josephine Counties. The agency was formed as a regional economic development agency in 1987. Learn more at www.soredi.org.

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