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Category: OTBC

The OTBC Brings Lunch 2.0 to the ‘burbs

Rick Turoczy on September 28, 2008

It’s official. Portland Lunch 2.0 is crossing over into the suburbs, Beaverton to be precise.

As Rick blogged back in August, the Open Technology Business Center, or fondly, the OTBC, had been searching for a new home. The search has ended, and on November 1, the OTBC will move into their new digs in the Beaverton Round.

But wait, there’s more. The OTBC will also be partnering with the Beaverton Round Executive Suites to provide office space for startups on the third floor of the Coldwell Banker building, just two quick flights of stairs to and from the OTBC business offices on the first floor. There’s an elevator too, but since the OTBC provides services to CleanTech (as well as Tech, BioTech and OpenTech), I figured I should mention the stairs first.

What does all this have to do with Lunch 2.0? Glad you asked. On January 14, 2009, the OTBC will be opening its doors to host the first Portland Lunch 2.0 chapter in the suburbs.

Here are the details:

Hosts: OTBC

Where: 12725 SW Millikan Way Beaverton, Oregon 97005, first floor of the South Office building

When: January 14, 2009 from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

RSVP on Upcoming

Did I mention the Round is on the MAX Blue Line, specifically the Beaverton Central stop? Steve Morris of the OTBC says their office is 90 feet from the station. So, if you’re in Portland, it’s only about 20 minutes from downtown. Not too shabby. You won’t have to worry about parking, you’ll get to meet some new people in the ‘burbs, possibly some people you know from Twitter.

Maybe even the elusive Josh Bancroft will make an appearance, since we’re bringing Lunch 2.0 into his neck of the woods.

I asked around at the SplashCast Lunch 2.0, and everyone seemed very positive about cross-pollinating with the suburban tech/Twitter crowd.

So, come out to Beaverton and meet some new folks, and check out the OTBC. If you’re unfamiliar with them, they help Tech, Biotech, Cleantech and Opentech startups with a variety of valuable services. Here’s their about. Interested? Drop a comment or swing by Lunch 2.0 on January 14 and find out more.

Don’t forget these upcoming Portland Lunches 2.0:

  • October 15 at the Art Institute of Portland: This space is huge, plenty of room for everyone, so bring friends and colleagues.
  • November 5 at the Eclipse Foundation
  • January 14 at OTBC in the Beaverton Round

Tell OTBC where to go

Rick Turoczy on August 7, 2008

OTBCOur friends over at the Open Technology Business Center (OTBC) are getting the itch to move.

But before they go and do anything rash, they want to make sure it’s the right move. So, like any good socially minded organization, they’re asking you for your help.

Why the move? Well, OTBC wants to be even more involved in the startup community—and they want to make it easier for all of us to participate in their programs.

But they have one minor issue: they receive funding from the city of Beaverton and, as such, they must remain within the Beaverton city limits.

So what options do they have? I’m glad you asked!

  1. Stay where they are
  2. The Round in Beaverton
  3. Allen and 217

Why not take a couple of seconds and tell OTBC where to go? Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

OTBC provides coaching for and hosts events for high-tech entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs.

OTBC reboots Founders’ Friday

Rick Turoczy on July 18, 2008

OTBCAre you the founder of a startup? Beer and Blog not exactly your speed?

No worries, gentle reader. We have a Friday afternoon activity for you, too.

Steve Morris out at OTBC is bringing back Founders’ Friday, a networking event for entrepreneurs that focuses on those folks who have had the opportunity to found their own startup.

The event is held at the OTBC offices in Beaverton, located just off Sunset Highway and NW 158th. Plan to arrive around 4:30. A $3 donation is requested to cover food and drink expenses.

For more information or to RSVP, visit Founders’ Friday on Meetup.

Beaverton-based OTBC provides incubation services and entrepreneurship programs to help high-tech and biotech start-up ventures succeed. They can help you validate your market, develop your business plan, and help you understand what steps are required to get your company investor-ready.

Open Source Software meeting of the minds

Rick Turoczy on February 21, 2008

Today, I had the privilege of sitting in on an Open Source meeting of the minds at OTBC, where a sizable contingent of folks from the Open Source community in Japan—programmers, entrepreneurs, professors, reporters—shared their vision for establishing a Mecca for Ruby enthusiasts—and a hub for Open Source—in Japan.

The bulk of the Japan team heralds from Matsue, a town on the north end of the main island in Japan. They are in the midst of developing the “Ruby City MATSUE Project,” a concentrated effort to make Matsue the “Mecca of Ruby.” The OSS Society Shimane also works in conjunction with the project to promote Open Source and Ruby.

Much like the efforts around the Portland-area Open Source scene, the MATSUE project is working to foster community building around codefests and the sharing of ideas on how to apply Open Source technologies.

The community is also lucky enough to have a university that provides a full semester load of undergraduate course work on Ruby, Rails, JRuby, and applying the technologies.

Besides their dedication to and focus on this effort, the group also commands some substantial geek-cred from the participation of Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto, one of the original developers of the Ruby language, who is a resident of the town.

After spending today with the OTBC and dinner with the Portland Ruby Brigade, tonight, the Matsue contingent will head down to Corvallis to visit with the Oregon State Open Source Lab.

So what’s the Silicon Forest angle here?

An hour into the meeting, the two sides of the table were already pitching ideas back and forth. Sharing concepts and benefits of pursuing Open Source development.

And that’s a thing—I’d like to think—that we’d be very happy to keep going.

This is the first—of hopefully many—meetings of the minds between the Portland Open Source community and the Matsue Open Source community that, with any luck, will develop into a “sister city” arrangement to foster both of our communities’ continued learning and development.

The next time these folks are back in town, I’d highly encourage trying to meet up with them.

Reminder: Marshall Kirkpatrick on RSS, February 19

Rick Turoczy on February 18, 2008

Just a reminder that Marshall Kirkpatrick, lead blogger for Read/Write Web and RSS guru, will be presenting a “Lunch and Learn” session on RSS at the OTBC on Tuesday, February 19.

I like to think of myself as fairly RSS savvy. And I can say, without a doubt, that no one has taught me more about how to make RSS jump through hoops than Marshall.

To RSVP, visit the OTBC Meetup page on the event. The cost is $15 at the door. But you were going to spend that money on lunch, anway. And this way, you actually get to learn something.

OTBC looking to refill empty nest

Rick Turoczy on November 12, 2007

The Beaverton-based Open Technology Business Center (OTBC) has recently seen two of its fledging startups—Remote Technologies and Earth Class Mail—leave the nest.

And because of those successful departures, the OTBC has found a bit of room on the ol’ floorplan.

What’s this mean for you? It means that if you’re an early stage high-tech or biotech startup looking for some digs, this could be a perfect match.

So let’s start this little dance, shall we?

To show off the facilities to prospective roomies and to provide some networking opportunities for everyone, the OTBC will be holding a catered open house on November 28:

At the open house, you’ll hear a brief overview of how OTBC helps startups, and you’ll have plenty of time to talk with some of our Entrepreneurs and Ventures in Residence to get the inside scoop on OTBC. We’ll provide munchies and beverages.

For more information on the open house or to RSVP, visit the OTBC Meetup page.

OTBC is a non-profit corporation that helps startup companies succeed with office infrastructure and coaching, advising, networking, entrepreneurship education, and consulting services. As a technology-focused business incubator, OTBC’s goal is to provide participating entrepreneurs and small start-up companies with access to industry leaders and coaches, extensive education programs, and office facilities designed to nurture the next wave of technology-driven companies in the region.

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