---
title: 'Coffee with cofounders… and the Mayor: A few of the topics Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler covered at WeWork Labs Portland'
date: '2019-08-23T11:44:00-07:00'
type: post
word_count: 464
char_count: 3038
tokens: 604
categories:
  - Events
  - Oregon
  - Portland
  - Startups
tags:
  - bbpdx
  - 'business for a better portland'
  - coffee
  - cofounder
  - Mayor
  - Portland
  - 'portland iq'
  - 'portland means progress'
  - prosper
  - 'prosper portland'
  - 'ted wheeler'
---

# Coffee with cofounders… and the Mayor: A few of the topics Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler covered at WeWork Labs Portland

The Portland startup community got the chance to hear from [Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler](https://twitter.com/tedwheeler), this morning. Thanks to [WeWork Labs Portland](https://www.wework.com/labs "WeWork Labs Portland") and its Manager [Josh Carter](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuajcarter/) — who also is the founder and lead organizer of [Coffee w/ Co-Founders](https://www.meetup.com/Portland-Coffee-w-Co-Founders/).

I had the opportunity to attend the standing room only session. And while I didn’t capture any direct quotes, I wanted to highlight some of the topics that the Mayor covered. (This list is by no means exhaustive. This is just what stuck with me.)

- From my perspective, the most welcome message that came through loud and clear — and was underscored by the event, itself — was **acknowledging entrepreneurs are too busy to go to government**, so government needs to do a better job of going to them.
- The mayor spent a good amount of time describing the work being done to **increase the diversity and inclusiveness of the Portland startup community** by funding and encouraging programs that focus on entrepreneurs from communities of color and entrepreneurs who identify as women.
- To underscore that topic, he highlighted the work that **[Prosper Portland](https://prosperportland.us/) and its [Inclusive Business Resource Network](https://prosperportland.us/portfolio-items/inclusive-business-resource-network/) and [Mercatus](https://mercatuspdx.com/) programs** are doing to help make resources more accessible for a variety of entrepreneurs.
- Recognizing that startups are overly busy, he encouraged folks to **engage with public-private partnerships** like the [Portland IQ](https://portlandiq.org/), which he mentioned he will be chairing, and professional business organizations like [Business for a Better Portland](https://www.bbpdx.org/).
- He was also prompted to spend some time discussing **[Portland Means Progress](https://portlandmeansprogress.com)**, which he encouraged every business in attendance to join.
- From a financing side, there was some discussion of the **Portland tax environment** — no sales tax as an example — and how it can be challenging to fund certain efforts, especially with growing problems like homelessness. Hence the need for raising business taxes.
- He also reiterated a **desire for local government to “buy local”** when it comes to technology, solutions, and sourcing.

To be reminded of future sessions, please sign up for [Coffee w/ Co-Founders](https://www.meetup.com/Portland-Coffee-w-Co-Founders/).

*\[Full disclosure: I am the cofounder and general manager of PIE. PIE is part of the Prosper Portland Inclusive Business Resource Network and is partially funded by their grant dollars. I am a founding advisor to, and member of, Business for a Better Portland. And I staff the Startup Resources Working Group for the Portland IQ.\]*