It wasn’t that long ago that global coworking giant WeWork announced that Portland — specifically the Custom House — would be a WeWork Labs instance. And like all startuppy things, changes are already afoot. In the past few months, WeWork Labs has been experimenting with its Portland presence and going through some iterations. And now, there’s a new person heading up the Portland efforts, Josh Carter.
If you’re not familiar with Josh, you should be.
I still fondly remember meeting him when he attended TechfestNW at OMSI one year — back when I was still organizing the content for the event. Soon, he was everywhere in the Portland startup community. Starting an agency. Then starting a product company. But he still found time to give back to the community. And to show up. First through efforts like Coffee w/ Co-Founders and then by helping to organize Portland Startup Week and most recently by taking over the stewardship Portland Startup Poker 2.0.
So it will come as no surprise that Josh is stepping into this role with one thing on his mind: community.
“I am thrilled to be working shoulder to shoulder with the different startup ecosystem builders here in Portland focused on empowering, connecting and growing the next generation of founders creating tomorrow’s most innovative and impactful companies,” said Josh Carter, Manager for WeWork Labs in Portland. “Everyday the WeWork Labs offering grows more robust as our resources and global community expand and it’s our genuine and sincere commitment to be an ambitious yet humble connector committed entirely to local founders building a more thoughtful and brighter tomorrow. It’s an honor to continue supporting these amazing companies in my new capacity and though Labs launched in Portland earlier this year, we’re just getting started.”
If you’re not familiar with WeWork Labs, it’s a startup accelerator program housed within WeWork locations. Elizabeth Scallon, who heads up WeWork Labs’ northwest efforts, sums it up.
“WeWork Labs does not take an equity stake in its members, ensuring our true North Star and core purpose is empowering founders and startups to thrive locally and globally by providing space, programming, mentorship and community. With Josh’s addition to our team, Portland can expect big things. We are here to partner, collaborate and be another bridge for Portland to the local and global startup community.”
And she’s as excited by Josh’s potential as I am.
“We are thrilled to announce Josh Carter has joined WeWork Labs as the new Labs Manager for Portland. Josh will play a critical role as WeWork Labs continues to expand it support, resources, and campuses across the Northwest and globally. As a Navy veteran, a founder, and someone who has spent years in the entrepreneurial trenches running and operating startup programs, Josh could not have been more ready to hit the ground running and provide an additional and collaborative layer of support to Portland’s startup ecosystem.”
.@joshuajcarter_ and I plotting for impact & sharing our love for NW startups. #weworklabs @WeWork #customhouse pic.twitter.com/MBNoWgw3dc
— Elizabeth Scallon (@E_Scallon) April 30, 2019
For more information, visit WeWork Labs.
