Portland startups, open source, and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
We have more access to more data points than we’ve ever had. And the more data we consume, the more ways we find to leverage that data. Perhaps no one finds this opportunity more compelling than digital marketing. But with an abundance of data—data which often falls into silos—there are challenges, as well. That’s why Portland’s Lytics has created Orchestrate.
If you’re just getting started or at a concept stage for your company, there are any number of resources available to help your startup. But what if you’re further along and challenges like ramping up marketing and sales have a higher priority than pitching your concept? That’s where a new growth stage accelerator from XXcelerate Fund hopes to help. Meet XXcelerator.
As we, as a community, continue to cope and process the recent senseless loss of Sam Blackman, many of our conversations have turned to remembering other amazing contributors to the Portland startup community. Contributors who inspired and impacted untold number of entrepreneurs. Contributors who, like Sam, were gone far too early. And of course, one of the names that has come up, time and time again, is Shelley Gunton.
If there’s one thing that modern day startup existence continues to hammer home for founders, it’s this: talk to customers. Potential customers. Current customers. Past customers. They’re all treasure troves of what’s working and what’s not. But once you’ve heard their feedback, what then? Well, that’s what an upcoming ProductStack PDX gathering is hoping to illuminate.
For many of us, few modern day television shows have managed to so effectively capture the banality of modern living as effectively as an animated show about a washed up sitcom star who also happens to be a horse. The premise has worked, time and time again. And it’s going to get another chance. Netflix has picked up BoJack Horseman up for a fifth season.
I’ve been talking to a lot of people lately about broadening the spectrum of Silicon Florist coverage. To cover more than just tech. Because there is all kinds of interesting stuff going on around here. And some recent news seemed like the perfect excuse to start doing that. You see, Portland Seed Fund and Starve Ups alum Sightbox has been acquired by Johnson & Johnson.
It’s pretty common practice to have folks from the north and south visit Oregon. And in recent years, it’s even become common for capital to flow into the state from investors in those neighboring states. But it’s still rare to see Oregon investors expand to other regions. But that’s exactly what Seven Peaks Ventures is doing.
There was a time, when any discussion of open government and open data, would have been remiss if it ignored what was happening in Portland. But those times appeared to be in our distant past. We haven’t heard anything about us doing much in — let alone leading — open gov or open data in nearly a decade. But that’s all changing. Thanks to Hack Oregon.
We continue to see new companies starting up in Portland. New companies expanding into Portland. And some even choosing to relocate their headquarters here. But be they homegrown or imports, in the startup world, everyone still seems to be hiring. And even a few established corporations are getting in on the action.
Part of the challenge of running a startup is making sure that people — potential customer, mentors, employees — now about it. And there’s no better way to put your company on the map than to win an award. Even if you nominate yourself. So why not take a few minutes to throw your hat in the ring for the Portland Business Journal Small Business Innovation Awards 2017?