Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:
Leaders in 36 Oregon counties on the economic impact of shifting federal policies – Portland Business Journal
From Astoria to Baker City, from The Dalles to Klamath Falls, the Trump administration’s abrupt reversals in federal policy have touched every corner of Oregon. Manufacturers, ranchers, wheat growers and wine distributors are trying to figure out how to manage whipsawing tariff hikes and pauses, though a few producers anticipate that they could stand to benefit.
State of the Global Workplace Report – Gallup
Global employee engagement declined to 21% in 2024, with managers experiencing the largest drop. This marks only the second decline in engagement in the past 12 years — a worrying sign for organizations already struggling with productivity.
Announcing MESA Day 2025 – Oregon MESA
We are so excited to announce MESA’s culminating event of the year: MESA Day 2025, happening on Friday, May 16th 2025! The event is an opportunity for all of our middle and high school students to engage in hands-on competition, career exploration, and college preparation. After showcasing their projects last month at Demo Day, our young inventors will travel to the Portland State University campus from all over the state to participate in engineering challenges centered around the theme of Climate Action: Designing for Environmental Sustainability, meet inspiring STEM professionals, visit college booths, and showcase their annual projects.
For Startups And VCs, Market Volatility Is A Constant. Are You Prepared?
While market crashes often clear the playing field, they also create space for the most resilient companies to thrive. By having clear priorities, a strong fundraising plan, and adeptly pivoting, you can seize the opportunity.
Indie developers may save the video game industry from itself
“Game design is often no longer predominantly the task of crafting challenges that elicit joy, delight, and surprise (or the noblest of creative goals, encouraging people to see the world from an unfamiliar perspective),” journalist Simon Parkin wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times. “It is primarily the job of building machines to keep players engrossed and spending, in many cases, by grinding out repetitive tasks rather than ones that encourage creative or exploratory play.”
The Trail Blazers Factor—Civic Pride and Sports Magic Go Hand in Hand
Right now, the state of our city and that of our NBA team kinda mirror each other. The Blazers have been on a bit of a rebuild since 2022, and lately, they seem to be getting their shit together and moving in a good direction. The second half of the 2024-25 season delivered moments of pure basketball joy.
TYE State Competition 2025
Join us for an electrifying showcase of Oregon’s brightest young entrepreneurs as the top 11 finalist teams pitch their game-changing startup ideas in front of a panel of industry leaders, investors, and business mentors.
April showers bring May flowers…and updates!
We’re continuing to round out our new leadership team as we look to serve all of you. If you want to pitch in and help us out, please let us know! Now, read on to see what other exciting events are coming. And as always, reach out to me with any questions, comments, or community updates!
Luke Kanies | AI Is Like a Crappy Consultant
I decided to finally give vibe coding a try. I’ve barely written any code since I hired developers at Puppet in like 2009. And I’ve been a staunch AI/LLM skeptic. But I figured I should at least be an educated skeptic. After a false start, and a couple of months of periodic usage, I’ve come to some conclusions about it.
In a high-stress work environment, prioritize relationships | wqtz
The reality in this environment is that everyone is stressed and you are not unique. The person pressing you is being pressed on by another guy. Everyone hates their job and everyone likes the movie “Office Space” daydreaming about quitting and dating Jennifer Aniston, who happens to be beautiful but stupid enough to not see that.
Mercury’s CEO formalizes bets on early-stage founders with a $26M fund | TechCrunch
Mercury co-founder and CEO Immad Akhund today announced the launch of a $26 million fund to back early-stage startups, a move that formalizes his extensive history of angel investing. Axios first reported this in February.
Even a16z VCs say no one really knows what an AI agent is | TechCrunch
Even people with software engineering backgrounds who work for Andreessen Horowitz, one of the premier venture capital firms madly funding AI startups, say that there’s no agreed-upon definition.
Best and Worst States For Business
Chief Executive’s rankings are compiled from a single source: the opinions of CEOs and business owners in the U.S. More than 650 CEOs, with representation from every state, participated in this year’s survey, conducted in January 2025.
Thinking About Taking the Founder Leap? Here’s How to Prep for the Emotional Gauntlet
Founding a company won’t give you autonomy. It won’t give you validation. It won’t give you the flexibility or recognition you’ve been craving — at least not right away, and often, not at all.
Is Your AI Idea Any Good? A 5‑question Stress Test From a Serial Founder
As a founder, I would know: I’ve had bad ideas that turned out well, and some ideas I thought were great that turned out to be…not so much. Now that it’s easier than ever to make your product idea a reality with AI, how do you tell if your idea is fatally flawed before you waste time, energy, and seed money?
More Portland startup news
