Oregon is to consumer goods what the Bay Area is to technology

The genesis of the Built Up Festival

“Why don’t we launch an event in Oregon that can evolve into the SXSW of consumer products?”

It’s a simple question really.

But it’s one that set in motion a series of gatherings, talks, and strategy sessions on how such an event could come into being. Those discussions included community, business, government, capital, design, and not-for-profit leaders — all people whose insights and knowledge were invaluable to us.

It was built (ahem) on the strong beliefs that:

• Oregon is to consumer goods what the Bay Area is to technology — a vital center of opportunity and innovation.
• The development of these products, from food to footwear, provides opportunities for founders in every demographic and every region in Oregon.
• Our state has become a beacon for those looking to launch new companies because of the collaborative opportunities, the ready access to experienced talent, and the large number of established companies.
• Our unique state is home to natural areas and resources that allow for the testing of gear, bountiful harvests, and predisposed consumers.

Thus, we are launching the Built Up Festival this year. Our vision? To become the focal point for consumer goods in the United States. A meeting place where innovative, emerging, and established companies mingle with capital players and buyers — both domestic and foreign. A place where the light will shine brightly upon Oregon, be it for company awareness or economic development perspective or competitive advantage.

We know this is a long-term vision. With a long road ahead of us. We see ourselves as the vehicle—rather than the drivers of the success of this event. Our primary focus as an organization is supporting and connecting the Oregon consumer products community. So in year one, we are looking to create the foundation upon which we can build even more, year after year.

We are in the process of organizing two and a half days of activities that will include an opening reception, thought discussions that will dive into the opportunities and challenges of the industries, inspiring talks, a marketplace, and a one-of-a-kind closing celebration that will reveal products developed through brand mash ups that could only happen in Oregon.

But as with everything we’ve done at Built Oregon, we want this to be a community driven and evolve in a ways that makes the most sense for the industry. To that end, below are some of the elements we are looking to incorporate and ways that companies and industry leaders can get involved.

Stories

We started Built Oregon knowing that the stories we tell could help bridge regions and industries, and nothing about we are doing going forwards is going to change that aspect of our organization. We are going to do our best, working with partners, to get as many companies and founders from around the state to participate. But we are also keenly aware that participating may not be feasible for a lot of people. Therefore we are going to have ways to tell as many stories as we can leading up to and during the event. Your voices, success and challenges need to be heard even if you cannot share those in person.

Community Events

Much like a Portland Startup Week, we are encouraging people to host an event leading up to the festival. These events can be talks about anything from product innovation to sustainability in consumer products and onto access to capital, lean manufacturing and retail strategies.

We will host an event calendar so you can not only see events that interests you, but also allow you to add yours to the mix.

Industry Discussions

While our aim is to make this as much of a celebration as possible, we also want to include discussions around the industry. These discussions will allow industry leaders and support organizations the opportunity to have open lines of communication, and most importantly, provide Built Oregon with feedback and direction on what to focus on as we roll out programs throughout the year.

Marketplace

Come one, come all. We are going to host a marketplace that highlights and celebrates the diverse product mix of Oregon and work hard to bring retail buyers to participate too. Open to the public and business is the philosophy around this element of the event. If you are interested in participating in the marketplace as either a vendor or buyer, please let us know via the form on the event website.

Brand Mash Ups

The brand mash ups is an element that we are excited about, which is probably due to the fact that it combines everything we love; community, collaboration, design, and innovation. The idea is to pair up 3–5 brands to work together on a product or campaign idea. The brands will announce their product concept during the festival and if they decide to make it based on feedback, a percentage of all sales will go to a network of statewide not for profit organizations.

Built Oregon is a not-for-profit with a mission focused on the consumer product companies throughout Oregon. We know the things we make support and sustain who we are. We are also under no illusion that the Built Up Festival is going to be anything near a SXSW or Web Summit any time soon.

But you have to start somewhere.

As an organization, the founders of Built Oregon are firmly behind taking the steps to lay the foundation upon which to build an event that expands in ways that makes sense for Oregon, and the companies within our state.

If you are interested in participating in any of the above activities, please fill out the form on the event website or send a note directly to builtup[at]builtoregon.com.

An let’s have some fun…. I mean, the logo combines Oregon, stitches, and beer — so we are off to a good start, right?

Interested in reading more? Check out our next post: Built Up Festival: Continuing the conversation.