Portland startups, open source, and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
Remember in the early days of this startup community when someone would release a new app and we’d all jump at the chance to download and use it as a sign of support and buying local? (Shizzow, anyone?) I’d like to see if we can get back in the mode of doing that. As a community. And I think I’ve found a really good opportunity to do that.
If it’s going to be a rainy weekend, I wanted to give you something to do. So if you’re Nintendo Switch owner or if you have a Steam account, I’ve got a new locally produced game for you to try. Enter The World Next Door.
If there’s one thing I know for certain about Portland, it’s that buying local is super important. I would love to see that same “buy local” mentality motivating us to support local startups. We should be buying local. For everything. Literally buying. Spending money to support these businesses. Because being a customer of a startup is the best way to support startups.
We’re approaching the end of another Women’s History Month, which means you can be expecting a recap of Built Oregon’s month long effort to feature Oregon consumer product companies led by women. But ahead of that, I thought it might be nice to highlight women founders from the Portland startup community who presented at PIE Demo Days.
When you’re working on your startup, sometimes it’s difficult to carve out time to attend events. Even though you realize that they’re important. That’s why I’m always glad that we regularly have workshops as part of Portland Startup Week.
Portland has no shortage of coworking spaces. And there are more opening every day. Providers from outside town — like WeWork and Industrious — recognize the market potential around here. But we have homegrown coworking spaces, too. And if you want to test drive a couple of them, Portland Startup Week is the perfect time to do so.
If you’ve had the feeling that it’s getting even more startuppy around these parts as of late, it’s no wonder. Last week was PIE Demo Day 2019, Built Oregon has launched a new accelerator program, and the Startup Champions Network just wrapped up a three day event, here in town. April promises to be just as awesome thanks to Portland Startup Week with concludes with TechfestNW.
Accelerators are nothing new. They’ve become a quintessential part of many startup ecosystems. But more often than not, they’re rather one note. Because the vast majority of those accelerators are only accelerating one thing: tech. But there’s more to startups than just tech. Especially around here. That’s why Built Oregon is rethinking the accelerator model to support consumer products companies.
One of the things I love most about the Portland startup community is how collaborative, supportive, and engaged the entire community is. Rather than a single person or group carrying the load, it’s all of us. But not every community has the same dynamic. Sometimes it’s an individual or handful of folks who shoulder the bulk of the effort. But no matter what the dynamic, a bunch of folks from other startup communities are visiting us in Portland, this week.
PIE, the Portland Incubator Experiment, turns 10 this year. And it’s been five years since the last PIE Demo Day, where founders from the accelerator program take the stage to share stories about the companies they’re building. But now, the clock has been reset. PIE Demo Day 2019 took place on March 14 (Pi Day, course). And the replay is already available for your weekend viewing.