Portland startups, open source, and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Darius Monsef. And a lot of that is because I’ve been lucky to watch his efforts and growth over a dozen years or so. And with him now on the third Portland startup that he’s cofounded, I continue to be impressed with the maturity and perspective his significant startup experience — both within Portland and beyond — has wrought.
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More and more, the most creative business models are focused on, well, creatives.
Etsy has enabled a marketplace for handmade creations. Kickstarter has re-imagined the “patron and artist” relationship to fund creative endeavors. Now, Creative Market—another Portland-based project from the makers of COLOURlovers—hopes to enable to marketplace for creative assets like icons, brushes, fonts, and more. Read More
[Editor: Dale Davidson of TrekDek shares another guest post with us.]
I recently sat down with Darius Monsef IV aka Bubs, the founder of COLOURlovers. Though much of the tech world is focused on the recent $1 million dollar funding they recently received, I thought I would try to get his perspective on the world of social entrepreneurship and Portland’s role in it. Considering that Darius is a co-founder and an active member of the non-profit All Hands, a disaster relief group, he is extremely knowledgeable about the subject. Read More
You remember COLOURlovers, right? Remember? They’re the Portland startup that left for the Bay, got picked as a Y Combinator company, and is currently in the midst of renewing their relationship with Portland?
Well, you might have noticed that they’re doing a little hiring here in Portland. And that might make folks wonder how they were planning to pay those folks. The answer was revealed today: COLOURlovers just secured $1 million in funding. Read More
As everyone knows, there are always a ton of tech events happening in Portland on any given day. And it’s difficult to make it to most of them. But luckily there are folks like Don Park who take the opportunity to capture the moment.
So if you missed the get together with Darius Monsef of COLOURlovers, last week at PIE, fear not. Don managed to capture a pretty good audio stream of the event—and some video. It’s well worth a listen.
Take a few minutes to hear Darius—and the entire COLOURlovers team—talk about Y Combinator, the Portland startup scene, and getting your ideas out there.
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[Editor: It’s been a while since we’ve had a guest post from Darius Monsef, founder of COLOURlovers (one of the first Portland Web startups I started following here on Silicon Florist). Want to hear more from Darius? Swing by PIE on Tuesday afternoon.]
She was a dream city with everything I hoped for. I was willing to work long hours and scrape by on the leanest of incomes to make things work. I tried again and again… but ended up having to abandon her to find real opportunities in new cities. On my journey I travelled to the mystical land of Startups. I saw over the wall into the secret garden and I’ve returned home to share what I’ve learned… and to be happily together with PDX again. Read More
This week, memePDX talks about COLOURlovers themeleon, Touch Pets, Google Chromium OS, and talking turkey with Turkey Tracker, Bac’n Thanksgiving recipes, and Tofurky.
This is one of the best Thursdays of the year. No, not because you get another episode of memePDX. You get those every week, silly. No, you see, it’s one of the best Thursdays of the year because it’s Thanksgiving! Turkey Day! And all of that stuff.
So maybe you need a break from cooking, maybe you’re tired of parades and football, or maybe you’re just looking for somewhere to sit and digest. Whatever the case, Cami Kaos and I are here to help make your Thanksgiving just that much more festive. Read More
Introducing COLOURlovers themeleon, an Web-based service that will let you create stunning Twitter backgrounds in a matter of seconds—and soon likely themes for any number of customizable sites.
Now, I know, I know. I’ve doted on Portland-based COLOURlovers time and time again. If I’m waxing philosophic about the amazing community they’ve built around sharing color palettes then I’m highlighting another award or recognition they’ve received. It really and truly is one of the most beautiful sites in Portland—if not on the entire Web.
But their latest little venture has me a wee bit slackjawed. Not only is it an excellent application of the wealth of color knowledge they’ve accumulated, it’s also a tool that makes even the hue managing challenged—like yours truly—look like a true artiste.
Introducing COLOURlovers themeleon, an Web-based service that will let you create stunning Twitter backgrounds in a matter of seconds—and soon likely themes for any number of customizable sites. Read More
Everyone could use a little more love. People in Portland. People in Oregon. People the world over. And more love is exactly what the creators of COLOURlovers and FriendsCall.Me are hoping to share with their latest project, Portland-based Hello. I love you.
Getting nominated once is an honor. Twice in a row is impressive. But three times in succession? That’s starting to say something.
Such is the case with our own local Deborah Kerr of nominations-without-wins, Portland-based COLOURlovers, which has now been nominated for the third year in a row for Best Community by the Webby Awards.
Third time’s the charm? Wow! It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of such an awesome community. This is the 3rd year in a row we’ve been nominated for Best Community in the Webby Awards (The Oscars of the Internet). First time it was huge validation for our idea… Second time it was proof that the first wasn’t just a fluke… and this time it totally confirms that you all are the best bunch of people on the internet.
What’s that? You’ve never heard of the Webby Awards? Well, I may be showing my Internet years but suffice it to say that the Webbys are one of the most respected awards for Web types—if you’re into awards. They’re the Oscar of the Web world:
The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. Established in 1996 during the Web’s infancy, the Webbys are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-member body of leading Web experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries and creative celebrities.
The Academy is an intellectually diverse organization that includes members such as musicians Beck and David Bowie, Internet inventor Vint Cerf, political columnist Arianna Huffington, Real Networks CEO Rob Glaser, “The Simpsons” creator Matt Groening, R/GA Founder and Chairman Robert Greenberg, Virgin Atlantic Chairman and Founder Richard Branson, and The Weinstein Company Co-Founder Harvey Weinstein. Members also include writers and editors from publications such as The New York Times, Wired, Details, Fast Company, Elle, The Los Angeles Times, Vibe, and WallPaper. The 12th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from over 60 countries and all 50 states and generated over 750 million media impressions worldwide.
Now, here’s where you come into the picture: the COLOURlovers nomination is a People’s Voice award. That means that any of us can help COLOURlovers walk away with a win.
So if you like COLOURlovers, now is the time to act. You have until April 30 to vote in the People’s Voice awards.
Who knows? Maybe this year, COLOURlovers will finally walk away with the award they so rightly deserve.
In any case, one thing is for sure: win or not, they’ll remain one of our favorite Silicon Forest Web communities.
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