Portland startups, open source, and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
You probably haven’t met Kat and Asa Miller. They’re very private folks. So it wouldn’t surprise me if their names don’t ring any bells. I was lucky enough to meet Asa early in the days of mobile in Portland. Back when PIE was still a coworking space and community event space. He was unassuming. And ridiculously talented. Like many Portland folks.
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Now, you likely know I’m not the biggest fan of pitch competitions. But every once in a while, an opportunity comes along for a Portland startup founder that involves a pitch competition. And it just makes sense. Like AllGo getting the opportunity to pitch at Lesbians Who Tech. There’s only one problem: It’s in New York. And that’s across the country.
Last week, business media and social were abuzz with conversation about the declaration from the Business Roundtable that corporations, rather than continuing to champion increasing shareholder value above all else, should perhaps consider creating “an economy that serves all Americans.”
It’s always heartening to see more Oregon founders getting more support. And when that support comes from outside the region? That’s only further proof that we’re building compelling startups that can compete on a bigger stage. So I was really happy to see three Oregon startups getting the nod from the Female Founders Alliance Ready, Set, Raise program.
The Portland startup community got the chance to hear from Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, this morning. Thanks to WeWork Labs Portland and its Manager Josh Carter — who also is the founder and lead organizer of Coffee w/ Co-Founders.
It’s been more than a week. I’m still processing. To be honest. It was the biggest PitchBlack I’d had the opportunity to attend. It had the most people pitching. It was sold out. And for all of the energy and love I’d felt at previous PitchBlacks, this one just seemed to be something special. I’m really really glad I got the chance to attend. But it’s taken me a while to take it all in.
We’ve all made fun of it. But we’ve likely all been forced to use it at some point in our career. It’s stock photography. That sometimes platitudinal, often banal, and almost always homogenous photography that graces many a pitch deck, blog post, and online ad. But now, it’s not quite as homogenous as it once was. Thanks to AllGo.
As you’ve likely seen, I’ve been covering this Portland technology and startup community beat for a dozen years. GeekWire has been covering the Pacific Northwest technology scene for equally long. Malia Spencer has been focused on the broader Portland startup community for more than five years. So it’s great to get a new voice on the scene. Meet Daniel Li, who writes The DL.
It’s summer. So sometimes, it’s more difficult to keep track of schedules. And deadlines. Which is why I wanted to make sure to take a moment to remind you that you’ve got an application due on August 18, 2019. I mean, if you’re building a startup, that is. And if you’d like some support and mentorship around that effort.
This Wednesday marks the fifth installment of PitchBlack, an event created by Stephen Green to showcase Black Portland founders that has grown into a national happening. Wednesday’s event will be the biggest PitchBlack Portland ever, held at Wieden+Kennedy’s headquarters in the Pearl. By all accounts, this is a big deal — and probably a little stressful for participants. That’s why Stephen reached out to former PitchBlack presenters to get some last minute words of advice and a bit of a pep talk.