Portland startups, open source, and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
The past couple of years, I’ve been lucky enough to get invited to the Kauffman Foundation’s ESHIP Summit. A chance to gather and learn from folks who help entrepreneurs, participate in economic development, and generally try to make the whole world of startups more accessible to both founders and the mentors that they need.
Well get those entrepreneurial juices flowing, my friend. Because it’s getting near Startup Weekend time again. That’s right. Startup Weekend Portland is being held November 12 through the 14th at NedSpace Old Town.
So there you are. You’ve got a killer startup idea but you’re having a hard time finding someone to help build it. Or maybe you’ve got no ideas but you’re itching to build something. Maybe you just want to help someone realize his or her dream.
Well get those entrepreneurial juices flowing, my friend. Because it’s getting near Startup Weekend time again. That’s right. Startup Weekend Portland is being held November 12th through the 14th at NedSpace Old Town. Read More
[HTML2][Editor: The following is a guest post by Mike Berkley, who served as the CEO of Portland-based SplashCast until its recent demise. Mike and I have had any number of conversations about the startup scene here in town. And I asked him if we wouldn’t mind putting his thoughts into a post. The first post—of hopefully many—follows.]
Since putting SplashCast to rest a few months ago, I’ve finally had time to reconnect with the entrepreneur community here in Portland, as well as in the Bay Area and NYC. I’ve packed my days full of coffee, apricot scones, phone calls, and meetings… lots of meetings. I’ve talked to dozens of entrepreneurs and investors.
Two themes have surfaced in this process. Read More
For some, it’s not a question of “if.” It’s simply a question of “when.” For others, it’s completely a question of “should I?” Because when it comes right down to it, you’ve got to love being an entrepreneur. You’ve got to enjoy the craziness and the stress and the fear.
And I won’t say anything about “security,” because—quite frankly—entrepreneurs are always more in control of their destiny than the average cubicle dweller.
But to make the leap, sometimes you need some guidance. That’s why it’s a good thing that Pamela Slim of Escape from Cubicle Nation is coming to Portland on June 26. Read More
So, there are you are. Sitting there banging away on some code. Or working out your strategy for how you’re going to move that side project along just a little bit more. Or just trying to tweak that one blog post a little more.
And everyone’s bitching about the economy. Or how this is a bad time to do anything “risky.” Or about the time you’re wasting. Or how you should be doing something else.
But you know this is the right thing to do. And you know what? You’re right. And you will get there. Read More
Every time I’ve mentioned the trip I had planned for this week—“I’m going to Omaha”—I got the same quizzical look and a one answer response: “Why?”
Well, let me tell you. I’m sitting in Nebraska, right now, because there are a couple of guys in Omaha—Jeff Slobotski and Dusty Davidson—who write Silicon Prairie News, which is like the TechCrunch of their region. And they’re helping pull together a ton of events like they’re the Legion of Tech for the region. And they’re talking about opening a creative coworking space like they’re the Citizen Space of Omaha. Read More
Sorry for the tardy reminder, but I’m hoping it still motivates some folks to attend tonight’s Portland Web Innovators featuring Paul Anthony of Rumblefish.
Portland Web Innovators was founded because we don’t just like the technology or the design. Yes, those are a big part of our craft. We also want to work on fulfilling projects, for companies that do good stuff. For many of us, we want to start our own companies. In fact, many Web Innovators already have.