I always say that Portland built its tech startup community on “engineers building tools for other engineers.” That began as far back as Tektronix and continues today with companies like Puppet and Sila. That being said, it’s always nice to see consumer facing tech startups beginning to find success here, as well. Like Shop Latinx, which just secured $1 million in funding.
Read MoreTag: backstage capital
Suddenly one Portlander — and one former Portlander — have a potential $50k startup investment burning a hole in their pockets
Now, it’s no secret that I’m a fan of Indie.vc. The way they’re rethinking traditional venture capital is right in line with the way companies are built around here. And their focus on generating revenue and founders retaining control has an appeal as well. So just imagine how much more of a fan I became when I heard that someone from Portland and someone who used to live in Portland were selected to help invest some Indie.vc capital.
Read MoreREMINDER: If you’re looking for a truly inclusive investor, you’ll want to apply for Backstage Capital Accelerator
Startups have to juggle a lot. A lot. So picking their battles — or applications as it were — is an important part of deciding how they’re going to spend their time. And in my opinion, if you’re a founder who identifies as a woman, person of color, or LGBTQ, you’d be smart to spend your time applying to the Backstage Capital Accelerator. Because there isn’t a more truly and earnestly inclusive investor and accelerator, local or otherwise.
Portland Startup Week 2018 features special guest Arlan Hamilton, founder of Backstage Capital
A couple of years ago, Stephen Green put together an amazing Reverse Pitch event that I got the chance to attend. (If you’re not familiar with the format, a “reverse pitch” is where investors get on stage to describe the types of startups they’re seeking.) During the event, I had the pleasure of hanging out in the audience with a newcomer to the venture capital world who was visiting Portland. Her name? Arlan Hamilton.