Portland Oregon Startup and Tech News
If there’s one thing that always intrigues me about modern business, it’s the constant creative fragmentation that makes things more and more accessible to individuals on an as needed basis. Cars, housing, stuff, workspace… it’s happening on any number of fronts.
With funds raising larger and larger rounds, the economics of cutting smaller checks for seed stage companies get more and more lopsided. And that leaves a gap for the youngest and most vulnerable of companies. That’s why it’s always nice to see folks raising funds specifically targeted at early stage companies. Like Seven Peaks just did.
I get it. You’re busy. You’re building your company. And you meant to get those startup accelerator applications done last weekend. But time just got away from you. Well, you better carve out some time this weekend, or you’re going to miss out altogether.
For all of the hype around tech and tech startups, we seem to be sorely lacking in events that celebrate all of the amazing consumer products that call Oregon home. That was the motivation behind last year’s Built Up Festival. And it seems to have gone pretty well. So well, in fact, that it’s happening again, September 28-October 5, 2018.
I’ve been working in, on, and around venture funded startups for the past two decades and then some. And yet, I’ve never quite seen anyone manage to take the traditional myopia of venture capital head on. And win. But then there’s Arlan Hamilton. Who’s doing just that.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: OTRADI has built the best incubator in the city, the Oregon Bioscience Incubator. Likely the best incubator in the state. Potentially in the northwest. And incubators are hard. Really hard. (That’s part of the reason PIE chose to morph into an accelerator.) So when there comes a chance to celebrate their accomplishments? I’m all over it.
Startups often like to test things. And then iterate. And test again. Before making a big leap. So it stands to reason that an organization that spends its time working with startups would take a similar tact. That’s why local startup accelerator PIE has been working with a handful of companies to beta test its new offering, PIE Shop.
It’s that time of year. Where even though weather isn’t changing, the season is definitely changing. Kids are going back to school. Work is picking back up. And, as such, it’s highly likely that you’ve got a few extra chores on your to-do list. That probably involve cramming some stuff into storage. Granted, it’s no fun. But what if there was someone who as standing by to help you with that?
Over the years, any number of Portland startups have taken the stage for TechCrunch Disrupts. CPUsage, Glider, and Vault, among others. (And oddly enough, two of those three got acquired.) So when TechCrunch comes knocking, looking for more Oregon startups, I’m always happy to help spread the word.
In case you missed it, yesterday was one of those rare Oprah-giving-everyone-a-car sort of days in the early stage startup world. You see, Y Combinator—the most successful startup accelerator in the world—had a glitch that caused them to send acceptance letters to applicants for their Startup School program. And it wasn’t just a handful of folks. Estimates are that it was around 15,000 applicants.
