Today’s links include a retrospective on the last XOXO, a perspective on being a woman in technology, how Portland and Seattle employ talent differently, rallying Portland startups to help Street Roots, Brazi Bites shares Bootstrapping 101, and semifinalists for the Bend Venture Conference.
Starving artists: Memories of XOXO 2016
Five incredible years of a conference that changes everyone that attends is a damn good run and the Andys should be proud of what they built. I’m old enough to know good things can’t last forever, and if XOXO doesn’t return in the future I’ll relish the years I got to go and meet my heroes and learn about people and projects I never would have otherwise.
If it were only cat calls…
But each time a woman walked out onto the patio I waited hopefully to see if she would join us. If perhaps I could cease being the only woman in a sea of men. There were about a dozen folks, give or take, who showed up for the meetup and for the most part they were white dudes.
Why startups in Seattle are struggling for talent, and how that contrasts with Portland
While Seattle and Portland have come to where they are through different journeys and exist at very different levels of scale, it’s very important to understand the needs of the startup ecosystem and to nurture that part of the economy to ensure that the region as a whole remains thriving and competitive.
PDX Startups Sponsorship at Street Roots Fundraiser
If we band together I bet we could contribute at the $5K level and have our PDX Startups logo listed as a sponsor. Are you in? If so, please comment below or send me an email (mara@switchboardhq.com) by September 19 and I’ll coordinate.
Bootstrapping 101: How I Survived Four Years Without A Paycheck To Build My Business
My husband Cameron and I founded Brazi Bites, our Brazilian cheese bread company, six years ago while still working at other careers. During the first year, we both held two jobs. We woke early, delivered Brazi Bites to grocery stores around town before sunrise and punched into our day jobs by 8AM. We’d put in a full day at our desks and then headed to a commercial kitchen to make cheese bread until midnight. The next day we’d do it all again. There were times when we were both delirious with sleep deprivation. And despite our best efforts, as the business grew we were falling behind. We had too many orders to fill and too much to do. We weren’t “all in” but needed to be. It was time for one of us to take the plunge and quit our day job. I went first.
Bend Venture Conference semifinalists announced
Economic Development for Central Oregon announced the names on Tuesday of 26 companies scheduled to compete for a spot in next month’s Bend Venture Conference.
Uber, Lyft run afoul of city rules more often than taxis
Uber and Lyft have racked up more than twice as many penalties and warnings from city regulators than traditional taxis since their arrival in Portland.
Greylock VCs see good M&A market for strong startups, less acquihires
“The (M&A) pace is absolutely picking up,” Elman said Tuesday. “Some really strong companies are realizing that joining up with an even larger one, (with a) stronger balance sheet, can help them hit their mission even harder and is often a good move.”
Tweets worth noting
Seriously, @slack is hiring ALL the black talent… @ericajoy…@KristyT…if they get @beyonce and @serena it will be a wrap.
— Kathryn Finney (@KathrynFinney) September 14, 2016
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#PDXTech, help me spread the word about #givemore24 – Let's raise some $ for @iurbanteen to benefit #diversityintech pic.twitter.com/SPAsOUU2Fc
— Patricia Raicht (@PatriciaRaicht) September 14, 2016
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