Portland Oregon startups, tech, news, events, jobs, and community
Portland startup and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
By now, we’ve all heard the buzz about Blockchain. And cryptocurrency. But what are the other potential applications of this technology? Blockchain startup Sila — a company cofounded by Shamir Karkal, the cofounder of Simple — wants to help answer that question — and other questions you might have. And they’re hosting a webinar this week to do just that.
In the early days of any new technology, there is always the challenge of compatibility. As various file formats, schemas, and structures spring to life, interoperability is often the last thing to consider. So it’s always nice to see this sort of thing happening sooner rather than later. Like Portland startup The Wild enabling folks to work with SketchUp files within The Wild VR environment.
Last Friday, the New York Times published a piece on the Zebra movement, a movement with Portland roots that highlights any number of things broken about the prevailing venture capital model and its pursuit of unicorns and calls for more rational and accessible means of funding startups.
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You can’t swing a dead term sheet without hitting thousands of posts on “how to be a better founder.” Most of which contain largely unusable advice or set unattainable expectations for anyone to adopt. Founder or otherwise.
I’m not one to celebrate financing rounds for the sake of celebrating rounds. But this one had some interesting local flavor. So, stick with me here. Because this will take a minute.
I still smile every time I see a startup covered by local media. So you can only imagine my downright giddiness when I woke up to a New York Times article on Zebras Unite, a growing international startup movement cofounded by Portland entrepreneurs Astrid Scholz and Mara Zepeda.
Given that you’re in the startup world, you likely know a few folks who work from home — or that might describe you. But what you might not realize is that it’s far more likely to have those kinds of acquaintances and gigs around these parts. With nearly 10% of the workforce employed remotely, Portland ranks as the fourth most popular metro areas for remote workers.
One of the best things about building companies, these days, is how accessible folks are. You don’t have to guess as to what people want. You can just ask them. And that’s why I’m always happy to see startups taking a few minutes to simply talk to their potential customers. And listen.
Founders tend to be an optimistic bunch. But optimism can only get you so far. And if you’re looking to pursue venture capital as a means of financing your startup, that optimism is going to take some lumps as you pitch, refine, pitch, refine… Lather rinse repeat. So it’s always nice when that pitch feedback comes with some added perks. Like pizza and beer.
In case you missed it, Portland’s Janrain was acquired by Akamai. Given that it was the first real Monday following the holidays, I can totally appreciate that you might have missed it. So I thought I would round up some content to help get you up to speed on the deal.
