Portland Oregon startups, tech, news, events, jobs, and community
Portland startup and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
While I’m not one to celebrate fundraising for the sake of fundraising, I’m also one to admit that a growing local company raising a single round of financing that’s north of $50 million is still a bit of a rarity. And therefore, notable, at the very least. So I thought I’d capture the coverage of SheerID’s latest round.
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The big news around the Portland startup community today — and likely for some time to follow — surrounded the latest round of funding for Vacasa. Why? Because the size of the round — at $319 million — was unusual. And the valuation for that round catapulted the company into unicorn territory.
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When I started in Portland area startups, way back when, a lot of us were located way out in Hillsboro. And then the momentum started to shift to Beaverton. And then suddenly all of the activity seemed to be in Portland proper. But there may be a shift in that momentum with Bigleaf Networks.
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It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Darius Monsef. And a lot of that is because I’ve been lucky to watch his efforts and growth over a dozen years or so. And with him now on the third Portland startup that he’s cofounded, I continue to be impressed with the maturity and perspective his significant startup experience — both within Portland and beyond — has wrought.
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I’m always a fan of folks who are helping startups. Especially those who recognize the unique challenges of founders. That’s why I’ve been happy to see Women Led working to have a more significant impact on women and the companies they’re leading and building, here in Portland. But in order to do the work they want to do, a nonprofit organization needs funding. That’s why Women Led launched a GoFundMe campaign.
Lately, it seems there’s been an uptick in sizable funding rounds and private equity investments in the state. With 2018 being a record setting and landmark year, in that regard. But in order to get to those multimillion dollar rounds — or liquidity events — companies have to first get out of the gates. And if they’re seeking seed funding in Oregon, that doesn’t seem to be happening at a rate on par with other states. According to Crunchbase.
In the world of equity financing and startups, it’s not rare to see folks adding new board members when they announce funding rounds. Because it’s usually VCs who have invested who are getting those seats. So when Portland startup Sensu announced a new round of funding and new board members, it was a pleasant surprise to see that one of them was an independent, Luke Kanies, founder of Puppet.
Remember that awesome #FutureBus from Beaverton School District? You know that Magic-School-Bus-ish mobile makerspace that allows students in the district to creatively engage with technology and making? Obviously, it was designed to be taken on the road. But I just learned that they took it on a road trip. To Cascade Locks, Oregon. And that experiment resulted in an interesting experience—and an opportunity.
While still striving to hold true to my promise to Jive cofounder Bill Lynch—that I would stop using Silicon Florist as a platform to celebrate fundraising announcements—I feel obligated to take a little tangential liberty to share a developing theme I’m seeing… Because this isn’t a typical. Portland companies have announced more than $51 million in venture capital, this year. And it’s not even a month old.
One of the challenges of the Portland startup community has always been momentum. We sometimes have great—at times even fantastic—startup news, like an exit or a major announcement. But more often than not, that happens as a solitary instance. And then it’s some time before the next major announcement. So it’s rare to have a day like today where both Torch 3D and Vacasa have major news.
