Hydro Flask Announced as May IDEA Talk Speaker

The Klamath IDEA (Inspire Development, Energize Acceleration) will host the final IDEA Talk of the season on Wednesday, May 16, 5:30 to 8 p.m. at MC’s on Main. This month’s Big IDEA featured speaker is Scott Allan, of the Bend, Ore., sensation Hydro Flask!

“We are so excited to close out our 2017-2018 season with Scott Allen. Scott’s background is great and I know hearing the story of a successful company so close to home will be very interesting,” said Kat Rutledge, leader of the Klamath IDEA.

Allan became president and CEO of Hydro Flask in June 2012 and subsequently set the company’s successful premium brand strategy. Over the next few years, Hydro Flask was twice named to the Inc. 500 and Outside Magazine’s Top 100 Places to Work, and Allan was named the 2015 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Pacific Northwest. When Hydro Flask was acquired by Helen of Troy in March 2016, Allan was retained as general manager responsible for the strategy and continued global growth of the business.

Allan previously spent 15 years in various roles in Silicon Valley, including commercializing Apple Pay technology, as vice president/general manager of the Motorola Solutions payment and kiosk business, and as COO for a Silicon Valley payment and cloud-based services venture. He also served as CEO of TriniTEQ, a handheld restaurant ordering system developer.

Allan serves on the board of Cairn, an outdoor products monthly subscription service, the advisory board of Sudara, a social enterprise offering vibrant India-sourced apparel, and the advisory board of the No Bake Cookie Company.

Allan earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University. He enjoys mountain biking, snowboarding, golfing, surfing, and traveling with his wife Annie and four children.

“If you want to learn something about being an entrepreneur, this is the guy to tell you about it,” Rutledge said. “And don’t forget that the first 30 people who sign in and pay get a free tumbler, courtesy of Hydro Flask!”

Klamath IDEA is a community initiative, supported by both entrepreneurs and economic development partners and dedicated to the development of a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in the South Central Oregon.

The 2017-2018 season has been generously sponsored by Klamath Community College and the KCC Small Business Development Center.

IDEA Talks are gatherings designed as networking opportunities for those with an entrepreneurial mindset, and who are interested in learning, networking, and being inspired. Each gathering features one or more guest speakers discussing an inspirational or educational entrepreneurial-related topic. IDEA Talks bring together entrepreneurs of all ages, founders, business owners, innovators and support organizations under one roof to hear about and discuss opportunities, needs, and great ideas for starting a business, expanding a business, or getting support in the process.

“We believe entrepreneurship and innovation are the keys to reshaping the economic foundation of our region and these Talks are about getting people out and participating in that change,” Rutledge said.

This is the last IDEA Talk of the season, but the events will return in the fall with a new line-up of speakers and networking opportunities.

MC’s on Main is located at 617 Main St. in downtown Klamath Falls. Light refreshments, prepared by MC’s on Main, will be available, as well as a no-host bar. Networking begins at 5:30 p.m. and the presentation starts at 6 p.m. Admission is $5 (cash only) at the door. The admission fee helps sustain the Klamath IDEA initiative.

Press release provided from Klamath Community College & Klamath IDEA.