Month: October 2023

Mitch Daugherty, the cofounder and director of Built Oregon, chooses his words very carefully. He didn’t name his organization “build.” He named it “built” to signify both the history and ethos of how things are made here. And when he talks about the “Silicon Valley of consumer products,” that’s Oregon. Not Portland. Oregon. So it only stands to reason that an organization designed to celebrate the amazing consumer product folks in the state would venture out to other parts of the state. And that’s exactly with Built Oregon did for Built Festival 2023, through a collaboration with Cultivate Bend.

October can be a busy month for events. So I wanted to make sure to give you a quick reminder that tickets are still available for Pitch Latino, the largest Hispanic/Latine pitch competition in the Pacific Northwest. And now, we’ve also got details on who’s pitching.

It’s difficult to get away from the downturn news, but I’m always happy to see folks quantifying the actual impact. And to hear from folks who are optimistic about the local startup community. Malia Spencer gives us both in her recent writeup on venture capital in Portland, this year.

It’s hard to overstate the value of business basics. Especially if you’re starting your own business. Which is why I’m always happy to see organizations like TiE providing educational opportunities for would-be founders in the community. And if you happen to be one of those would-be founders, you might consider taking their crash course: TiE XL Boot Camp.

It starts off with a Walker Percy quote. I’m a huge fan of that author. Not so sure about the rest of the piece. But “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto” is definitely something you should read — and potentially form an opinion on. I’m all for optimism. Not a fan of technological Manifest Destiny. Whatever the case, you’ll definitely have your own take — and I realize how busy you are — so I’m sharing the piece here for you to add to your reading list.

I always love when traditional news outlets take the opportunity to share the stories of amazing startup founders. So I was thrilled to see Emily Cadiz of Finnegan the Dragon recently featured on a KGW story.

The folks at Climate Curious — the best meetup for people interested in climate solutions — is taking a field trip, this month. They’ll be venturing out to Black Futures Farm to help prepare the farm for winter.