OUR CLIENTS

ChehalemVIA is currently helping startups in the software, hardware, manufacturing, food production, technical education, and human services industries. We’re even advising a couple of regional precision agriculture initiatives. All of our clients share one thing in common: they are passionate about their vision/company, they know that they “…don’t know what they don’t know,” and they want to learn and grow.

With dozens of clients under our belt, some off and running, some stalled, some exited, and some underway, we count all of them as successes. Already, we’ve experienced classic examples of startup outcomes. One startup ran out of credit card funds forcing one founder to take a job in another state and the other founder to pivot to a different use of their intellectual property. Another startup got to the Series A funding round and halted, its founders unable to agree on equity and ownership. Several proto-startups interviewed with us and decided they didn’t want to found a small business – too much work and risk. Another founder pitched our advisory team and decided their product wasn’t really a product – after paying out of pocket to travel the investor pitch circuit, only to be told “…great idea! We love your deck. Great presentation. Come back and try again!” We’ve always hoped to have local students graduate (from high school or college) and try their hand at entrepreneurship. We were close with a George Fox University team that develop a unique mobility device for wheelchair and walker users, but as graduating engineers, they chose to take a job, not start a business. And then there are the startups that launched: Fidgetech, Incusense, Mt. Angel Sodas, Remnant Initiatives, and Kratos are off and running. And we have several clients still in the the pre-launch phase. One has a unique solution for commercial cookware and the other has a highly specialized system for food production companies.

Some clients come to us for facilities and high-speed Internet. One of our high-tech clients used ChehalemVIA as the quarterly meeting place for principals traveling from different locales. A current client needed a place for staff and Vista volunteers and another needed access to a secure workspace, 24-7. And then there are the companies that apply for funding that requires letters of support. One of our region’s most successful software companies is undertaking a statewide goal to provide a robust, open-source, ERP system for small manufacturing businesses and we helped them get funding from the state – and introduced them to their first implementation customer.

What about funding? We can help with that, but investors don’t invest in pitch-decks and 1-pagers with cool infographics that “…tell the story.”  They invest in companies that can demonstrate that they can achieve. We are the practice investor round. We can get you ready. First, let’s get you launched and accelerating.

Will we produce a proverbial unicorn? Who cares. Not our mission/purpose. Our clients are small businesses with big ideas. We’re here to help them achieve their vision.