Month: May 2025

Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:

Tale of two downtowns: How office recovery is playing out in the Pacific Northwest’s largest cities

Portland’s downtown vacancy rate of 27% is expected to keep rising for the next few quarters. More companies have put offices up for sublease or have shrunk their footprint by consolidating into smaller spaces, offsetting an uptick in leasing activity in the second half of last year, according to CoStar analytics.

Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:

Portland added people last year for the first time since 2020, population estimates show – OPB

Portland added 1,435 people between July 2023 and July 2024, for an estimated population of nearly 635,750, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. However, the city is still about 17,000 people short of where it was in July 2020.Portland added people last year for the first time since 2020, population estimates show – OPB

Portland added 1,435 people between July 2023 and July 2024, for an estimated population of nearly 635,750, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. However, the city is still about 17,000 people short of where it was in July 2020.

Remember when we used to get super psyched about businesses and organizations having a website…? No? Just me? Well, it was called “the dotcom days.” And it was a glorious time to be in the business world. So let’s relive a little of that nostalgia. And excitement. About a website. Or as we used to call it back then “a Web site.” By celebrating the fact that the Portland Office of Small Business now has a website. (It’s even a dotcom.)

Well, I was. I swear. First with the AI Portland Zero to One Build Challenge. And now with the CodyMD AI Health Hack & Back, a hackathon designed to inspire health-related prototypes and concepts.

As part of the new leadership at Built Oregon, the organization has appointed a new chair to lead the board activities, long time consumer products expert Karmen Olson. Karmen had previously held a board seat at Built. Other existing board members remain in similar roles.

Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:

Portland, Ore., Has Worst Housing Crisis Outlook | LendingTree

Portland, Ore., ranks worst, largely due to its lack of available housing and unaffordability. Across the 100 largest U.S. metros, Portland has the fourth-lowest vacancy rate (4.76%) and 13th-highest home value-to-income ratio (5.57). Boise, Idaho, and Bridgeport, Conn., rank second and third overall.

I think I’ve seen Mitch Daugherty do more press opportunities in the short time since he’s taken the lead role at the new Portland Office of Small Business than I have in the last decade of being alongside him as a cofounder. And given how much I know he squirms at this sort of attention, please allow we to highlight another conversation where Oregon Business took the time to sit down with Mitch for an interview.

Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:

AI Portland Launchpad NW event for small businesses with AI questions – Portland Business Journal

AI Launchpad Northwest is a half-day event slated for June 11 and will feature speakers vetted by the AI Portland group. A major element of the event is small group break-out sessions where attendees can bring questions about their business and AI to get answers, said organizers.