Portland Oregon startups, tech, news, events, jobs, and community
Portland startup and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
Why does Oregon borrow most of its town names—like Portland and Salem? Truth be told, because when left to our own devices to create names for towns, Oregon comes up with names like “Beaverton.” Read More
It’s always nice to wake up to another nail in the “it’s hard to find funding in Portland” coffin. And this time, not only is it funding for a cloud-based company in the Portland area, it’s funding for a company that sits outside the Old Town/Pearl region of town that has been a recent magnet for capital. Way outside. Like Beaverton.
Act-On software has secured $10 million in C round funding, led by Trinity Ventures. Why does Trinity sound familiar? Oh, because Trinity also just sunk some cash into ShopIgniter. Read More
Let’s be honest. There are only so many hours in the day. And if you’re on the Internets, a lot of those hours are spent reading. And reading. And reading. So much content. So little time.
But what if you could ingest that content faster? And get through more reading in less time? Well, it’s possible that you could, if you take a spin with Beaverton-based QuickReader, an iPhone and iPad app that helps you improve your reading speed and comprehension. Read More
On Wednesday, April 22, we’re headed back to the ‘burbs, Beaverton to be exact, for a lunch hosted by Denney Cole and TechShop Portland.
What is TechShop? Glad you asked because it may not be what you’re expecting.
TechShop is a 33,000 square foot membership based workshop that provides members with any skill level to have access to tools and equipment, instruction, and a creative and supportive community of like minded people so you can build the things you have always wanted to make.
TechShop is perfect for inventors, “makers”, hackers, tinkerers, artists, roboteers, families, entrepreneurs, youth groups, FIRST robotic teams, crackpots, arts and crafts enthusiasts, and anyone else who wants to be able to make things that they dream up but don’t have the tools, space or skills.
In short, TechShop is DIY paradise.
I took a brief tour last week, and if you ever had an itch to build something, you should know about TechShop. Amenities include: every metal and wood-working tool you can imagine, kilns and furnaces, a CNC router, a painting space, a tech hardware tinkering space, a robotics course, a textiles area, and more that I can’t recall right now.
If the tool you need isn’t on the list, they might get one, just ask. Don’t know how to use any tools safely? No worries, there’s a safety class.
TechShop is also home to OpenTechSpace, an open lab space for electronics and computer projects that you can use for free. There are also offices for rent and a computer lab, so it’s an incubator of sorts, with a shop attached.
Denney mentioned he might start a wiki for projects completed at the TechShop, which sounds like a fun time.
My personal favorite project is the urban logging one member is doing.
Ever had a tree toppled by a windstorm? Maybe the city comes to cut and chip it or maybe you pay some company to do that. What a giant waste of perfectly good timber.
Urban logging consists of a guy with a tractor and a big log cutting machine who removes these trees, transports them to TechShop, cuts them down, dries them out in a kiln, and leaves them there, much to the delight of the wood-working members.
So. Very. Portland.
Anyway, Denney is giving us a sneak-peak at the TechShop. He’s been taking members for a while, but the official opening isn’t until April 25. You can get a deal on membership until it opens.
So, head out to the ‘burbs if you’re in Portland, or if you’re in the ‘burbs already, swing by TechShop and say hello. If you’re driving, there’s parking in the front, and if that’s full, you can park in the loading dock area.
As always, 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.
Hope to see you there.
Don’t forget these Lunch 2.0s, coming soon:
If you’re wondering about the WebVisions’ lunch, it will be open to anyone, attending the conference or not. There’s also a rumor that Open Source Bridge may be hosting a lunch before the conference (June 17-19) sometime. Any ideas on venue? Drop a comment.
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.
Ever wondered what it’s like to submit an iPhone application to the Apple App Store? Now, Beaverton-based FastFigures provides some much needed insight into the whole process with the lessons they learned after one month in the iPhone App Store.
The post provides a fascinating look into the planning of the launch, including struggling with issues like pricing:
The price sensitivity data showed a starting price of $9.99 maximized revenue but I was concerned that these customers were too familiar with our products and wouldn’t represent the broader world of iPhone users. After agonizing over this for over a week, I decided to adjust the pricing based on some additional factors and settled on $5.99. This decision is proving to be both a good one and a bad one, and I struggle with selling our applications so inexpensively to this day.
Mistakes made:
And this is where not understanding the process hurt us. First, I didn’t realize that there was some additional paperwork that needed to be completed. That was completed on the 23rd. Then, once everything is signed off, it takes 24 hours to show up in the AppStore. Finally on the 24th, I’m looking for the application in What’s New and can’t find it!
And valuable lessons learned:
[HTML2]
Two things happened around March 19th that changed our fortunes. For one, we hit that magical 20 review level I’ve talked about before. Second, one of the products in the Finance category most similar to ours went free. There has been a lot of discussion on the web about free applications versus paid applications and that the two customers aren’t the same. And this competitive application proved that.
Plus, some insightful suggestions:
Can you make money in the AppStore? Yes. But the competition is fierce and it’s very hard to differentiate your product from others. My suggestion: Spend plenty of time up-front figuring out how to get above the noise with factors you can control.
Long story short, if you’ve even remotely entertained the idea of building an iPhone app, this post is a must read.
Thanks to the folks at FastFigures for opening up and providing this valuable insight into the process.
[HTML1]
For many “side project” entrepreneurs, the most difficult part of getting an idea off the ground—and out of the garage or basement—is finding that business partner that complements their skillset.
Business people with good ideas can write all the business plans they want, but they’ll eventually need a developer. And developers can crank all the code they want, but eventually they’ll need some way of approaching the market or getting more funding. But how are they supposed to find one another?
Enter OTBC startup speed dating.
After some networking time, we’ll have each idea person looking for a team give 2 or 3 minute elevator pitch, have each of them head to their own corner of the room, and let people circulate around to check out the startups that sound interesting to them.
The first speed dating event will be held Saturday, February 28 from 1 – 4PM at the OTBC (located in The Round in Beaverton, right on the MAX line). Best of all? It’s all free.
If you’d like to give folks a little pre-briefing on your startup turn-ons and turn-offs, give them some more details your idea. Word around the campfire is that at least 10 startups will be participating. Details on those startups will be listed this week.
For more information, see the OTBC post, Upcoming, or Meetup. And of course, I will mention that OTBC speed dating is on Calagator, too. (Because I heart Calagator.)
[HTML1]
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.
Here 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.
Yesterday, Steve Morris and the OTBC hosted the tenth iteration of Portland Lunch 2.0 and the first one in the ‘burbs.
Even though we didn’t get an official count, estimates I collected put the attendance between 75 and 100. Pretty typical for Portland Lunch 2.0, but a pleasant surprise for our first venture to the ‘burbs. It was tough to count people because they filled up the OTBC office and its conference rooms and spilled into the lobby.
The fire marshal would not have been pleased.
Photo by Don Park, used under Creative Commons.
Todd and his party train brought about 30 people from Portland, and attendance from nearby the areas seemed high. I didn’t do a scientific poll or anything, but based on the number of new faces, I think it’s safe to say that we had a lot of first-timers. It was a nice mix of the usual suspects and new people. The reactions I saw on Twitter right after lunch included several good-to-meet-yous and the like.
The fare was pizza, but as with most Lunch 2.0s, I didn’t eat. Too busy chatting and networking. Simeon Bateman liked it enough to ping me to find out who provided it. Bellagios if you’re wondering, and a couple of the OTBC’s companies provided it: Integra Telecom and Sonitrol.
A little nugget here: Sonitrol provides security systems and captures audio of intruders; Todd and I agreed that audio would be really funny to hear, like a YouTube for botched breakins. Turns out they do publish some of the audio clips, and they’re as funny as expected. I found this out while chatting with Chuck Mally and Pamela Singleton from Sonitrol.
This Lunch 2.0 also featured a field trip over to Denney Cole’s Portland TechShop. What is TechShop you ask?
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.
That’s right, it’s a DIY workshop, complete with tools and machines you just don’t have room for or don’t want to buy. I had to miss the field trip, which bummed me out because several of us agreed that welding stuff and then cutting it apart with an acetylene torch for giggles sounded like a blast. Denney agreed this was the type of activity he wanted to encourage. He might even name a class “Welding for Giggles”. Sweet.
Wm Leler will soon be opening an Open Tech Space there soon, which will be free to anyone, the ostensible reason for the field trip. Sounds like about 20 people made the trip, but I’m still focused on the heavy machinery.
Photo by Wm Leler, used with permission.
So, it was a great lunch all around, and judging by the number of new Twitter follows and good-to-meet-yous, we managed to make some new connections.
Upcoming Portland Lunch 2.0s
Interested in hosting a Lunch 2.0 this Spring or later in the year? Drop a comment (or tweet @jkuramot) if you want information about hosting one. It’s easy.
One more thing, will someone please remind me to carry business cards the next time? Every time we have a Lunch 2.0, I sheepishly have to tell people I don’t carry cards. Sorry about that.
It’s been a while, so I’m sure your appetite for good grub and conversation has been whetted.
In case you’ve forgotten, we’re off to the OTBC in the ‘burbs (Beaverton) for the first Portland Lunch 2.0 hosted outside city limits. I saw Steve Morris at End Bloglessness this past weekend; he’s looking forward to showing off the new digs the OTBC recently inhabited in the swanky Beaverton Round.
If you’re sitting in Portland, lamenting the trip West, never fear; turns out the OTBC’s office is only about 100 feet from the MAX Blue Line Beaverton Central stop. And, Todd has graciously organized a Party Train to Lunch 2.0. So, you’re going to need a better excuse than usual to avoid going West.
But wait, there’s more. Wm Leler wants to take advantage to show off his new Open TechShop, and he’ll be organizing a side trip during the lunch for anyone interested. So much good stuff.
Update: A blurb from Wm himself:
Many people have heard about TechShop Portland opening up soon, and since it is close to OTBC we are arranging a tour of TechShop and OpenTechSpace after Lunch 2.0, so people can see how it is coming along and find out how they can help. If you are going to take MAX out to OTBC, we will be carpooling to TechShop and will return you to OTBC. Lots of progress is being made — TechShop had their first class last week, and OpenTechSpace has workbenches and is starting to acquire equipment and tools. TechShop has a new blog at http://portlandtechshop.com and OpenTechSpace is at http://opentechspace.org
Convinced yet? Just be sure to head over to Upcoming to RSVP and make sure to include a comment if you’re vegan/vegetarian. This will ensure Steve has enough of the right kinds of food for you.
Hope to see your smiling face there.
In other PDX Lunch 2.0 news, thanks to Aaron Hockley, our semi-official photographer, for the plug at WorkCamp Las Vegas this past weekend. Aaron was one of three Portlanders who were invited to speak (along with Geoff Kleinman and Lorelle VanFossen), and you can watch his session “Beyond Beer and Blog” here.
Also, AboutUs, our host for the very first PDX Lunch 2.0 last year, will be hosting our one year anniversary lunch in February. They have lots to celebrate, having just closed a round of venture funding last week.
Upcoming Portland Lunch 2.0s
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.
Beaverton-based Prolifiq may be one of the most successful companies in the Silicon Forest of which you’ve never heard.
And I have to admit that part of that is entirely my fault. I had the pleasure of speaking with the folks over at Prolifiq quite a while ago, and I have a half-composed post about what they’re doing. But it never seemed to make it out of drafts.
Well, I’m happy to say that Prolifiq has some big news, today, that forces my hand. And it involves another company that you may know. One with one of those “acronym names,” IBM.
So what does Prolifiq do? They actually help sales teams and marketing teams work together. That bears repeating: they have come up with a solution that actually helps sales teams and marketing teams work together. And if this doesn’t sound like boiling-the-Willamette-River magic to you, you’ve obviously managed to dodge one of those roles in your professional life.
Prolifiq’s solution is the love child of customer relationship management (CRM) and content management (CMS) with some collaboration and social recommendation features, as well. In short, Prolifiq helps marketing types arm sales teams with immediate access to the information their potential customers need. And it allows them to crate it up and send it to anyone, lickety split. From a mobile device. Or from the desktop.
CEO Jeff Gaus calls it “the digital equivalent of a FedEx envelope.” I’d agree. Only it’s faster. And you don’t have to deal with the goofy guy in the purple shorts.
So where does Big Blue come in? IBM recently launched Bluehouse, which is basically Lotus Notes “up in the cloud,” as the cool kids like to say.
To hear IBM tell it:
“Bluehouse” is the place where businesses come to get work done. Whether you need to prepare for tomorrow’s meeting, are ready to host one today or want to collect feedback from yesterday’s call – “Bluehouse” can help.
So where does Prolifiq fit into the mix?
“’Bluehouse’ integrates key tools that enable teams to work more effectively,” said Sean Poulley, IBM Vice President of Online Collaboration Services. “Prolifiq for ‘Bluehouse’ provides sales organizations with the content they need at their fingertips that is branded, formatted and ready for use. Sales teams that use Prolifiq for ‘Bluehouse’ will have more time to do what they do best—close deals.”
Something tells me that a lot of other folks are going to be telling people about Prolifiq, now. Especially given the stage on which they find themselves, today.
But I still need to finish that draft.
Prolifiq revolutionizes personal email between sellers and their customers or prospects. The company’s smart email solution enables sellers, such ad Cisco Systems, General Electric, and Getty Images to send personal email that projects the brand, uses content that works and measures 1:1 conversations with customers.
For more information, visit Prolifiq.
