Early stage startups are always looking for that first customer win. Someone who is willing to take a chance on their technology and vision. To help them prove the value and worth of their offering. Governments are often encumbered with archaic systems or new problems that they know technology can solve. But they don’t know where to turn for help.
So how do you get those startup offers and government asks doing the whole chocolate in my peanut butter and peanut butter on your chocolate sort of thing? Well, that’s what Switchboard was designed to do. And now, the Portland Early Adopter program has launched a Switchboard to do just that.
Much like the Portland Startups Switchboard, the Portland Switchboard is designed to facilitate asks from the City of Portland and offers from the Portland startup scene. And there are already a couple of interesting ones posted. (It just launched today.)
- ASK: Best way to get small businesses online
- ASK: Managing business relationships
- ASK: Constituent database
Wait. Is Portland government using an early stage Portland startup’s technology to help the City adopt more early stage technology? Yes. Yes it is.
After thumbing through some of the asks, I’m confident that there are any number of Portland startups who can help solve these problems. And there are more to come.
If you’re interested in helping tackle the City of Portland’s opportunities or if you have a product that would be perfect for Portland government, visit Portland Early Adopter program Switchboard.
[Full disclosure: Switchboard is a PIE alum. PIE is a partner of the Early Adopter program. I am the cofounder and general manager of PIE.]
