I’ll be honest. I wasn’t sure that this would even work. But I thought we should try it anyway. So I pinged a few collaborators in the community and asked if they would be up for participating in the experiment. And thankfully, they were. Because Portland. But I didn’t really expect the RSVP list to balloon to 350 folks — and continue growing. But I’m really happy that it did. And I’m really looking forward to getting everyone together.
With the growing number of attendees, one of the question marks immediately became “Where are we going to host this…?” Good problem to have. Still a problem.
But thanks to some amazing event organizers in town, we were able to track down a venue. And it struck me that it was a pretty poignant location, at that. While it’s not the exact same spots, it’s fairly foundational geography in my Portland startup community history. It’s a block away from where I started attending community organized events. It’s near where I hosted Portland Lunch 2.0 for Silicon Florist. And it’s just above the place where we schemed and dreamed about what would eventually become the PIE and Autodesk collaboration know as PIE Shop.
We’ll be hosting the 2025 kickoff for the Portland startup community on January 14, 2025, at The Evergreen in SE Portland, starting around 5:00PM.
Now, I’m hoping to pass some of that geographical nostalgia on to you. Maybe a decade or two from now, you’ll remember this location as the place you first met your startup cofounder. Maybe it will be the place you learned about a new organization that helped you out. Or maybe — just maybe — it was the first place you felt like you’d actually found your community.
But you’ll never know — and you’ll never have that nostalgia — if you don’t attend.
We’ve still got plenty of room. (Mostly because in Portland 350 RSVPs ≠ 350 attendees.) And by “we” I mean…
- AI Portland (https://www.aipdx.info/) We are a gathering of enthusiasts, professionals, and the AI-curious from all walks of life, committed to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone is welcome to explore, learn, and innovate. Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of AI or you’re a seasoned professional looking to push the boundaries of what’s possible, AI Portland offers a space to collaborate, share knowledge, and drive positive change. Join us in our journey to unlock the potential of AI and discover its impact on our lives, our communities, and the world.
- Better Portland (https://wearebetterportland.com/) Our network gets you a foot in the door and then some. We connect businesses, non-profits, and organizations into a like-spirited collective with events, content, and a business-meets-social networking kind of culture. Best of all, everyone’s influence and expertise is a shared commodity. Welcome to business done better.
- Built Oregon (https://builtoregon.com) looks to leverage Oregon’s deep legacy of product craftsmanship and innovation to create broad-based and equitable opportunities for entrepreneurs in consumer products. Ultimately, our vision is a thriving, world-leading consumer products ecosystem across Oregon – One in which we help founders redefine success by placing the highest value on the people in their company and the communities where they reside.
- Latino Founders (https://www.latinofounder.com/) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to fostering the growth and success of underserved businesses in the State of Oregon. Our mission is to provide support, resources, and opportunities to empower underrepresented entrepreneurs and contribute to the overall economic development of the State of Oregon.
- Metro Region Innovation Hub (https://www.portlandmetrohub.org/) Our mission is to foster and grow innovative businesses by providing regional entrepreneurs from all sectors, backgrounds, and business stages with accessible paths to regional resources in networking, coaching, education, and capital access. We open up this accessibility through one-to-one guided navigation of existing regional resources and supporting programs that fill gaps in existing regional resources.
- North Bank Innovations (https://www.northbankinnovations.org) is where big ideas in Southwest Washington stop gathering dust and start shaking things up. We’re building a startup scene that’s less about buzzwords and more about real connections, hands-on help, and events that don’t feel like networking marathons. Our goal? To give founders the boost (and occasional reality check) they need to turn bright ideas into businesses that actually move the needle – for them and the local economy. Let’s grow some game-changers and make this region a magnet for innovation, one ambitious startup at a time.
- Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (https://oen.org/) builds and strengthens Oregon and Southwest Washington’s early-stage entrepreneurs through the provision of education, guidance, connections, and financial opportunities, to impel increasing economic impact throughout the region.
- PIE (https://piepdx.com/) With its origins in a conversation between Wieden+Kennedy, the largest privately held creative advertising agency in the world, and the Portland, Oregon, startup community, the Portland Incubator Experiment — known more commonly as PIE — has become an ongoing experiment designed to enable established organizations — corporations, government, and educational institutions, among others — to more effectively collaborate with startup communities in mutually beneficial ways.
- Prosper Portland (https://prosperportland.us/) We are the economic and urban development agency for the city of Portland. We focus on building an equitable economy by carrying out a comprehensive range of economic development programs that support small business, improve access to workforce training, and create jobs for Portland residents.
- Rose City Techies (https://www.meetup.com/rose-city-techies/) is founded on non-traditional and creative perspectives, offering a fresh approach to the tech and startup scene. We welcome all tech centric perspectives – UX designers, developers, founders, digital marketers, product managers, graphic designers, students, career switchers, or whatever tech role you’re in! Come join—you can sit with us.
- Silicon Florist (https://siliconflorist.com/) For more than 17 years, Rick Turoczy been writing Silicon Florist, a blog designed to capture and document the stories coming out of the Portland, Oregon, startup community. And sometimes, elsewhere — if those stories could have interest to the community.
- TiE Oregon (https://oregon.tie.org/) is dedicated to empowering early-stage entrepreneurs with education, mentorship, and access to angel investment. We also offer first-time angel investors a supportive community of seasoned investors and educational workshops to enhance their knowledge. Focused on marginalized populations, we foster a pipeline of inventors, entrepreneurs, and investors creating a continuous ecosystem of support and give-back.
- Vanport Studio (https://www.vanportstudio.com/) We are dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs with innovative resources and a supportive community to build and scale impactful businesses. We champion innovation, inclusivity, and integrity, ensuring each venture we support embodies excellence and impactful collaboration. Our commitment to these principles fosters lasting relationships and drives meaningful change in the communities we serve.
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