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Mugasha selected for SXSW Accelerator

Rick Turoczy on February 16, 2009

MugashaMugasha—the DJ-set splitting startup founded during Portland Startup Weekend—has been selected to participate in the Microsoft BizSpark Accelerator at SXSW. They are the only Northwest company to make the cut.

SXSW is a big stage for the young company. With the event’s mix of music and technology, it’s sure to give Mugasha access to some noted movers and shakers who will no doubt appreciate the service and its capabilities.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Mugasha has stepped into the limelight. (Akshay Dodeja of Mugasha took the chance to speak with Robert Scoble, last year, and I got the chance to profile them on ReadWriteWeb.) But SXSW marks Mugasha’s first chance to demo their private beta to a large group of people outside the immediate Portland tech scene:

Microsoft BizSpark Accelerator is the newest addition to the SXSW Interactive schedule of activities. Scheduled Monday, March 16 at the Downtown Austin Hilton, the event spotlights some of the web’s most exciting new innovations, enabling the entrepreneurial visionaries behind these new products to demo their creations in front of a live audience of industry professionals and technology trend-setters.

It’s great to see Mugasha—and by association, Portland—getting this sort of recognition.

Even if you’re not going to SXSW, you should give Mugasha a spin—especially if you like electronica. What’s Mugasha do? Basically, it parses DJ set podcasts—usually one long multi-hour track with no song info—into separate song tracks, allowing user to play the songs they want to play and actually know which tunes they’re playing.

For more information or to get an invite to the private beta, visit Mugasha.

Portland one of the top 10 places to start a small business. No, the other one. We’re #11.

Rick Turoczy on February 16, 2009

Portland has been named the 10th best place in the United States to start a small business. Unfortunately for us, that Business Journal ranking is for Portland, Maine. We here in Portland, Oregon, just missed the top 10, landing at #11.

The survey and resulting list is compiled by American City Business Journals—the parent company of all of the regional Business Journals. To arrive at the ranking, the survey compared the number of small businesses in the area to metropolitan population and job growth.

Of course, you can’t read the article, unless you’re a paid subscriber. But here’s a snippet:

Portland [Ore.] had 61,244 businesses with 99 or fewer employees, or 28.7 per 1,000 residents in 2006, according to Census data used in the formulation. The 11th place showing is the best by Portland since the first list arrived in 2005. Back then, with the economy in full swing, Portland ranked 39th.

So what were the top 10?

  1. Raleigh
  2. Charlotte
  3. Seattle
  4. Austin
  5. Boise
  6. Salt Lake City
  7. Orlando
  8. Oklahoma City
  9. Denver
  10. Portland, Maine

All in all, garnering the 11th spot is good news for Portland, Oregon, especially when it comes to those outside of the Silicon Forest looking in. From a “closer to home” perspective, the metrics are likely too broad to provide much insight into the comparisons between the Web and Mobile startups here in town and their peers in other metropolitan areas.

Happy 150th Birthday, Oregon! OSU and Flickr got you a gift

Rick Turoczy on February 14, 2009

Today, February 14, 2009, marks the 150th birthday of Oregon, the sesquicentennial of the fair state that the Silicon Forest calls home.

I didn’t really get you anything, Oregon. But OSU and Flickr did.

Like this photo of Beer and Blog, circa 1933.

Beer and Blog circa 1933

Well, okay. Maybe that’s more of a codefest. And it’s taking place in Virginia. But let’s not quibble.

In honor of Oregon’s birthday, Oregon State University has become the first university to contribute to the Flickr Commons.

This initial offering focuses on the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a New Deal program, focused on the conservation of natural resources, that targeted unemployed young men, veterans and American Indians who were hard hit by the Great Depression. The Oregon State University Archives’s photostream shows various CCC projects, which included firefighting, farm land improvements, infrastructure projects and even the building of ski areas on Mt. Hood.

The photos are just a peek into OSU’s photographic collections pertaining to the history of forestry and natural resources in the Pacific Northwest, with a focus on Oregon. Expect more uploads from the OSU Archives illustrating culture, natural resources, and history in the coming months. In the meantime, enjoy the collection!

What is the Flickr Commons? It’s a huge collection of photography shared by the world’s photography archives designed to give the public a glimpse into these valuable resources—as well as stimulate discussion among the Flickr community.

I don’t know about you, but I just added the OSU Commons as a friend on Flickr.

Whatever happened to the daily “Silicon Florist’s links arrangement”?

Rick Turoczy on February 13, 2009

I could hear you asking. I could. And I was just sitting here. Biding my time. Holding out hope as long as I could. But now, even I must admit defeat.

If you’re asking “What the…?” allow me to bring you up to speed.

There used to be a regular feature here—Silicon Florist’s links arrangement—that came out on an almost daily basis. It featured links to interesting things that were happening in the Silicon Forest that I either a) didn’t have time to cover as I would have liked or b) did a better job of describing a topic than I ever could have.

Suddenly, around the beginning of February, the feature up and wilted.

Why?

Well, the links arrangement was an automated feature of a social bookmarking service I was using called ma.gnolia. I know. Appropriate for a florist, hunh?

Anyway, I saved the bookmarks there and it automagically published posts full of linky goodness.

And all was right with the world.

Until January 30.

ma.gnolia FAIL

On that day, ma.gnolia crashed. Not just a “we need to reboot” crash. A “catastrophic data loss” crash. What’s more? The whole “backup” thing is a little murky, but it seems to be inaccessible, as well.

It’s unfortunate. I really like the folks who run ma.gnolia and I really appreciated the service—for any number of reasons. And honestly, I was quite lucky. Probably 95% of the 2000+ bookmarks I lost were published in the link arrangements. So I still have the bulk of my data. Thousands of other ma.gnolia users weren’t so lucky.

But it’s time for me to face the facts. I don’t think ma.gnolia is ever coming back. So I’ve started to research new solutions for the links arrangement.

I just wanted to give you fair warning, because there may be a hiccup or two, here and there, as I work to find a new solution for handling this feature.

But, rest assured, the Silicon Florist’s links arrangement will be back. And better than ev… Well, actually, it will likely be exactly the same as it was before.

Thank you in advance for your patience during this transition. And, as always, feel free to throw advice my way. It’s greatly appreciated.

Bored? The Portland tech scene might have something for you to do tonight. Maybe.

Rick Turoczy on February 12, 2009

So, you don’t have anything planned for tonight? Well thanks to our good friends over at Calagator, you do now.

Yes, it’s just another boring night. If only there were something to do. Oh well. Maybe next week will be a bit more eventful.

AboutUs Lunch 2.0 V2 Recap

Rick Turoczy on February 12, 2009

Yesterday, we ended the first year of Portland Lunch 2.0 at the place it all began in February 2008, AboutUs.

I didn’t get a very official count at either event, but I think we went from about 50 at the first Lunch 2.0 to well over a 100 yesterday. I saw a lot of familiar faces, along with new ones.

Aside from opening up their sweet renovated warehouse office space to us, AboutUs provided chotchkies (cell phone charms featuring the universal edit button and AboutUs buttons), grub and cupcakes as big as a fist. They had a projector broadcasting a stream of their pageviews, which attracted a lot of attention; Lunch 2.0 still is a pretty geeky crowd after all.

3273794888_e5e33aed49.jpg

Case in point, someone suggested that we watch the list to see if there were repeat IPs, but this quickly made me dizzy and disoriented.

Another nice touch was the arrangement of cinema displays (color me jealous) along the western wall of the office that read “HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUNCH 2.0”.

3272975615_c16e8118c9.jpg

We skipped the talkie-talkie this time. Everyone was happily chatting around the office, which is kinda the point. No need to interrupt everyone to listen to me mumble, and AboutUs had all their people mingling and answering questions about what they do.

Big thanks to the whole AboutUs crew for hosting, especially to Steven for organizing.

Likewise, thanks to Aaron Hockley who provided excellent photos of the event. All photos in the post are by Aaron and used under Creative Commons. Incidentally, check out Aaron’s Lunch 2.0 – Portland set on Flickr; it provides a great history of the event. Aaron has been to nearly all the Lunch 2.0s, and he usually has his camera to document the festivities. His photos also pop up on Flickr widget on lunch20.com, the home of the original Bay Area chapter because of how awesome they are. OK, it’s also because they’re tagged “lunch2.0”.

Anyway, let’s peer into the future of Portland Lunch 2.0’s second year.

Upcoming Portland Lunch 2.0s

Save these Dates

These haven’t been officially announced yet, but they are happening. Stay tuned for details.

Big thanks to all the hosts who have hosted or plan to host Lunch 2.0. Drop a comment (or tweet @jkuramot) if you want information about hosting one. It’s easy.

Portland Ten: Incubating 10 $1 million startups by 2010

Rick Turoczy on February 11, 2009

After spending the better part of the year researching the Portland startup community, Carolynn Duncan has come to the same conclusion as the many of us: Portland is one huge R&D shop. Which is great for innovation. But not always as good for revenue-generating business.

Carolynn writes:

  1. The pre-revenue, pre-funding entrepreneur community lacks a core understanding of the fundraising process, and perceives that there is a lack of seed capital.
  2. Local investors and funds appear to be few & far between, while investors outside the area fly between Seattle and San Francisco, without paying serious attention to what’s happening in PDX.
  3. Geeks prefer working on their own side projects independently, rather than joining a startup, or taking their technologies to a commercialized level.

In essence, the area as a whole interacts much like a national laboratory or research university, with results being that the entrepreneurial talent neglects to convert side projects into startups, and the geeks, while coalescing as a supportive & sociable community, tends to be underutilized/underemployed.

So how do we address that problem? Traditional venture capital models? No. How about something that better meshes with the existing startup culture? An incubator along the lines of Y Combinator.

Meet Portland Ten.

The goal? Incubate 10 Portland startups capable of generating at least $1 million in revenue per year—by August 2010.

Ten by ’10. Get it?

But Carolynn doesn’t see this as a problem at which one can just throw capital. It requires something more educational. More focused on mentoring. Using the expertise she’s gained on the VC side of the desk and her co-advisors—Mark Grimes and Josh Friedman—have gained running (and in Mark’s case, selling) their own startups.

It’s an intensive bootcamp, but there isn’t any money going to the startups. With Portland Ten, the startups are paying:

[We’re looking for] an entrepreneur right on the cusp of starting a high-growth business. A teachable entrepreneur who will commit to the required activities, and the optional activities when possible.

An entrepreneur who will consider themselves the first investor in the project and raise the funds to pay the $500/month program tuition.

Interested in applying to participate? Portland Ten is currently accepting applications for its first 12-week session, beginning February 23.

If you’ve got a side project that you’re convinced will be a viable business, it’s time to grab those bootstraps, my friend—and check out Portland Ten.

[UPDATE 2/12/2009] This post elicited some great comments and it sparked an interesting discussion on Y Combinator’s Hacker News. As a result, Carolynn has taken the opportunity to address 14 of the questions/critiques about Portland Ten.

Lunch 2.0 at TechShop Portland

Rick Turoczy on February 10, 2009

Update: TechShop had to change the date. It’s now April 22. Please plan accordingly.

If the lucky 13th episode of the Portland Lunch 2.0 series needed a name, I would call it “Back to the ‘Burbs: Welding for Giggles at TechShop Portland”.

I don’t have to name them, but how else can I inject pizazz into a simple event announcement?

Anyway, we’re heading back to Beaverton for an off-cycle Lunch 2.0 on April 22 March 25 at the recently opened TechShop Portland. There’s no official schedule really, but as you know, we usually do this once a month. After the OTBC Lunch 2.0 in January, Denney Cole, of the TechShop, wanted to get on the calendar as soon as possible to get people excited about the TechShop.

Maybe you remember the excursion he and Wm Leler organized during the OTBC lunch, or maybe you were too busy chatting up new people.

Well, if you missed it, Denney’s opening the doors to show everyone all the cool stuff he has in there.

Sorry, I made an assumption there, i.e. you also think large power tools and welding equipment are cool. I know I do. In fact, the phrase “welding for giggles” came up when I was trying to understand what the TechShop does. Turns out they provide equipment, space and tools that members can use for all kinds of projects, even if you’re just welding pieces of rebar together and giggling to yourself.

That’s what I’d be doing.

Here’s the official about:

TechShop is a membership-based DIY workshop that gives you access to a huge variety of tools and equipment, tons of friendly and easy classes, and a community of amazing people who share your interest in making things.

Oh, and Wm will soon be opening an Open Tech Space there soon, which will be free to anyone. So, if power tools and arc welding don’t do it for you, there will also be geeking out available.

techshop_logo_portland.pngHere are the details:

Hosts: TechShop Portland

Where: 10100 SW Allen Blvd. Beaverton, OR, 97005

When: March 25April 22, 2009 from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Please RSVP on Upcoming so the hosts can get an idea of how much grub to get. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, drop a comment on the event page for planning, unless you don’t want to eat.

Upcoming Portland Lunch 2.0s

Save these Dates

These haven’t been officially announced yet, but they are happening. Stay tuned for details.

Big thanks to all the hosts who have hosted or plan to host Lunch 2.0. Drop a comment (or tweet @jkuramot) if you want information about hosting one. It’s easy.

FreeRange acquired by Kansas City’s Handmark

Rick Turoczy on February 9, 2009

FreeRangePortland-based FreeRange—one of the leaders of the Portland mobile scene with customers like the Blazers, paidContent, and The Wall Street Journal—has been acquired by Handmark, a mobile entertainment company headquartered in Kansas City, MO.

Last year, I wrote:

If any company is the “founding father” of the burgeoning Portland mobile scene, FreeRange is it. With customers like the Wall Street Journal and the Portland Trail Blazers—and one of the most impressive mobile feed readers on the market—FreeRange is sure to keep Portland associated with mobile apps for a long time to come.

Oopie. Allow me to rephrase that. “Handmark is sure to keep Portland….”

According to the release, FreeRange is a “strategic addition” for Handmark, which has been recognized for its “mobile development expertise and management of a variety of desktop and on-device mobile stores full of the industry’s best games, applications and ringtones.”

“This is an exciting turning point for our company and we are proud to become part of the Handmark organization,” said Jon Maroney, FreeRange CEO. “Handmark has built a large network of happy customers across a wide range of mobile devices. This offers a great opportunity for FreeRange partners to expand their reach, adding tremendous value to content delivered via our publishing platform.”

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

For more information on the acquisition, see the FreeRange blog.

(Hat tip Jason Grigsby)

Celebrate Portland Lunch 2.0’s First Birthday Wednesday at AboutUs

Rick Turoczy on February 9, 2009

120px-aboutuslogonew.pngIt’s been nearly a year since AboutUs hosted the first Portland Lunch 2.0 back in late February 2008, and we’ll be back there again this Wednesday, February 11.

The last year has been busy, in a good way, for the AboutUs crew. Since we lunched with them last, they’ve been busy raising money, no easy feat in this economy, and staying atop the Portland Startup Index.

I’m looking forward to checking in with the gang and with all of you, natch. You are coming, right? What better way to kick off what Bram has dubbed the “Busiest Day in Portland Tech“. He would know.

So, it’s settled. Just please make sure you RSVP over on Upcoming so they know how much food to get and drop a comment there if you’re a vegan or vegetarian.

It’s been a year now, with ten Lunches 2.0. Or is it Lunch 2.0s? Rick will know.

Here are a few of my personal highlights.

Do you have a Lunch 2.0 highlight? Share it in the comments.

Upcoming Portland Lunch 2.0s

Save these Dates

These haven’t been officially announced yet, but they are happening. Stay tuned for details.

MioWorks needs a place to host their lunch. I guess their tiny office can’t hold 100+ people for lunch. So, if you have suggestions about where they could host, drop a comment, or noodle on it and wait for the official announcement.

Big thanks to all the hosts who have hosted or plan to host Lunch 2.0. I hope we can keep the Lunch 2.0 train rolling this year. Drop a comment (or tweet @jkuramot) if you want information about hosting one. It’s easy.

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