If you missed the Oregon Sports Angels webinar this week on “Investing in BIPOC Founder-led Companies,” they have posted the replay.
Oregon Sports Angels replay: Investing in BIPOC Founders
Category: investors
A single startup exit creates two firsts for the Portland Seed Fund
The Portland Seed Fund, one of the most active investors in Seed stage companies in the state, has been working to invest in early stage startups for more than a decade. But they’ve had a couple of meaningful firsts recently. All thanks to ESS, a startup in their portfolio.
Read MoreGrab office hours with the newest Seed fund in town
If you’re interested in getting some one-on-one time with a local Seed stage fund, you’re in luck. Josh Carter, principle at 1859 Ventures, is holding office hours for interested startups on April 14, 2021.
Read MoreThere’s a new pre-Seed fund in the Pacific Northwest. Meet Startup Haven Venture Fund.
In order to sustain a vibrant startup investor ecosystem, funds need to start, find success, and raise more funds. And should that success cause them to grow beyond their previous stage focus, then new funds need to start to backfill the gaps. So as many of the early stage funds in the Pacific Northwest achieve success and move downstream to Seed and Series A investments, it’s nice to see new funds stepping up to take the opportunity to support pre-Seed startups. Like the new Startup Haven Venture Fund.
Read MoreInterested in up and coming VCs in the Pacific Northwest?
TAO hosts Black Founders Matter Fund event
If you’re a Black founder seeking venture capital, you may want to look toward a Portland-based fund inspired by the struggles of another Black founder. Marceau Michel knows firsthand the frustrations of raising capital. But that negative experience also served as the motivation to provide a solution for other Black founders: the Black Founders Matter Fund.
Read MoreFormer Lake Oswego Laker and current Cleveland Cavalier Kevin Love invests in mental and behavioral health startup Coa
Yes. Given half the chance, I actually can make a random Portland connection to practically any startup story. So when I saw that NBA player Kevin Love — who was named Gatorade National Male Athlete of the Year his senior year at Lake Oswego — was an investor in mental fitness app Coa, I had to post something about it.
Read MoreCascade Seed Fund reveals 12 investments in 2020
For all of the weirdness of 2020, some things in Oregon remained the same. People still built interesting companies. And local investors still supported them. Among them, Cascade Seed Fund wound up adding a dozen companies to its portfolio.
Read MoreWhat is Madrona Venture Group — which regularly invests in Portland startups — looking for in 2020?
There are any number of venture capital firms outside of Oregon that regularly invest in the Portland startup community. One of those firms — which also boasts a few Portland exits — is Madrona Venture Group out of Seattle. Since they’ve already exhibited a willingness to invest in Portland, I thought it might be valuable for Portland startups to have a better understanding of Madrona’s investment themes for 2020.
Read MoreHow is a fully remote startup world changing VC investment behavior?
Like it or not, venture capital dynamics are a part of the startup industry — even though they tend to account for a minuscule percentage of funding for new businesses in general. So if you’re building something new in the tech world, you’re likely considering pursuing equity based financing. But with the pandemic and reportedly less than stellar local dynamics, many folks may be seeking investors outside of their immediate area. Which raises the question: are VCs doing remote deals, these days?
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