Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:
Land-based sea urchin ranchers are kelp forest crusaders and sushi entrepreneurs – Responsible Seafood Advocate
“We are pulling overpopulated sea urchins out of the southern Oregon reefs,” CEO Aaron Huang told the Advocate. “We are bringing those empty, starved urchins onto a land-based ranch, fattening them up and selling them regionally and hopefully nationally and globally over the next few years.”
5 Crucial Things to Know Before You Choose a Startup Incubator | Nasdaq
Founding a business can be overwhelming, which is why the startup incubator stage requires a thoughtful planning strategy. From navigating complex financial forecasts to establishing legal structures and validating market demand, the journey is fraught with challenges. Even if you’re on a startup team, it’s common to feel isolated and overstretched. Scarce resources and limited entrepreneurial infrastructure often hinder initiatives and impede progress, potentially jeopardizing a new venture’s long-term viability.
2025 Invent Oregon Finals Tickets, Fri, Jun 27, 2025 at 9:30 AM | Eventbrite
On June 27th, join us for the 9th Annual InventOR Finals! Stewarded by the PSU Center for Entrepreneurship, and hosted by the University of Portland, this exciting FREE event showcases Oregon’s brightest collegiate innovators as they pitch their prototypes and compete for $30,000 in cash prizes!
The most AI Portland week…ever!
Join AI Portland for a powerful evening exploring how artificial intelligence is being harnessed to serve and protect our communities. This thought-provoking session brings together experts who are actively applying AI to address critical social challenges—from public health initiatives to combating online child exploitation.
The IPO Door is Swinging Open by @ttunguz
These IPOs highlight a broader trend: the reopening of the IPO window is not just a blip. Despite political uncertainties and mixed economic signals—the ongoing tussle between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, less-than-stellar jobs reports—appetite for high-growth, category-defining companies is unmistakable.
TiE Oregon Events to Save the Date For – Join Us!
The evening will feature fireside chats hosted by Built Oregon board member and mentor Karmen Olson, spotlighting stories of innovation, resilience, and identity. We’re especially proud to share that Matt Dittrich, President of TiE Oregon, will be joining as a panelist to share his unique perspective as both a founder and leader in the startup ecosystem.
Plastic recycling startup Birch Biosciences inks NREL deal, fundraising for pilot facility – Portland Business Journal
The company, which is co-founded by former Absci CTO Johan Kers, is attempting to change how PET plastics, used in packaging and textiles, are recycled. Instead of the current model of heating the plastic up to break it down, which creates carbon emissions and a less desirable resulting plastic, the startup has engineered enzymes that break down plastics faster, more cheaply and with a better result.
Startup Conversations in the Couve – Jun 2025, Wed, Jun 11, 2025, 9:30 AM | Meetup
Our June Speakers are Callie Christiansen and Kelly Oriard of Slumberkins! Slumberkins is refreshing the plush toy industry and resonating with parents that find community on social media platforms and seek out modern, new, and intentional products to bring into their homes.
Anthropic’s AI-generated blog dies an early death | TechCrunch
A week after TechCrunch profiled Anthropic’s experiment to task the company’s Claude AI models with writing blog posts, Anthropic wound down the blog and redirected the address to its homepage. Sometime over the weekend, the Claude Explains blog disappeared — along with its initial few posts.
The Inaugural WasabiFest Is June 14 in Portland – Bridgetown Bites
On Saturday, June 14, Portland will be host to the inaugural WasabiFest. In the words of the organizers, this will be the celebration of “the weird, wild, and wonderful world of wasabi.”
Lessons from a startup shutdown: Seattle founder on product-market fit, finding value, and self-worth – GeekWire
Privacy Dynamics had signs of startup success. Revenue approached $1 million, happy customers ran billions of records through its platform, and investors put $13 million behind the business. But the Seattle startup, which helped customers reduce data privacy risks, made the difficult decision to shut down earlier this year.
AWS User Group Tech Talk » Calagator: Portland’s Tech Calendar
Ever struggled to explain your work to people who don’t “speak tech”? In this session, you’ll learn how to break down complex ideas so anyone can understand — and actually care about — what you’re saying. We’ll cover the biggest communication mistakes techies make, the art of using analogies and stories, and how to tailor your message to different audiences. Whether you’re pitching a project, training a team, or just trying to survive small talk at a family gathering, these tools will help you make your ideas clear, memorable, and impactful. Perfect for engineers, analysts, developers, and anyone who’s ever been told, “Can you say that in English?”
Oregon for Food Lovers: Everything You Need to Know | Eater Portland
Thanks to its relatively untouched (so far) natural landscape, Oregon is home to unusually flavorful ingredients, from Portland to Bend, from the Columbia River Gorge to the Coast. Find the best menus across the state, with this guide to Oregon restaurants, bars, food trucks, and more. It includes comprehensive dining maps to Portland, Bend, and Eugene, as well as regional dining guides center on the state’s most popular attractions (besides Voodoo Doughnuts).
Update on Venture graduation rates – Incisive Ventures
Recent industry benchmarks indicate roughly half of U.S. startups that secure pre-seed funding go on to raise a seed round. Specifically, about 45–55% of pre-seed–backed companies manage to “graduate” to a seed financing. This figure is a rough average; comprehensive year-by-year data is scarce, but it provides a baseline.
Crafting a Winning Pitch Deck: Core Slides Every Pitch Deck Needs
If you’re an entrepreneur building a startup in Washington, Clackamas, or Multnomah County, your pitch deck can open doors—to investors, accelerators, grants, and partnerships across Oregon’s innovation ecosystem.
Silicon Valley’s quest to remove friction from our lives
Silicon Valley’s real sin here isn’t addiction or monopoly per se2; it is draining long-existing frictions from daily life so hard and fast that hidden costs pop up faster than society can patch them.
More Portland startup news
