Category: VC

Could the newest Portland Trail Blazer have startup impact off the court?

Rick Turoczy on November 15, 2019

Short note. Even if you’re not a basketball fan, you’ve probably heard the news that Carmelo Anthony is signing with the Portland Trail Blazers. If you are a basketball fan, this is probably feeling a bit like the time that the Blazers signed Pippen. Or maybe that’s just me. In any case, I’m admittedly more interested in ‘Melo’s potential impact off the court. Because when he’s not on the hardwood, he’s also an aspiring investor—with a successful exit. So this could potentially be an interesting addition to the Portland startup community, as well. We’ll just have to wait and see.

A unicorn among us: Vacasa’s latest round makes it a Portland startup rarity

Rick Turoczy on October 29, 2019

The big news around the Portland startup community today — and likely for some time to follow — surrounded the latest round of funding for Vacasa. Why? Because the size of the round — at $319 million — was unusual. And the valuation for that round catapulted the company into unicorn territory.

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For startups, Portland Seed Fund closing is a very good thing

Rick Turoczy on July 30, 2019

In some industries, the idea of “closing” can be the worst possible outcome. But in the world of startups, closing is often a very good thing. And the latest news from the Portland Seed Fund is no different. The Portland Business Journal just revealed that PSF has just closed their third fund to the tune of $13.9 million.

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More than just money: Lytics $35 million Series C has additional upside for the Portland startup community

Rick Turoczy on February 21, 2019

As always, I’ll start this with the caveat that I promised Bill Lynch, cofounder of Jive, that I wouldn’t just write posts that celebrate funding for the sake of funding. Which is actually more work. (Thanks, Bill.) But in the long run, I’m hoping my bag-full-of-cats startup-history brain full of tangential facts and likely little known context can be helpful in providing a broader picture of why these funding events are important.

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If only there were a Twitter list of venture capital folks…

Rick Turoczy on February 5, 2019

Said someone, probably. And thanks to local investor and startup accelerator director Dylan Boyd, there is. It may be incomplete, but it’s likely far better than any list you’ve got going currently. Nearly 2000 folks and firms in the venture capital industry. All talking about what they had for lunch. And probably some VC stuff too.

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An epic Twitter thread on venture capital, startups, and zebras

Rick Turoczy on January 14, 2019

Last Friday, the New York Times published a piece on the Zebra movement, a movement with Portland roots that highlights any number of things broken about the prevailing venture capital model and its pursuit of unicorns and calls for more rational and accessible means of funding startups.
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A little light startup reading for your Sunday

Rick Turoczy on January 13, 2019

You can’t swing a dead term sheet without hitting thousands of posts on “how to be a better founder.” Most of which contain largely unusable advice or set unattainable expectations for anyone to adopt. Founder or otherwise.

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Riding giant rounds: Surfer Laird Hamilton’s food startup is backed by WeWork

Rick Turoczy on January 11, 2019

I’m not one to celebrate financing rounds for the sake of celebrating rounds. But this one had some interesting local flavor. So, stick with me here. Because this will take a minute.

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Think you’re ready to pitch investors? Hold my beer, says Portland Seed Fund

Rick Turoczy on January 10, 2019

Founders tend to be an optimistic bunch. But optimism can only get you so far. And if you’re looking to pursue venture capital as a means of financing your startup, that optimism is going to take some lumps as you pitch, refine, pitch, refine… Lather rinse repeat. So it’s always nice when that pitch feedback comes with some added perks. Like pizza and beer.

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Not sure if venture capital is right for your startup? You might want to chat with Indie VC when they visit Portland, this month

Rick Turoczy on January 2, 2019

In my opinion, one of the most promising threads in the Portland startup community as of late has been the whole conversation about financing startups. Because not every startup is right for an equity based investment from venture capital. And even if they are, VC brings with it some pressures that can be less than positive for many companies and founders.

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