We’ve all been there. You keep hearing about this new restaurant that is supposedly the new hotness. Or, worse yet, an old restaurant that is suddenly in vogue again. And full of fear of missing out and losing your hipster cred, you rush to the Web to check them out. And then crickets. Read More
Month: February 2016
Oregon's 10 "most miserable" towns
[Editor: Now, you may be wondering why in the world Silicon Florist would be posting a story that besmirches Oregon. That’s right. I said “besmirch.” Well, fact is, I’m not. But it’s that selfsame titling that sparked a response post from Mitch Daugherty. And he and I both thought that this little grenade might elicit a response from you, as well. So without further ado…] Read More
Hate to wait? Get ready to be happy. TechfestNW is early this year.
For the past four years, TechfestNW—an event designed to both showcase interesting tech in Pacific Northwest and attract folks from outside of the region—has been joined at the hip with its much larger and longer running compatriot, MusicfestNW. But this year, that’s all changing. Five year old TFNW is stepping out on its own. And earlier in the year to boot. Read More
And then, Portland's mayoral race suddenly got exponentially more important for Portland startups
Let me preface this with the statement that I don’t even like politics. Mostly because I don’t get it. I come from a long line of coal miners and blue collar workers. You don’t politick. You just work. That being said, even a political n00b like me can see the writing on the wall. And so, here I sit. Writing my second politically fueled post of the day. Because I wanted to bring your attention to the Portland mayoral race. Because it just got way more important for every startup in Portland. Read More
Why Chris Harder's move from the Portland Development Commission to head up Business Oregon is good for startups and inclusion
We’ve seen a lot during this last decade of the Portland startup scene. A great deal of it has to do with the hard work of founders, investors, and startups, striving every day to make Portland a better place to build, sustain, and exit from companies. But there, waiting in the wings for the last five years, has been another presence that’s helped orchestrate key measures and activities that have pushed our startup scene forward. Read More
Here we are now going to the eastside: CENTRL Eastside coworking space in the works
Portland is experiencing a bit of a coworking renaissance. We were early to the coworking game. That population faded a bit. And now it’s coming back. In a big way. Major players like WeWork and DeskHub now call Portland home. New players like XOXO are entering the mix. And other homegrown efforts—like CENTRL Office—are expanding their footprint. Read More
It's like XOXO year 'round: XOXO Outpost begins taking applications for private, collaborative workspace
If you’ve followed the XOXO festival from year to year, you’ve seen it grow and change and experiment. But there’s an even bigger experiment underway now, 365 days a year. Well, 366 days, this year. But you get my point. The XOXO Outpost looks to create a home for the collaborative creative community that attends the XOXO festival, throughout the year. And they’re taking applications for members. Read More
Portland's NoAppFee.com wins the 1776 Challenge Cup Regional in San Francisco
I don’t want to say “I told you so” but Portland has some super compelling companies here. Take NoAppFee.com which—besides having an amazing founder story—has a super compelling business model to boot. And we’re not the only ones who think so. The 1776 Challenge Cup crew does too. Read More
Love building games? Cartoon Network wants to be your Portland game building Valentine
I don’t know about you, but for me, games and cartoons seem like a perfect match. Creative, fantastical worlds. The ability to live outside of the confines of earthly physics. It’s really a blank slate. So combining the two? It could be amazing. That’s why I’m so excited to see what comes out of the Cartoon Network Game Jam, happening Valentine’s Day weekend. Read More
Want to grab a beer? Let's gather for Beer and Blog as Portland Startup Week draws to a close
The folklore is true. There used to be an event—back in the day—that would draw hundreds of folks from the Portland startup and tech scene together, every Friday. It was how many of us met one another, shared ideas, schemed, and discovered ways to connect and build the amazing community we have today. Read More