Portland startups, open source, and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
If you’re looking for a new podcast or simply want to get some insights from a two-time Portland founder, you might want to check out the Zebracast from Zebras Unite. In this episode, they chat with Jelani Memory, founder and CEO of Portland startup A Kids Book About.
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If you’ve been following the recent news and the response to that news, you’ve no doubt got a few questions of your own about Zebras vs Unicorns and the whole Zebra movement. Well, if you’ve got a few minutes to join a webinar, you can get those questions answered firsthand, today.
Last Friday, the New York Times published a piece on the Zebra movement, a movement with Portland roots that highlights any number of things broken about the prevailing venture capital model and its pursuit of unicorns and calls for more rational and accessible means of funding startups.
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I still smile every time I see a startup covered by local media. So you can only imagine my downright giddiness when I woke up to a New York Times article on Zebras Unite, a growing international startup movement cofounded by Portland entrepreneurs Astrid Scholz and Mara Zepeda.
As someone who works to build community—and is, at best, mediocre at it—I’ve been super impressed, inspired, and astounded by the Zebra Movement, as one of those striking a chord movements that provides a space to collaborate with a likeminded community. And now, to continue their momentum, they’ve partnered with Institute for the Future.
You’re busy. You’re building a company. You’re improving community. You’re doing things that have impact. But unfortunately, more often than not, that means that time and money are in short supply. So when you are presented with an amazing opportunity to spend some time among your peers but the price point or time commitment are difficult to defend, it’s totally understandable. And the folks at DazzleCon clearly get that.
Every once in a while, there is a moment. Where something strikes a chord. When it taps into an unspoken need. Crystallizes a not-yet-codified opinion. Becomes a rallying cry. And rarely—but magnificently—sometimes that moment gains momentum of its own. And becomes a movement.
It’s a well known adage that Portland was built upon an ancient unicorn burial ground. So it should come as no surprise that a member of the Portland startup community would be proposing we bury the latest incarnation of that mythical beast—the so-called unicorn startup, a company with a valuation of at least $1 billion—as well. What could be better, you ask? How about Zebras? Read More
Blame it on the “Great Resignation” or whatever you will. We’ve seen a ton of turnover recently in the world of local foundations — which provide critical financial support for Portland’s nonprofit community. But now we’re also seeing similar behavior in the ranks of the nonprofits themselves. And that could cause yet another ripple in what’s already turning out to be a rocky environment for a Portland startup community struggling to recover from the effects of a multiyear pandemic amidst an economic downturn.
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Not sure if you’ve noticed it, but we’re experiencing a wave of turnovers in the nonprofit world. There’s a bunch of new leadership at major foundations around town. And a number of other well-established organizations seeking new leadership. And the tech and startup-oriented nonprofit world is no different. PDXWIT and Zebras Unite are both on the search for new directors to lead their nonprofit organizations into the next chapter.
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