Corvallis is home to Oregon State University, whose Austin Entrepreneurship Program attracts innovators from around the globe for a mixture of fellowships and seminars. Off-campus, events like the Willamette Angel Conference have been showcasing early-stage and seed businesses since 2009, pairing investors with ventures in fields ranging from engineering to pharmaceuticals.
But it's environmental technology that has become Corvallis' calling card. Perpetua Power Source Technologies, a portable renewable-energy technology that uses body heat to charge batteries, is drawing attention, as is Zaps Technologies, a water-quality monitor for municipalities.
Zaps began with research conducted at OSU, as did more than a dozen other startups that have raised $160 million in capital since 2003. And the university's Office for Commercialization and Corporate Development keeps pumping out more: There are currently seven startups in development, in businesses ranging from firewall software to gene synthesis.