Portland now has six new startups on the block. Literally. The Portland Development Commission has revealed the winners of its first ever Startup PDX: Challenge.
What’s the Startup PDX: Challenge? Well, Mike Rogoway at The Oregonian has a pretty good rundown:
The PDC, Portland’s urban renewal agency, budgeted about $150,000 for the Startup PDX Challenge. It attracted about 240 applicants for the program, modeled on similar initiatives in Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio and Missouri.
Applicants were judged by members of Portland’s investor and startup communities, including the Portland Seed Fund, the Portland Incubator Experiment, Rogue Venture Partners and Voyager Capital.
The PDC also held a public vote to help evaluate applicants. It weighted the results lightly relative to the official judges, but the top three vote-getters all won grants.
So who gets free office space in Produce Row for the next year?
- ActivEd: a dynamic online platform for movement-based education
- Alum.ni: an easy and intuitive solution to keep track of your alumni, stay connected and engage in a smart way
- ClutchPlay Games: remnants of Stumptown Game Machine, formerly the Portland Studio of ngmoco
- CoPatient: medical billing advocates who find errors on your medical bills and appeal insurance denials
- OnTheGo Platforms: working with OEM’s, Brands and 3rd-Party Developers to create amazing user experiences and killer applications for smart glasses
- Safi Water Technology: develops products designed to bring safe, clean drinking water to people all over the world
For more information on the project, visit Startup PDX: Challenge.
[Full disclosure: I served on the selection committee for this project.]
