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Month: January 2020

Curious about the reality of Silicon Valley? Hear from the author of Uncanny Valley

We all know the mythology. The magical land of unicorns. And billions in funding. And exponential growth. But what about the reality of the dynamics of Silicon Valley and the folks who are grinding out their existence there? I just picked up Anna Wiener’s memoir, Uncanny Valley, in an effort to get some of that unvarnished context. And as luck would have it, she’ll be here in Portland at Powell’s Hawthorne location next week to provide even more insights.

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Two Techstars take three Portland startups

Okay okay okay. Maybe I’m still a bit sore that Techstars passed Portland up to make Seattle its Northwest presence. (Admittedly, they made the right decision.) Or maybe it’s the fact that we were only home to a Techstars for a brief shining three months thanks to the inaugural “powered by” program.

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Procrastinator public service announcement: Your TechfestNW PitchfestNW application is due

Look. I get it. You’re running a startup. You’re juggling a lot of stuff. But here’s the thing. This is a free thing you’re going to miss out on if you don’t act quickly. And who like free stuff? That’s right. Founders who have no money like free stuff. So maybe consider submitting your application to pitch at TechfestNW. For free. But you have to act quickly.

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Regional office region: Apple ups its Portland ante and Square takes out significant square footage

There’s an argument that headquarters define the viability of a business community. And Portland has done okay in that regard. But I always felt that we could adjust the conversation. To promote the viability of a community by the regional offices it hosted. I mean, one of our largest employers is a regional office. So it what if we focused on that? Playing to our strengthens, as it were.

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Impressive local startup impact from WeWork Labs Portland in a matter of months

As we continue to grapple with our modern day existence in a world that is always bigger better faster. One that regularly promotes hundreds of millions of dollars going toward venture startups and highlights millions of users joining the platform du jour. It’s sometimes easy to lose track of real and tangible incremental local impact. Which is why I wanted to take a moment to highlight the progress that WeWork Labs has made in our community over the past year.

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Not to be presumptuous, but… would you want to grab a beer (or other beverage of your choice) with me, this Friday? I know it’s short notice, but I miss you

Happy hours. They’re a thing. For real. And not so long ago, there was a community happy hour that grew into a really, really big thing. And an important and formative thing. But it didn’t start that way.

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Tracking the stories of entrepreneurs in other startup communities

There was a time, not so long ago, when all of the news about startups focused on — and emanated from — the Bay Area. But gradually, folks across the US and abroad started telling the stories about what they were seeing in their startup communities. And it’s my belief that it is often through that storytelling that any number of startup communities became self aware. So it’s always nice to see a roundup of those publications and the folks who create the content for them. Like this recent piece from Ecosystem Builder Hub.

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Founder and CEO of Gumroad now calls Portland home

While we have any number of inspiring folks here in Portland, we could always use a few more. And that’s why I try to keep tabs on who’s relocating to the Rose City. One of the most recent transplants I’ve been following is Sahil Lavingia, founder and CEO of Gumroad, who now calls the Portland startup community home.

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