---
title: 'AskNicely founder starts another startup in Portland — and it’s purple again'
date: '2025-11-04T15:24:28-08:00'
type: post
word_count: 320
char_count: 2205
tokens: 416
categories:
  - Portland
---

# AskNicely founder starts another startup in Portland — and it’s purple again

I can still remember the excitement back in the day when New Zealand founded [AskNicely](https://www.asknicely.com/) took up residence in Portland. It was one of those rare instances when a company picked Portland as a place to be — in a community that is often filled with companies founded by locals. Even better, that regional office eventually [became the AskNicely HQ](https://www.geekwire.com/2019/new-zealand-startup-just-moved-headquarters-portland-raising-10m/). Now, Portland is once again proving that it has something special to offer. [AskNicely’s founder has picked Portland for his next company](https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/inno/stories/news/2025/11/03/ai-360-feedback-huckleberry.html), as well.

Meet [Huckleberry](https://www.gethuckleberry.com/).





> The idea is to replace the long process of surveys and reports used in 360-degree employee performance reviews with a quicker process that can happen regularly and feels like “a personal AI executive coach.” These quick bursts of feedback can occur more than the traditional once-a-year performance review.…
> 
> Ward and co-founder Diogo Böhm have raised a pre-seed round of $1.2 million led by Oregon Venture Fund. Also involved was Archangel Ventures and tech founders/angel investors from the U.S. and New Zealand.

[What inspired OVF to invest…?](https://www.oregonventurefund.com/perspectives/why-we-invested-huckleberry)

> We envision Huckleberry becoming the go-to of professional reputation and growth, much like LinkedIn is the go-to for professional connections. Huckleberry would be defining a new category at the intersection of performance management, coaching, and recruiting

I’m psyched about this for any number of reasons, not the least being that — fun fact — the first startup I founded was based on the concept of simplifying 360 reviews and making them portable. What’s more, [that startup was also named after a fruit](https://web.archive.org/web/20071013235652/http://www.hellokumquat.com/).

For more, visit [Huckleberry](https://www.gethuckleberry.com/).

More Portland startup stories
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