As we become more and more dependent on technology, we have become increasingly worried about single points of failure. That issue where one particular component of your technology stack can hiccup and the whole house of cards comes tumbling down. So we have redundancy. And fail over. And load balancing. But there remains one incredibly critical single point for most everyone: our Internet connections. Read More
Tag: psf
More saplings than seeds: Portland Seed Fund reveals their latest investments
It’s always nice to see startups getting the support they need from local resources. And that’s why I’m always pleased to see a whole new crop of startups graduating from the Portland Seed Fund. This latest class—the sixth class for the program—presented to a group a local investors, yesterday. Read More
No longer a gem in the rough: Opal hits their stride and raises $8 million
I’ve been following the Opal crew for quite some time. It’s been an interesting journey to say the least. With any number of hurdles. And any number of changes. But they’ve continued pushing and persevering. And while I’m not touting funding as much as I used to, this seems like one of those times where it’s warranted. Opal just raised $8 million in a round led by Madrona. Read More
I don't always get scooped, but when I do, I get scooped by TechCrunch: Moot rebrands as Muut
Now, let’s be honest here. Silicon Florist? Not exactly a “breaking news blog.” Usually, I’m not chasing exclusives or publishing as embargoes expire. But I tend to be lucky enough to know when Portland news is breaking—whether I actually act on it or not. Except for today. When I got fully scooped as Muut (nee Moot) hit TechCrunch with news of their rebrand and initial funding. Read More
Predicting how you'll spend your winter break: Portland Seed Fund Spring 2014 applications now open
It’s funny. These days, folks seem to look forward to holidays and breaks so that they can do more work. Focused work. Without interruption. And like it or not, I’ve got something awesome like that for your winter break task list. The Portland Seed Fund has successfully closed their second fund. And as such, they’ve opened applications for their next class. Read More
After further analysis: Portland's Measureful retools offering to focus on marketing folks
Portland Seed Fund and Upstart Labs alum Measureful has taken a dose of their own medicine. After carefully analyzing where their product was getting traction in the market, they’ve retooled their offering to focus their efforts on marketing and agency types. And it’s paying off. VentureBeat just called them the “Flipboard of data.” Read More
Meet the Startup: Catching up with Brandlive
If you’re considering pitching Portland Seed Fund, this week, it might be good to do your homework. And I’m happy to help. Recently, Meet the Startup caught up with PSF alum and Oregon Angel Fund portfolio company Brandlive. Read More
Beer pitchers: Present to Portland Seed Fund and get a free pint
Portland loves its beer. And Portland loves its startups. So combining beer and startups must be awesome right? Right. Especially when it’s free beer. And so I’m happy to share that it’s time, once again, for the Portland Seed Fund‘s Pitch for Beer event. Read More
Good to go: Brandlive lands GoPro and $1.6 million led by Oregon Angel Fund
Call me crazy, but I’m beginning to think that maybe—just maybe—this whole “video on the Internet” thing may catch on. And Portland Seed Fund alum Brandlive has found themselves sitting right in the middle of the next wave of opportunity with one of the biggest names in the business. Read More
Miners allowed: New Tellagence tool digs through Twitter for relevant topical data
It should come as no surprise that Portland gets analytical about things. Webtrends took an early lead in the world of Web analytics—and continues to innovate on monitoring what’s happening on the Web, today. And it’s led to a prevalence of thoughtful and creative data visualizations—from companies like Periscopic, for example—are changing the way people think about data. Read More