No single one of us is as smart as a bunch of us. That was my thinking when I originally threw together this cheat sheet on Github to help document resources in the Portland startup community. The idea was that it would make it easier for folks to understand what was happening in Portland, what organizations supported startup activity, and potentially serve as a way to finally capture and quantify the actual startup activity around these parts — that allowed everyone to contribute.
Read MoreTag: Community
Competing community coffee meetings: Coffee w/ Co-Founders and New to Portland Tech Meetup, tomorrow
While it may seem like a negative, I always see competing events as a positive thing for the community. In very much a “the more, the merrier” kind of way. And it’s always nice to see folks choosing different times than “after work” for getting folks together. So you can only imagine my joy at noticing that we have two competing Portland startup community coffee break meetups on Wednesday.
Read MoreContinuing the conversation about the Portland startup community
Last week, I took the opportunity to sit down and share some thoughts — and concerns — about the Portland startup community that had been rattling around in my head. Even questioning, to some extent, whether it this iteration even behaves as a “community.” I’m always heartened when these sorts of posts (okay, rants) spark more conversation. And that’s exactly what’s occurring over on the Portland Startups Slack.
Read MoreWTF is wrong with the Portland startup community?
I get one question, consistently. The same question that I get asked — time and time again — exponentially more than any other question. It doesn’t matter if it’s someone who was born and raised in Portland or if it’s someone who just moved here. It doesn’t matter if they are super well connected or don’t know anyone. It doesn’t matter if they’re employed at a major corporation or if they’re out starting their own thing. And it’s one of those questions that seems to confound practically every single person who has an interest in entrepreneurship or startups around here. And that question stuck on incessant repeat is this: How do I get connected with other people in the Portland startup community…?
Read MorePortland startup Caravel acquired by community management solution Commsor
Part of the ebb and flow of the Portland startup community — or any startup community for that matter — is a regular cadence of companies being founded, funded, and acquired. We’ve seen a great deal of the founding and funding over the past few years. And now, there’s another acquisition in our midst. PIE and Techstars Seattle alum Caravel has been acquired by Commsor.
Read MoreVIDA and XXcelerate announce grant program for women-owned businesses
Looking for more access to resources to help your business? Portland’s XXcelerate and VIDA have partnered to offer a grant designed to enable women-owned businesses easier access to coworking, community, and other services that can benefit their business.
Read MoreFormer founder returns to the Portland startup community as cofounder and CEO of a new pursuit: Metrist
In the early days of the SaaS and Cloud-based version of the Portland startup community, Jeff Martens was one of the more active, engaged, and recognizable figures in the community. His first startup — a product of Portland Startup Weekend called CPUsage — created a service that provided on-demand high-performance computing services to customers by leveraging idle time on vast arrays of participating machines.
Read MoreLooking to engage — or re-engage — with the Portland startup community? Here are a few tips and tricks, pandemic or no
One of the most confusing things about the Portland startup community is how quiet it is. It’s not because there’s nothing happening. Far from it. And it’s not because people aren’t interested in including new and amazing people like you in their groups or meetups. Honestly, the quiet nature of the community comes from a very positive place: folks around here tend to be aggressively humble. They’re not ones to toot their own proverbial horns or be making a lot of noise about what they’re building.
Read MoreCommunity kudos: Steve Morris, OTBC
In 2005 Steve Morris assumed the role of Executive Director of Beaverton’s Oregon Technology Business Center (OTBC). He assumed it would be a temporary role, but last month, after leading the organization for 16 years, he stepped down to become OTBC’s part-time Entrepreneur In Residence.
— Jim McCreight, Executive Director OTBC
Over those 16 years Steve grew OTBC into a statewide highly respected entrepreneurial support organization. He also led OTBC’s investment efforts with the Westside Startup Challenge which after six years has invested over $700,000 in 30 startup’s that have gone on to raise over $60 million in additional funding.
Well done Steve!
Connect with Steve on LinkedIn.
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Community kudos: Kari Naone, TiE Oregon
Kudos for running the TiE organization for startups in the Portland metro area. If we had more programs focused on the elements provided in the TiE XL bootcamp we would have a higher potential of startup successes.
Connect with Kari on LinkedIn.
Have someone you’d like to recognize? Give them the kudos they deserve.