Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:
Portland startup co-working space NedSpace has a new model – Portland Business Journal
“The community here raised me, they nurtured me, they built me up,” he said, explaining why he stepped up to take over the group. “They held me up when entrepreneurship sucked and nothing worked. I want that energy to carry on in Portland. This isn’t about me. This is just what our city needs.”
MacKenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos, and other billionaires who could buy the Blazers – GeekWire
As a longtime Blazers fan, I like the idea of a low-key ultra-wealthy novelist buying the team and becoming the first woman to own an NBA franchise. It would be unique, in true Portland fashion. By the way, Portland’s new WNBA team will start playing in 2026.
Working on Complex Systems: What I Learned Working at Google
Throughout my career, I’ve worked in many complicated environments. For instance, I worked on optimizing driver-passenger matching in ride-hailing at a Uber’s competitor. This context, like others, was technically challenging. Yet, nothing comes close in terms of complexity with my current experience at Google and two years there have refined my perception of complexity.
Oregon’s “frustrating” business climate
More and more Oregon companies are being lured to invest elsewhere, either by expanding their out-of-state presence or relocating operations entirely, according to a recent study.
Venture Capital’s Second(ary) Chance
In recent years, this model has been challenged by the sheer volume of private capital — with liquidity horizons stretching further into the distance. As companies absorbed investment at an unprecedented scale, the “exit math” became a challenge.
How Discord’s CEO used fake screenshots to fundraise
“We made a bunch of fake screenshots in Photoshop… put up a webpage, got TechCrunch to cover it, and raised a bridge round”
0-$5M: How to Identify Your ICP — Lessons from Vanta, Clay, Retool
When I sit down with founders, I see this all the time: they’re so eager to make progress that they lock in on their first interested customers (or, let’s be real, their friends) as their default ICP. And sure, this can work for a while. But the consequences surface months later, when you’re stuck with a scattered customer base that pulls your product roadmap in opposing directions. The “all things to all people” approach makes your messaging feel generic and adds customer logos to your site that are mostly irrelevant to your prospects.
More Portland startup news
