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Month: May 2016

That escalated quickly: Join the free Portland community job fair on June 1 at the Falcon Building

Rick Turoczy on May 24, 2016

The Portland startup community—and honestly the Portland community at large—never ceases to amaze me. A few weeks ago, I posted a quickly penned request for the community to consider rallying support for those nearly 800 local folks affected by the Intel layoffs. I expected that a handful of us might be able to throw something useful together. Suffice it to say that I never expected we’d be where we are today. With nearly 200 companies supporting this effort and a free job fair planned for June 1, 2016. Read More

Founders of AppNexus and WeWork went to high school together… in Eugene

Rick Turoczy on May 24, 2016

Not a day goes by that Oregon doesn’t bemoan its perceived inability to grow the type of talent that builds billion dollar companies. But fact of the matter is we do create that kind of talent. Retention is more of the issue. And sometimes, even if we lose the founders, their impact is still felt locally. Cases in point, AppNexus and WeWork. Whose founders met in high school. In Eugene. Read More

GeekWire names Portland's Reflect one of the best pitches at Techstars Seattle Demo Day

Rick Turoczy on May 20, 2016

You know me. I love a good Demo Day. And I love it even more when there are awesome Portland companies on stage. So wouldn’t you know it, when Techstars Seattle holds a Demo Day and there’s a Portland company on stage…? It’s going to be post worthy. And GeekWire calling them out only makes it moreso. Meet Reflect. Read More

Thinking "Beyond the Valley"

Rick Turoczy on May 20, 2016

When I first started this blog—way back in the dark ages of this current generation of Portland startups—it seemed that time and time again the prevailing wisdom was “move to the Valley.” And that left a bit of a mark on me. So I can’t help but be lifted every time someone provides a counter argument to that thinking, especially when it has an eye toward the future. Like this TechCrunch piece by Eugene’s Pat McCarthy. Read More

How healthy would wearing wearables be if wearing wearable were healthy?

Rick Turoczy on May 17, 2016

Portland’s culture of curiosity had us among the early adopters of the whole “quantified self” thing. But for whatever reason—even though we’ve got a ton of apparel companies in town—that never translated into much in the way of wearable technology. But that doesn’t stop us from wearing those devices. Apple Watches, Fuel Bands, Ups, Fitbits, Misfits. You see them everywhere in the startup community. But what are they doing for us? Read More

Halfway there: Portland sits at #13 among the top 25 startup cities chasing "Innovation that Matters"

Rick Turoczy on May 12, 2016

A few years back, I would have a hard time even fathoming that Portland would even appear on a list of startup cities. So let’s just start there. It’s awesome to see Portland listed among the top 25 startup cities pursuing “Innovation that Matters.” But now that we’re on there… c’mon Portland. We can do better than this. Read More

Be part of the welcome wagon for the StartupBus as it travels through Portland

Rick Turoczy on May 12, 2016

If there’s one word that I hear everyone use to describe Portland, it’s “welcoming.” Almost, at times, to a fault. But here’s an opportunity to use that collegial hospitality in the best possible way: to welcome a bunch of folks to our awesome town who you know full well are leaving in a couple of hours. Because they’re on the StartupBus. Read More

Tired of reading about unicorns? Cool. Let's talk about piggies. And the reality of startup life.

Rick Turoczy on May 12, 2016

Back in the old days of Silicon Florist, I used to highlight other blog posts that were awesome. Mostly, because a lot more people used to blog back then. And I am lazy. Well, guess what? Even though fewer people seem to be doing the blogging thing like they used, I am still categorically lazy. Plus this piece by Oscar Godson was great. So I’m sharing it. Read More

Robots have needs, too: Meet Needybot

Rick Turoczy on May 12, 2016

What if you turned the world of robots upside-down? No. I don’t mean like making a T-800-esque Schwarzenegger stand on his head. (Although that’s a good idea, too.) I mean, what if, instead of building armies of autonomous beings who do nothing but serve our every whim, we instead built robots who needed us. Like a lot. That’s what Wieden+Kennedy’s creative technologists at W+K Lodge have done with Needybot. Read More

Exact change: Help the wheels on the Beaverton School District #FutureBus go round and round

Rick Turoczy on May 10, 2016

We’ve all been there. You’ve had this moment of inspiration. You’ve chased that inspiration from concept to prototype. Now, you’ve got a working example of your vision. And all you need is just a little capital to take it to the next level. Well, that’s exactly where the Beaverton School District finds themselves with their project, a mobile maker space that encourages kids to make stuff and break stuff. But this time, you get to play the role of investor. Read More

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