Portland Oregon startups, tech, news, events, jobs, and community

If you were thinking about attending the latest Rose City Robotics Collaborative gathering, you waited too long. The March 26, 2025, event is sold out. But there is a waitlist.

Serial founders don’t often sit still long. Doesn’t matter if they’ve had a successful exit or if they’ve had to wind something down. Either way, they always seem to have one more idea that they want to work on. Such is the case with Darius Monsef, founder of COLOURlovers, Brave Care, and Genie — all of which went through Y Combinator. Now, he’s winding down Genie and starting something new called Rides. But not before he gives us a retrospective on the decision.

I love times like this. Times when there’s a singular technology focus that has everyone asking questions and trying things. You know, that point in time where everyone suddenly feels compelled to have an “X Strategy”…? I’ve been here in the community when the “X” has been Web, Open Source, Cloud, Social, Mobile, and web3. And now, it’s time for that “X” to be AI.

You know me. I love it when people blog. I mean, I love the YouTube and podcasty stuff too. But I really love it when folks take the opportunity to write long form content. I realize it’s not easy in a world of short attention spam theater. So I also want to highlight when folks carve out the time to compose something longer than a couple of hundred characters. Like this recent piece from Megan Notarte entitled “Community matters more than ever.”

Missed this one in the newsletter this week, so I wanted to be sure to highlight that Demolicious, the monthly gathering of folks interested in quick pitches from local startups, takes place this Thursday, March 20, 2025, at UpStart Collective Westside. Who’s taking the stage…? I’m glad you asked.

Last year, one of the most significant exits in Portland startup history took place. Jama Software was acquired for $1.2 billion. That exit garnered a lot of coverage around here. But it also drew attention from around the country. And as such, it’s up for the 2025 GeekWire Awards as the “Deal of the Year.” Want to see it win…? Cast your vote.

I always love startups that come from a pain point that the founders experienced firsthand. Like the inspiration for Disputed.ai, a Portland startup that leverages AI to help folks manage the disputed charge problem. Turns out I’m not the only one. Disputed.ai just raised $1.1 million.