If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: I still like demo days. Maybe not as their initial incarnation for fundraising. That doesn’t really seem to work. But as a celebration of companies being built and a graduation ceremony for an accelerator program? Absolutely. That’s why I’m looking forward to watching a trio of Portland-area startups on stage at the Washington Maritime Blue Innovation Accelerator demo day, this week.
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Getting on stage to pitch your startup soon? Here’s how to structure it
By this point in my startup career, I’ve easily seen thousands of startup pitches. Maybe tens of thousands. What’s more, I’ve also had the privilege of working with hundreds of founders to workshop, refine, and polish their pitches for both VC pitches and on stage presentations. So if you’re a founder prepping to jump on stage at an upcoming startup competitions or demo day, I thought it might be beneficial for you if I shared a little advice that any number of founders have found valuable as they developed the stories of their startups to tell in front of a live studio audience…
Read MorePIE Demo Day 2021: And the startups were…
Interested in attending PIE Demo Day 2021? Here’s what you need to know
Next week, Portland startup accelerator PIE will hold its 2021 demo day. This marks the seventh time that PIE has hosted the event and the second time it will be fully virtual. This time around, the event is designed to showcase companies who have participated in its full PIE and PIE Shop programs, as well as its light touch program, Slice of PIE.
Read MoreTwo upcoming local — yet virtual — demo days to add to your calendar: Alchemy Code Lab and PIE
Maybe it’s another sign of the world returning to something resembling normalcy. There are not one but two demo days on the calendar in the coming weeks. Alchemy Code Lab Demo Day is on Friday, June 18, 2021, and PIE Demo Day 2021 is on June 28. Both events are completely virtual.
Read MorePIE Demo Day 2021 will be held June 28 at 3:14PM
Like it or not, we’ve all learned a lot during this whole global pandemic. Some good, some bad. But whatever the case, it’s been a learning experience for every single person on the planet. And PIE is no different. But based on those learnings, PIE is rebooting — or in bad PIE pun lingo “reheating” — its current class of startups.
Read MoreREMINDER: Inaugural demo day for PSU The Cube startup incubator
It’s always nice to see new organizations starting up to assist founders. Especially when they’re focused on helping younger mentors with the support they need. Like the Portland State University incubator The Cube. Which will be hosting its first demo day on Friday, November 6, 2020, at 11:00AM Pacific.
Read MoreSearching for some positive news? Meet a bunch of new Portland startups. All from the comfort of your Web browser.
Clearly, there’s a palpable amount of negativity floating around, these days. And with good reason. But the continued onslaught can get grating, if not completely debilitating. So if you’re looking for something more positive — and you’ve already binge watched all the Arthur and Zoboomafoo episodes you can stomach — maybe consider meeting some new Portland startups.
Read MoreExperimenting with social distance: PIE Demo Day goes fully virtual
I sincerely hope you’re hanging in there. Stuff is weird. I mean, seriously. To be more blunt, shit is weird. And isolating. And lonely. But PIE, one of Portland’s oldest startup accelerators, is hoping to, ahem, disrupt that isolation. By holding its demo day virtually. With appropriate social distance.
Read MoreAn experiment in heartbreak: PIE Demo Day 2020 moves to online, only
I thought I was going to have to cancel the very first PIE Demo Day.
Not in one of those, you know, hollow-threat-coach-voice-yelling “If you startups don’t get your acts together, we’re going to have to cancel demo day!” kind of way. Not at all. I thought we were going to have to cancel it because of forces beyond our control.
I can remember it clearly.
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