David Abramowski the former CEO of MioWorks has shared some tips from what he learned, in the hopes that other entrepreneurs and startups don’t make similar mistakes.
It’s unfortunate to see Portland and Silicon Forest startups suffer shutdowns, be it at the hands of the economy or otherwise. But on the upside, it’s alway good to see the execs taking lessons away from their efforts. And even better when they share them with the rest of us.
For individuals and small businesses—especially in the creative or Web space—searching for a solution to help them deal with clients, vendors, and projects usually leads them tools like 37signals’ Basecamp or Highrise. But for as good as those tools are, there’s still room for improvement. That’s why Portland-based MioWorks is looking to deliver something better. And today, they’re also delivering that solution en español.
For individuals and small businesses—especially in the creative or Web space—trying to find tools to deal with clients, vendors, and projects usually leads them to tools like 37signals‘ Basecamp or Highrise. And for as good as those tools are, there’s still room for improvement.
That’s why Portland-based MioWorks is looking to deliver something better. And today, they’re also delivering that solution en español. Read More
Probably not exactly the way Webster would mark it up, but you get the picture.
About 80 or so people showed up at the Green Dragon for lunch yesterday; surprisingly, several people I know from Twitter were making their first trip to the Dragon. Hard for me to believe, since it’s Beer and Blog worldwide headquarters and an all-around geektastic place to hang out and compute.
David and Manuel Espino from MioWorks provided food and Twitter-friendly name tags (+1 for geeky name tags). They also provided anyone who was interested with a 30-day free trial of their web app which provides relationship management for small businesses. The app recently entered public beta, and David and Manuel are actively seeking people to beta-test the app.
After talking about MioWorks, David, who also volunteers time with Open Source Bridge, called Rick up to give the good people in attendance the 411 on OSB. There was speculation that Rick was thrown under the bus, fingers were pointed. I won’t dignify any of those rumors here. As always, Rick acquitted himself well under pressure.
Finally, we heard from Carri Bugbee about the SoMe awards, covered previously by Rick. There’s precious little time left to submit your favorite social media projects for consideration. The awards will be handed out at Innotech Oregon on April 23.
Update: As Carri notes in comments, the deadline is Saturday, April 11, and the awards gala will be at Candy (NW 9 and Couch), not at the OCC where Innotech is.
The food was fantastic, provided by the Green Dragon, and even though the crowd was a bit smaller than usual, it fit nicely into the space, with clusters of people chatting at each picnic table and at the bar.
I met a few new people, attending their first Lunch 2.0, and as always, I ran into the usual suspects, which is always a pleasure.
Thanks to David, Manuel and the great folks at the Green Dragon for accommodating us.
I almost forgot to mention the Lunch 2.0 “artifact” was ceremoniously passed from Thomas to David. I’ll back up; at the Portland Lunch 2.0 birthday at AboutUs in February, someone (not sure if it was Mark, Steven or Nico) put out a guest book that anyone attending could sign. That book was passed to Thomas at the OpenSourcery Lunch 2.0 last month, and now, it’s in David’s hands.
A fun idea. By rights, the book should pass to Denney in two week at TechShop Portland, assuming David makes it out to the ‘burbs.
If you’re wondering about the WebVisions’ lunch, it will be open to anyone, attending WebVisions or not.
Big thanks to all the hosts who have hosted or plan to host Lunch 2.0. Drop a comment (or tweet @jkuramot) if you want information about hosting one. It’s easy.
Back when David and I were talking about this week’s Lunch 2.0, which will be hosted by David’s new startup, MioWorks, at the Green Dragon, we mused about how nice it would be to have a warm Spring day to break in the Dragon’s patio.
Well, today it’s supposed to hit 70, and according to our friends at KGW, tomorrow will be equally spectacular.
Wednesday, not so much, at least not in the shorts and t-shirt department.
Maybe we’ll catch a break, and the warming trend will continue.
Anyway, rain or shine, we’ll be at the Green Dragon on Wednesday, that’s April 8, to hear about MioWorks from David and his merry startup band. MioWorks launched a private beta at Ignite Portland 5 back in February, and they’ve since moved into public beta, offering a free 30-day trial.
You’ll probably get your fill of Open Source Bridge chatter as well, since David is also volunteering with many of us on that effort. MioWorks will be offering OSB attendees free service for six months, in case you needed another reason to attend.
So, come on down to the Green Dragon, even though it’s not Friday, and hang out with your favorite Portland geeks and meet some new people too, for good measure.
As always, please make sure you RSVP over on Upcoming so they know how much food to get and drop a comment there if you’re a vegan or vegetarian.
Finally, a quick announcement about the ISITE Design Lunch 2.0 in June. The date has changed to June 24. Please plan accordingly.
As always, big thanks to all the hosts who have hosted or plan to host Lunch 2.0. Drop a comment (or tweet @jkuramot) if you want information about hosting one. It’s easy.
If you were at IP5 or saw David (or Manuel) last week, you probably were one of the lucky few to get an in invitation to the private preview. If you didn’t get an invite, no worries, MioWorks will be hosting a Lunch 2.o at the Green Dragon on April 8, and I’m sure there will be plenty of invites to the new service.
You read that right. The venue is the Green Dragon, the geek-friendly SE watering hole, home to Portland Beer and Blog and B&B Worldwide HQ.
Wondering why? MioWorks is a tiny, little startup right now, and they don’t have a space big enough to hold a typical Lunch 2.0 crowd. So, rather than hold a small lunch with a guestlist, they figured why not find a bigger space, and the Green Dragon happily obliged.
This will come up eventually; the food will be on MioWorks, but the booze will not. That shouldn’t stop you from having a liquid lunch if you want; the Green Dragon is certainly a great place for that.
And hey, this is April we’re talking about, so maybe Spring will spring early. You know what that means: the patio may be open, which would make for a great mix and mingle. This is Portland though, making it equally likely that April 8 will see several inches of snow. We can always hope.
If you can’t wait that long to learn about MioWorks, check out their Intro slide deck and their origins video.
Please RSVP on Upcoming so the hosts can get an idea of how much grub to get. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, drop a comment on the event page for planning, unless you don’t want to eat.
May 20 hosted by WebVisions at the Oregon Convention Center
That last one will soon be announced. Stay tuned for the details. If you’re wondering, the lunch will be open to anyone, attending WebVisions or not.
Big thanks to all the hosts who have hosted or plan to host Lunch 2.0. Drop a comment (or tweet @jkuramot) if you want information about hosting one. It’s easy.
The fear of the unknown can be paralyzing. It can keep you from taking a first step in any direction. It can stop progress dead in its tracks and give you all the excuses in the world as to why not take the plunge. This fear grips many who have thought about being an entrepreneur throwing them into the analysis paralysis loop until the opportunity has passed them by and they can comfortably say “if only I…” Read More
So Silicon Florist turned three years old. And in those three years, it has featured more than 1500 posts. But what have you, gentle reader, found most appealing in those three years?
Don’t remember? Well, luckily, through the magic of analytics, we can tell. After taking a gander at the stats throughout Silicon Florist’s existence—both Web traffic and RSS traffic—30 stories bubbled to the top. What were they? Let’s take a look. Read More
Now that we’re past Turkey Day, how about just one more helping of November for you? Don’t worry. It’s very lo-cal. It’s the fluffy content from Silicon Florist, silly.
What did you and your peers find interesting this month? A lot of stuff. But I’ll only give you a few to read. Because you’re busy and stuff.
Here are the top 10 posts according to your peers—a combination of Web and RSS metrics—from Silicon Florist for November 2009. Read More
This week, Cami Kaos and Rick Turoczy discuss startup lessons from MioWorks and SplashCast, Microsoft layoffs, new podcasts from Dr. Normal and Cort & Fatboy, Google and Rupert Murdoch, Google acquiring AdMob and Gizmo5, and Google Dashboard. Oh and Cami is wearing a Bac’n shirt, this week.
Well, well, well. It kind of snuck up on you a bit, didn’t it? I know. These things happen. But it’s Thursday and that means it’s time for another episode of memePDX, the weekly podcast about the hottest tech news in Portland… and beyond.
I think it’s important for startup types to hear the report, but I think it’s even more important for Greenlight Greater Portland to know that we’re listening and paying attention.
For someone who covers startups, it’s incredibly interesting to keep tabs on an economic development body—especially one that’s a startup itself—like Greenlight Greater Portland.
Back when 
Maybe we’ll catch a break, and the warming trend will continue.