With the caveat that OpenAI ChatGPT content is only based on data through September 2021… I decided to see what its take on the Portland startup community was. I’ll share what it had to say, below. Would love to hear what you think. What’s right? What’s wrong? What did it miss?
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As a founder, I realize that you’re juggling a lot. That’s why I wanted to give you one last reminder about the event that Mark Grimes has organized for tomorrow, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. Because you will totally benefit from it. Not only will you get the chance to meet a bunch of startup support organizations in town, but you’ll also get the opportunity to meet other founders. It’s the PDX Founders Welcome Wagon.
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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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With the continued drop in pandemic numbers, more and more events are taking the opportunity to get back to in-person gatherings. And after two years, it comes as little surprise that people are really needing to be around other people. With that in mind, I asked the Portland Lunch 2.0 attendees if they’d rather do the next event as virtual or in-person. Guess what they said…?
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If I have one big complaint about the Oregon startup world, it’s that practically everything is anecdotal. Not a lot of documentation or centralized resources to be found. There are definitely resources out there. But they tend to be more the exception than the rule.
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One of the most confusing things about the Portland startup community is how quiet it is. It’s not because there’s nothing happening. Far from it. And it’s not because people aren’t interested in including new and amazing people like you in their groups or meetups. Honestly, the quiet nature of the community comes from a very positive place: folks around here tend to be aggressively humble. They’re not ones to toot their own proverbial horns or be making a lot of noise about what they’re building.
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In 2005 Steve Morris assumed the role of Executive Director of Beaverton’s Oregon Technology Business Center (OTBC). He assumed it would be a temporary role, but last month, after leading the organization for 16 years, he stepped down to become OTBC’s part-time Entrepreneur In Residence.
— Jim McCreight, Executive Director OTBC
Over those 16 years Steve grew OTBC into a statewide highly respected entrepreneurial support organization. He also led OTBC’s investment efforts with the Westside Startup Challenge which after six years has invested over $700,000 in 30 startup’s that have gone on to raise over $60 million in additional funding.
Well done Steve!
Connect with Steve on LinkedIn.
Have someone you’d like to recognize? Give them the kudos they deserve.
Kudos for running the TiE organization for startups in the Portland metro area. If we had more programs focused on the elements provided in the TiE XL bootcamp we would have a higher potential of startup successes.
Connect with Kari on LinkedIn.
Have someone you’d like to recognize? Give them the kudos they deserve.
Helped make some intros for a biz dev person!
— Devin Gaffney
Have someone you’d like to recognize? Give them the kudos they deserve.
While I greatly miss having Joe Maruschak as an example of how and why to work on startup communities — like he had in Eugene, Oregon, for so long, I’m incredibly happy to see him gaining the perspective and distance to be able to analyze and inform other community stewards who are still struggling to do the work and realize the opportunities.
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