In 2013, the Portland Development Commission (PDC) launched the first ever Startup PDX Challenge, an early stage competition targeting entrepreneurs in the Portland metro area and across the United States. Selected from an applicant pool of 240 companies, the six winners of the 2013 Challenge received a $10,000 working capital grant, a full year of rent-free office space in Portland’s Central Eastside Produce Row, and free professional advice and services. The startups have attracted outside investment, increased clients and sales, and hired new employees in the last six months.
PDC is now seeking real estate partners who can provide Central City office space for the 2014 Startup PDX Challenge. Ideally, a real estate partner must be willing to provide free rent to the winning startups for 12 months along with property management and other support services. Preferably, the available space would be contiguous on a single floor and range from 2,500 to 6,000 square feet with access to (or the ability to offer) meeting space, bicycle parking and kitchen facilities.
Proposals that bring together multiple resources serving the needs of early stage startups are highly encouraged. PDC will discuss partnership details and opportunities with each real estate finalist.
Interested prospects should submit a brief proposal. Applications are due February 14, 2014.
PDC is seeking a multitude of partners and sponsors for Startup PDX Challenge 2014. To learn more about other partnership opportunities, visit www.startuppdxchallenge.com.
Official launch of the Startup PDX Challenge will take place in the spring of 2014, with company move-in dates projected for fall 2014.
Katherine Krajnak has been a project manager at the Portland Development Commission (PDC) for more than four years, and most recently managed the Startup PDX Challenge and the Produce Row initiative in the Central Eastside. Her current work at PDC involves projects and initiatives to bolster Portland’s high-growth entrepreneurs across industry and throughout the city. She has been a resident of Portland for more than nine years and is a 10+ year rocker veteran of music scenes in Berlin and Portland. You can follow her on Twitter as @StartupCityPDX.
