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Category: Oregon

MomHub brings kid-friendly Portland to the forefront

Rick Turoczy on November 9, 2007

MomHubThanks to Twitter and actually meeting some folks in person, I’m well aware that children are a common ailment blessing among Silicon Florist readers. And even the folks without kids—to a person—are aware that children exist.

So I thought everyone would be happy to read about the launch of a new startup focusing on the parents of the smaller set.

Portland-based MomHub just came out of pseudo-stealth mode and is beginning to promote its mom-helping services. At first blush, it shows the promise of being a valuable assistant in helping today’s overly busy moms sync up with other overly busy moms on things like kid-friendly meeting spots and helpful products:

As active playgroup participants, the founders observed the power of word-of-mouth advice that is exchanged between parents about helpful tips, such as a new coffee shop to visit or a new stroller to check out. Every parent seemed to have his or her special stash of information and no central place to share it in an effective way. MomHub was created to make it easier for local parents to exchange this type of information beyond the usual bulletin board or forum.

The current version of the service combines social networking and ratings, making finding kid-friendly spots and researching potential get-togethers a great deal easier.

Not a fan of micro-humans? MomHub works for you, too. Just check the board to determine the popular spots that are likely to be overrun with little ones. (Laurelwood, anyone?) And then steer clear. See? Win-win.

And, don’t feel left out, dads. There’s a DadHub, too.

MomHub is a central resource for moms to find the local groups, activities, places and products that can make their life easier or their day more entertaining. MomHub enables moms to share their local knowledge and insights. MomHub was created by a small team of parents in Portland, Oregon. It is free for moms and groups to use and is supported by local and national advertisers. For more information or to register, visit MomHub.

South of the Forest: Meet Oregon Investment Fund in Medford

Rick Turoczy on November 8, 2007

Granted, Medford, Oregon, is more “real forest” than “Silicon Forest.” But this event seemed to be right in line with the entrepreneurial spirit of the Silicon Florist, so I thought I’d pass it along. (Besides, I’m always hoping that a few of you Rose City startups can get a slice of that $100 million of love that is the Oregon Investment Fund (OIF).)

On November 14, CreditSuisse, managers of the OIF, will be hosting “Real-world Case Studies of Emerging Companies Searching for Funding.”

Sure, Medford’s a bit of a haul. But far be it from me to keep you from a road trip.

For more information on the event, see the press release. To register, visit the Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development site.

What’s the Oregon Investment Fund? I’m glad you asked. You see, in July 2003, the Oregon State Legislature approved a mandate for the Oregon Investment Council (“OIC”) to design and implement a US$100 million program that encourages the growth of small businesses within the state of Oregon. To accomplish this mandate, the OIC chose to develop a fund of funds, the Oregon Investment Fund. This fund, which is capitalized by funds from the OIC, has committed capital to private equity and venture capital funds that in turn invest in companies located primarily in the state of Oregon, as well as the Pacific Northwest region. Contact www.oregoninvestmentfund.com for more information.

Irony: I want Sandy launches, and I need a reminder to cover it

Rick Turoczy on November 8, 2007

Apparently, I need I want Sandy to remind me that I want Sandy has launched. (In my own defense, I follow both Sandy’s blog and the Values of n blog. But both were strangely silent about the release.) I just happened to stumble upon a Web Worker Daily post on I want Sandy as I was catching up on feeds.

So from the better late than never file…

Portland-based Values of n, makers of the popular Stikkit thinking sticky notes, have launched their latest application, I want Sandy, an anthropomorphoic personal assistant based on Stikkit technology.

Sandy was designed to work in conjunction with existing tools to help you remember what you need to do. Interacting with her is as easy as firing off some “Remind me…” emails.

Working with me is as simple as sending me email. There’s nothing to download, install, or configure. I live in your address book alongside everyone else you know and email.

You write to me at a special email address, get my attention with a few simple keywords, and I’ll take it from there.

When you tell me about appointments, to-dos, and contacts, my replies come with attachments you can click to add to your calendar, to-do list, or address book. You can even introduce me to your calendar so that everything you tell me shows up there automatically.

For more information or to sign up, visit Sandy at I want Sandy. Or see additional coverage from Mashable (sneakily hidden under the uri of “I want Sally”).

iovation lands $10 million from Intel Capital

Rick Turoczy on November 8, 2007

iovation, a Portland-based startup that focuses on combating online fraud—and which also allows you to begin sentences with a lower-case letter—has announced a new round of funding, led by a $10 million investment from Intel Capital. The total round sits at $15 million.

iovation, headquartered in Portland, Oregon pioneered the use of device reputation for managing online fraud, abusive behavior and multi-factor authentication. Today, iovation manages the reputation of millions of Internet-enabled devices worldwide, allowing its customers to control online fraud and abuse while benefiting from sharing device reputation intelligence. For more information on iovation and the company’s products, visit www.iovation.com.

(Hat tip Silicon Forest)

Urban Drinks adds happy hours within stumbling distance

Rick Turoczy on November 7, 2007

[Insert prerequisite “more bars per capita” comment here], so it comes as no surprise that the happy-hour-location-service market is quite competitive here in PDX. To keep raising the—ahem—bar,  Portland-based Urban Drinks has just announced the addition of proximity intelligence to its service.

With Urban Drinks new feature, not only can you zero-in on a happy hour, but should it be too crowded—or worse yet, completely dead—you can now see the five happy hours within stumbling distance of your chosen locale.

For example, if you visit the soon to be Deschutes Brewpub at UrbanDrinks, you will see a list of five happy hours that are currently going on in the area. If no happy hours are currently happening at the time of your visit, then five happy hours that are going on later in the day will be provided. UrbanDrinks also plans on introducing an address field that will allow you to enter or bookmark your address to which a list of the closest happy hours will be displayed.

For more information or to try the service, visit Urban Drinks.

Jive’s new space should include a bigger trophy case

Rick Turoczy on November 6, 2007

Portland-based Jive Software continues on its award-winning roll. First, they walked away with a cash prize of $15 million from Sequoia. Then, they took home the OEN Entrepreneur Award. Now, they’ve walked away with top honors at Venture NW for “Outstanding Achievement.”

“As winners of the Outstanding Achievement Awards, Jive Software and nLIGHT represent the high caliber of companies and entrepreneurs in this region. These are two globally competitive companies that have proven that they are attractive to investors anywhere,” said Wayne Embree, managing partner of Reference Capital Management, LLC and Chairman of Venture Northwest 2007. “They remind us what is possible with the support from programs such as Oregon Entrepreneurs Network and Venture Northwest.”

Who else won? If the quotes are any indication, it sounds like Portland may be a winner, as well. If only in getting a little more of the entrepreneurial and venture-capitalistic attention and affection it so rightly deserves.

“Moving our company to Portland was one of the best business decisions we ever made. We quickly discovered that Portland has an immensely supportive entrepreneurial community and it has provided our company with a great environment in which to grow,” said Jive Software CEO, Dave Hersh. “Being chosen to receive this award is a great honor.”

I remain hopeful that this sort of Portland praise will begin to cut down on some of the location-related difficulties Silicon Forest startups are encountering as they pursue funding.

Meet: Portland Web Innovators discuss RSS and attention

Rick Turoczy on November 5, 2007

On November 7, Portland Web Innovators will hold its monthly gathering, hosted by a pizza-bearing Jive Software. This time, they will be focusing on RSS and attention:

Charlie Davidson and Eric Hayes from Attensa joining us to discuss the world of RSS, Feeds, and Attention, a concept becoming more important to many of us as we attempt to filter out the information overload so prevalent for web innovators.

For more information or to RSVP, visit Upcoming.

Picktastic bets on public BETA

Rick Turoczy on November 1, 2007

Portland-based Picktastic, the sports-oriented social network that promises all of the addictive fun of sports betting without that messy “losing money” element, has announced the opening of the Picktastic public BETA.

Pick a sport that interests you. See those glassy buttons? Click the one for the team you think will win. Click on the link above the buttons for more game details, to talk trash, or make wagers.

For more information or to proceed directly to losing your (virtual) shirt, visit Picktastic.

Jive outgrows its current digs

Rick Turoczy on October 30, 2007

With its recent infusion of funding and rash of hiring, Portland-based Jive Software is outgrowing its current space at 317 SW Alder.

No word on whether they’ve selected new digs or not.

But their old space—exposed brick and all—will soon be up-for-grabs.

Jive Software develops award-winning collaboration software that improves a company’s productivity through open collaboration among employees, partners and customers. For more information, visit Jive Software.

Ignite Portland videos available

Rick Turoczy on October 29, 2007

While the official videos won’t be available for another week or two, thanks to A.J. (aka Linuxaid), we have videos of Ignite Portland available, now. And using Portland-based SplashCast’s technology, all 18 videos are available for you, below, in one convenient package.

http://web.splashcast.net/go/so/1/p/NYZI5663NK

(Hat tip to Raven Zachary and the Ignite Portland blog)

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