Startup and tech news, jobs, and events in Portland and Oregon
One of the best things about building companies, these days, is how accessible folks are. You don’t have to guess as to what people want. You can just ask them. And that’s why I’m always happy to see startups taking a few minutes to simply talk to their potential customers. And listen.
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.
In case you missed it, Portland’s Janrain was acquired by Akamai. Given that it was the first real Monday following the holidays, I can totally appreciate that you might have missed it. So I thought I would round up some content to help get you up to speed on the deal.
Throughout the multiple decades I’m spent in the startup world, the idea of starting your own company has moved from obscurity to a cornerstone of popular culture — and modern day entertainment. But there is one thing — for those in the thick of it — that hasn’t changed: starting a company is incredibly difficult. And emotionally draining. But that’s not something that’s often part of the pop culture conversation.
You’ve heard me bemoan it any number of times. Ask someone what the Portland startup community is like and you’ll get any number of adjectives. But you won’t really get any numbers or metrics. We’ve just never seemed to capture that terribly well. But PDX Startups may help change that.
Remember how I said that one of the issues with creating a self-sustaining ecosystem in Portland was the irregularity of liquidity events? Well, I don’t want to get my hopes up, but… we just started the third month in a row with a liquidity event. This time, it’s Janrain getting acquired by Akamai.
According to Inc Magazine’s recent “Surge City” rankings of the top 50 locations for business, Portland is in the top 10 places to start a business. Well, barely. At #10. But it’s the highest ranking Pacific Northwest. And only behind the Bay Area and San Diego on the West Coast.
It’s nothing new to announce that you’re looking for a new gig. And maybe it’s just happenstance. Or maybe it’s just the new year. But I’ve had a couple of tweets in my stream lately featuring talented folks who are looking for a new job. Likes and retweets will only go so far — and knowing how critical finding good talent is — I thought I’d share a few of them here. (And if there are others I should include, please let me know.)
Speaking of interns… the Emerging Leaders Internship offers a compelling opportunity to source talented interns for your organization. That’s why Business for a Better Portland is encouraging local companies to participate in the program again this year. But you have to hurry because applications close soon.
I remember when TechfestNW — then called the Portland Digital eXperience — barely had 75 people in the audience. Now they have 75 startups — and potentially more — attending the event to participate in PitchfestNW. And that’s not even the main event.