Portland startup, 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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A few years back, I started Portland Startup Week. And as the starter, I became its de facto lead organizer. Despite the fact that I wasn’t terribly good at it. And I kept doing it because I wanted Portland Startup Week to be a thing. Over time, a number folks have pitched in to help pull it together making it an incredible celebration of the Portland startup community with nearly 100 events, from free coworking to panels to hackathons.
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Now, you likely know I’m not the biggest fan of pitch competitions. But every once in a while, an opportunity comes along for a Portland startup founder that involves a pitch competition. And it just makes sense. Like AllGo getting the opportunity to pitch at Lesbians Who Tech. There’s only one problem: It’s in New York. And that’s across the country.
Last week, business media and social were abuzz with conversation about the declaration from the Business Roundtable that corporations, rather than continuing to champion increasing shareholder value above all else, should perhaps consider creating “an economy that serves all Americans.”
It’s always heartening to see more Oregon founders getting more support. And when that support comes from outside the region? That’s only further proof that we’re building compelling startups that can compete on a bigger stage. So I was really happy to see three Oregon startups getting the nod from the Female Founders Alliance Ready, Set, Raise program.
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.
It’s not like you’re actively trying to procrastinate. It’s just that you’re a founder. And you’ve got a million things to do. And a bunch of fires burning. So I’m not asking you to do anything at the moment. But I did want to remind you of four rapidly approaching deadlines for programs that could be beneficial for your startup.
Not really feeling the current job? Looking for something new? Or maybe you’re not even in Portland currently, but you’d really like an excuse to move here? Well, whatever the case, you’re in luck. Because folks are hiring. And they might be interested in hiring you.
Portland rarely sees things occur in rapid succession. Funding tends to be sporadic. Exits tend to be blips here and there. But that may be changing. Because it feels like we are starting to see a growing trend of well known Portland startup founders moving on to their next thing. The latest? Nat Parker is leaving moovel, a journey which started with his startup GlobeSherpa.
I’m always encouraging founders to celebrate small wins. And to take pride in the progress they’re making. So for once, I’m going to follow my own advice and take a moment to celebrate. PIE, the startup accelerator that I helped cofound and continue to run as general manager, is turning 10 years old in August. So let’s celebrate.