Portland startups, open source, and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
I thought I was going to have to cancel the very first PIE Demo Day.
Not in one of those, you know, hollow-threat-coach-voice-yelling “If you startups don’t get your acts together, we’re going to have to cancel demo day!” kind of way. Not at all. I thought we were going to have to cancel it because of forces beyond our control.
I can remember it clearly.
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Being a founder is hard. Really hard. And lonely. And nowhere have I seen that more evident than consumer product startups. With tech startups, at least we’re online most of the day. On email. Or Slack. Or Twitter. It doesn’t make being a founder any less difficult. But at least you feel connected.
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Portland rarely sees things occur in rapid succession. Funding tends to be sporadic. Exits tend to be blips here and there. But that may be changing. Because it feels like we are starting to see a growing trend of well known Portland startup founders moving on to their next thing. The latest? Nat Parker is leaving moovel, a journey which started with his startup GlobeSherpa.
I realize it’s only Tuesday. But you’re a startup founder. Or you work for a startup. Or you work. And it’s already been a long week. But you know what? There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. An oasis. A respite, if you will. Not only that, it’s also an opportunity to meet both more of your peers as well as some awesome folks from out of town. Ringing any bells? That’s right. There’s a Portland startup community happy hour on Thursday, June 27, 2019.
Everyone knows that Apple can be a little stringent when it comes to approving applications and content for the App Store. So it’s no surprise that Portland startup Torch has had to make a couple of attempts to get some content approved. But the reason they’re getting rejected? That’s what’s interesting.
We all know the myths. Scrappy founders creating something out of thin air, raising millions of dollars, becoming an overnight success, and exiting with wealth beyond their wildest dreams. And if you’re happy with those myths, then you can stop reading, right here. But if you’d like to hear the not-so-pretty-and-often-unhappy truth about being the founder of a venture funded startup, then you’re going to want to join Rand Fishkin when he swings by Portland to talk about his new book.
In a world where marketing and advertising continues to up the level of creepiness on a regular basis (Thanks, Cambridge Analytica!), it’s refreshing to see a company that’s willing to stem the tide of distrust. And it’s even more awesome when it’s a Portland startup. That’s why it was great to see Lytics pushing for an industry standard around trust based marketing.
There was a time, not so long ago, when Portland had an embarrassment of riches on the startup incubator and accelerator front. But as the pendulum swung from early stage to growth stage—and as regional offices and bigger players promised increasingly attractive wages and benefits—the once crowded incubator and accelerator community thinned. But all of that may be changing in 2018.
It’s a new year. Time to get out there and tell everyone about the awesome company you’re building. And around these parts, there are any number of opportunities to do exactly that. But there’s one chance to take the stage that promises a huge, international crowd of potential investors, partners, and customers: TechfestNW PitchfestNW.
You’re busy. You’re building a company. You’re improving community. You’re doing things that have impact. But unfortunately, more often than not, that means that time and money are in short supply. So when you are presented with an amazing opportunity to spend some time among your peers but the price point or time commitment are difficult to defend, it’s totally understandable. And the folks at DazzleCon clearly get that.