Portland startups, open source, and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
I think it’s important for startup types to hear the report, but I think it’s even more important for Greenlight Greater Portland to know that we’re listening and paying attention.
For someone who covers startups, it’s incredibly interesting to keep tabs on an economic development body—especially one that’s a startup itself—like Greenlight Greater Portland.
Last year, I gathered a table of Portland startups and influencers to listen to the Greenlight Greater Portland’s first “Greater Prosperity Index” report. This year, I decided to do exactly the same thing for Greenlight’s second report. Read More
Greenlight Greater Portland is one of the newest economic development organizations in the Silicon Forest, focusing on Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, region. All told, that covers seven different metropolitan regions.
Now, it’s not often that you get to see the development of a development organization. And, I was a bit concerned that the board governing the organization, currently, is composed of more old-school and big-businesses types than creative-class and small-business types.
So when I saw that Greenlight Greater Portland was having a launch party, featuring (ironically enough) Richard Florida, I thought “What better time to make sure that they’re aware of all the cool Web startups in Portland and what they need?”
And with that wild hair, I worked on putting together a little “startup delegation” to attend the Greenlight Greater Portland event being held June 4 at the Portland Art Museum.
Here are some of the local folks who have been gracious enough to attend and help represent the startup angle:
As always, I know that you, gentle reader, have some really good ideas, too. And while I wish we could all be there, there is only so much room.
So, I’d like to hear from you. What questions would you like this group to raise? What concerns should be highlighted? How would you like to see this development organization supporting startups?
Please feel free to use the comments below to raise issues and questions. Or feel free to contact any of the delegates above to bend his or her respective ear with your opinions.
I’ll provide a wrap-up post following the event to let you know how things went.
I thought I would take the opportunity to introduce Greenlight Greater Portland, because, unfortunately, it’s highly unlikely that the image-based copy and PDF content on the Greenlight Greater Portland Web site will have the organization appearing in your search engine results anytime soon.
And to have you miss this organization would—quite honestly—be a shame.
Greenlight Greater Portland is charged with attracting businesses to the Silicon Forest. And that type of effort always bodes well for those of us in the startup environment. The rising tide floats all boats and whatnot.
Greenlight Greater Portland is a predominately private-sector group devoted to fostering the sustained economic vitality of the four-county region of Clackamas, Clark, Multnomah and Washington counties in northwest Oregon and southwest Washington. Led by the area’s top business leaders, Greenlight Greater Portland introduces new businesses to the wide range of enviable resources here: industrial, human, natural, financial and technological.
Greenlight Greater Portland announced the appointment of a full-time CEO earlier this year. Now, they’ve added a vice president of “research and business attraction” and a VP of marketing, who will no doubt work to improve the Web site, he said in a hopeful voice. [Update] And hope continues to flourish as Portlandville posts some well wishing and insight on the new VP of Marketing, Gillian Floren.
For more information, visit the Greenlight Greater Portland Web site or see previous coverage from Oregon Startups. To learn more about the new execs, read the press release or see the coverage in The Oregonian.