Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:
Flashmob: Show Up for Small Business – April 2025, Tue, Apr 29, 2025, 5:00 PM | Meetup
Supporting startups is one thing. But what about all of the amazing local small business owners in Portland…? The coffee we drink. The restaurants we frequent. The gifts we buy. Our dollars can all benefit the small businesses who help keep us going when we’re building the startups we want to build. Join the Office of Small Business for the launch of Show Up for Small Business, an ongoing collaboration with Better Portland, PIE, Latino Founders, and Built Oregon.
Key Oregon bills: EV charging, MLB stadium, child care expansion – Portland Business Journal
The 2025 legislative session is halfway to the finish line. We sifted through hundreds of bills considered by Oregon lawmakers to bring you 14 we believe will make a difference for businesses and consumers if they are signed into law by Gov. Tina Kotek. This is by no means an exhaustive list. We’ll continue to provide status updates on these and others throughout the session.
Startups (still) aren’t businesses (yet?)
Being profitable shows that the company makes a good product, or at least one that can be effectively sold. It shows that the company is reasonably disciplined and well-managed, and doesn’t waste lots of money on useless and unproductive things. It means the company is “default alive” and in control of its own destiny—it can stand on its own; it doesn’t need to sell board seats for operating cash; it can exist at the pleasure of its current owners and not outside venture capitalists.
Claude Code Best Practices – Anthropic
A blog post covering tips and tricks that have proven effective for using Claude Code across various codebases, languages, and environments.
Happy Hour at ProFocus Technology, Thu, May 15, 2025, 5:00 PM | Meetup
Whether you’re a regular or this is your first event, this space allows you to connect with fellow Black tech professionals, share ideas, and build relationships that matter.
University of Washington students step into the ‘VC mindset’ — and compete on a global stage – GeekWire
The 10-week course teaches the mechanics of the venture capital industry and culminates with an internal competition where students assume the role of investors and listen to startup pitches from entrepreneurs before making an investment decision — all within 36 hours.
AI Portland newsletter
Join us this Tuesday, 6pm at Migration on Williams for AI Portland’s happy hour meetup! Come network with fellow AI enthusiasts, share ideas, and enjoy some refreshments. Thanks to our generous sponsor, the first 30 attendees will receive a complimentary drink ticket. Looking forward to seeing everyone there! RSVP for happy hour
Techstars increases startup funding to $220,000, mirroring YC structure | TechCrunch
Techstars, a nearly 20-year-old startup accelerator, announced new terms for startups that enter its three-month program. The organization will now invest $220,000, which is $100,000 more than it offered previously, in companies starting with its fall 2025 batch.
OpenAI’s new reasoning AI models hallucinate more | TechCrunch
OpenAI’s recently launched o3 and o4-mini AI models are state-of-the-art in many respects. However, the new models still hallucinate, or make things up — in fact, they hallucinate more than several of OpenAI’s older models.
KYORA, Sat, Apr 26, 2025, 9:30 AM | Meetup
We’ve missed those meaningful in-person connections that spark connection and community. It’s time to get the Team back together! Join us for Eugene’s Tech Saturday Market: KYORA
Charge at Home Roundtable: Barriers and Solutions to EV Charging in Existing Multifamily
Join us for our Charge at Home Roundtable Series! This series exists to support multifamily housing (MFH) stakeholders interested in EV charging. Every session, our panel of subject matter experts will cover a MFH EV charging topic, answer pre-submitted questions and address new questions that come up along the way.
Startup Conversations in the Couve – May 2025, Wed, May 14, 2025, 9:30 AM | Meetup
Michael is the founder of Pan’s Mushroom Jerky, a plant-based snack company based in Portland, Oregon. The company was inspired by a traditional Malaysian vegetarian jerky recipe from Pan’s family. After discovering this unique snack during a trip to Malaysia in 2006, Pan began developing the recipe in his home kitchen, eventually launching the product in 2018.
A New Form of Verification on Bluesky
Now, we’re introducing a new layer — a user-friendly, easily recognizable blue check. Bluesky will proactively verify authentic and notable accounts and display a blue check next to their names. Additionally, through our Trusted Verifiers feature, select independent organizations can verify accounts directly. Bluesky will review these verifications as well to ensure authenticity.
Social Media and Teens’ Mental Health: What Teens and Their Parents Say | Pew Research Center
Roughly half of teens (48%) say these sites have a mostly negative effect on people their age, up from 32% in 2022. But fewer (14%) think they negatively affect them personally.
Tariff turmoil may have killed the tech M&A market’s comeback | TechCrunch
As the second quarter unfolds, PitchBook’s Stanford fears that the events of the first few weeks of April could have already sidelined M&A activity for the rest of the year. He added that if these tariffs resume in early July — after the 90-day pause — or new trades deals are struck in the meantime, it may not matter much.
Praise Our Lord For Secondary Markets, Because Selling Shares Is Now an Essential Part of (Seed) Venture Capital
Delayed liquidity hurts LPs who manage to an IRR and even for Cash-on-Cash returns slows distributions which can be reinvested in VC and other classes For the earliest funds (pre-seed, seed) this means instead of 10 year fund cycles for LPs, you’re seeing closer to 15, which fundamentally changes LP calculations about the asset class.
More Portland startup news
