Portland Oregon startups, tech, news, events, jobs, and community

It’s one of those days where Silicon Florist posts are reaffirming my faith in Portland. And in Portland’s effervescent humanity and empathy. (Ha! Like that’s not every single day…?) Especially when it comes to making the web and technology more accessible. And along those lines, here’s a Portland dream that just will not quit: you’ve got a computer sitting there, mostly idle, quietly burning electricity — and somewhere across town or the globe someone needs exactly that compute and can’t get it without renting it from some hyperscaling giant. So what if you could just lend it to them…? Like SETI@home of the days of yore…?

I always love Portland ideas that take that whole original ethos of the World Wide Web to make it more accessible. AS IT WAS INTENDED. Like Neocities recreating Geocities. Or any number of other quaint and cozy and engaging tools that Portland folks have build over the years. And now, there’s another one to add to the list: Quickish.

Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:

I’m not the entrepreneurial sort… – CamiKaos

I’m a bad entrepreneur. It doesn’t even hurt my feelings to say so. Most people are. Most people don’t want to be an entrepreneur.

As always, it pains me to share this kind of thing. Especially if you’re hearing it from me first. (And if that’s the case, I deeply apologize to be sharing this awful news.) But in the interest of ensuring that folks are aware… I’m incredibly sad to report the passing of Joshua Baer, often recognized as the “godfather” of the Austin, Texas, startup community and a consistent example — both inspirational and aspirational — for those of us who do startup community work.

Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:

Joshua Baer, Capital Factory Founder, Dies in Laredo Plane Crash – RuntimeWire

Joshua Baer, founder and CEO of Capital Factory, died in a Laredo plane crash, KXAN reported. He was a central figure in Austin and Texas startup investing.

Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:

Merchant Cash Advances: What Small Business Owners Should Know – Business Impact NW

At first glance, MCAs can feel convenient. They often come with fast approval, minimal paperwork, and quick access to funds. For business owners facing urgent needs, this speed can be appealing, especially when other financing options like SBA loans or community lender loans will take more time.

Engine — the DC-based tech policy and advocacy nonprofit — just published a new report on what it takes to build a startup ecosystem from scratch. It’s called “The Foundations of an Innovation Flywheel.” And if you happen to live in a metro that is decidedly not Silicon Valley, you’re going to want to read it. So Portland likely has a lot to glean from this guidance. Especially in light of Dwayne Johnson’s recent insights.

Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:

Anthropic Blindsides Its Business Partners — The Information

It’s far too soon to call a winner in the race, but fears that Anthropic was ramping up its efforts to compete with business customers intensified this week when it released a version of its long-awaited Mythos AI model but said it would silently degrade the model’s performance when customers try to use it for tasks related to developing their own advanced AI software or hardware. (Following public criticism, Anthropic on Wednesday backtracked slightly, saying it would start alerting customers when it uses a weaker AI model to handle those tasks.)