Portland startups, open source, and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
Another day, another interesting fintech company being built in Portland. This time, it’s Steamchain, which has set its sights on simplifying the payment processing systems in transportation and logistics.
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I told you October is chock full of events… For startup founders, keeping track of all of the accelerator programs can be a challenge. So I wanted to make sure a couple of upcoming events were on your radar. One will help you decide on potential accelerators. Another will help you understand what participating in the culmination of an accelerator—affectionately referred to as “demo day”—is like.
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There’s a new class of startups in a new accelerator. The Oregon Enterprise Blockchain Venture Studio housed at R/GA in Portland has announced their first class of companies.
Working on a Blockchain startup? Curious as to how the Oregon Enterprise Blockchain Venture Studio is going to work? Wondering if your company is a good fit? Well, you can get all of those questions and more answered this week. Because R/GA is hosting an information session on the Oregon Enterprise Blockchain Venture Studio.
If you know me, you know that I’m a firm believer that the accelerator model is far from played out. I see it as an educational platform that you can point at companies, people, institutions… practically anything can be “accelerated” through a combination of peer and expert mentorship. That’s why I was super excited to see that a venture studio — which has a lot in common with the accelerator model — that I’ve been eagerly awaiting is now open for business and taking startup applications. Meet the Oregon Enterprise Blockchain Venture Studio (OEBVS).
By now, we’ve all heard the buzz about Blockchain. And cryptocurrency. But what are the other potential applications of this technology? Blockchain startup Sila — a company cofounded by Shamir Karkal, the cofounder of Simple — wants to help answer that question — and other questions you might have. And they’re hosting a webinar this week to do just that.
You have to love Public Market. They’re very much an atypical startup for the Portland area. They’re swinging for the fences as they work to build an ecommerce platform that’s designed to — wait for it — kill Amazon. Yes. That Amazon. And as if that’s not difficult enough? They decided to launch their platform to the public on Cyber Monday, the most server meltingest of days in ecommerce.
Blockchain. The way the term gets bandied about is eerily reminiscent of the dotcom days. But, like the Internet and the Web, there could be any number of interesting uses of the Blockchain that have significant impact. We just haven’t hit upon them yet. That’s why I’m always excited to see folks continuing the conversation. Like the Outside the Block conference.
The cofounder of Public Market will be a familiar face to many Portland entrepreneurs. That’s because he’s been an integral part of the Portland and Oregon startup community for years. And he’s had more than his fair share of experience with eCommerce systems. The new blockchain focused startup was cofounded by none other than Monsoon cofounder Kanth Gopalpur, who serves as the Chief Strategy Officer, under the leadership of cofounder and CEO KJ Erickson.
You know me. I always like it when good stuff happens for Portland startups. It’s like whatever the opposite of schadenfreude is. Like I get happy when they’re happy. Oh. Wait. Maybe that’s just called “being happy.” Anyway… I’m happy that Portland’s Chroma is happy. They’ve had a triple dose of good news, lately. Read More