Startup and tech news, jobs, and events in Portland and Oregon
Back in the early days of this generation of the Portland startup community, we used to have a weekly happy hour every Friday. Its origins stemmed from a small group of folks providing peer support for their self hosted WordPress installations in local watering holes. So it was called “Beer and Blog.”
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While it may seem like the Portland startup community is growing in population, I’m not sure that it’s growing in the number of startup companies we’re seeing. And even if that anecdotal assumption is somewhat misplaced locally, broader demographics across the US tend to indicate that it’s probably more true than false. Entrepreneurship has never recovered from the days of the mortgage crisis.
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In some industries, the idea of “closing” can be the worst possible outcome. But in the world of startups, closing is often a very good thing. And the latest news from the Portland Seed Fund is no different. The Portland Business Journal just revealed that PSF has just closed their third fund to the tune of $13.9 million.
If you’re working on a startup and you feel like you could use more help, connections, and mentorship, then I have a little homework assignment for you, this weekend. Because it might be time for you to apply to PIE or PIE Shop with your startup idea.
When it comes to helping people get their ideas going, there are few weekends that compare to a Techstars Startup Weekend. Fifty four hours of sprinting from idea to product and pitch. It just goes to show how quickly something can come together. And that’s why I’m always happy to hear about new and different flavors of the event. Like Techstars Startup Weekend Small Town Advantage which takes place this weekend in Independence, Oregon.
There are any number of reasons to love Portland. But it’s rare to see anything startups making the citywide lists. That’s why it was nice to see Willamette Week highlighting a couple of interesting reasons to love the Portland startup community.
There have been in any number of times throughout history where humans have done things that they thought were totally fine — only to find out later how detrimental those activities were. Pick your favorite. I’m not here to judge. That said, I am here to propose that the normalization of startup founders being constantly stressed out, never sleeping, and always on may very well be one of those things.
I’m lucky that I get the opportunity to sit at the nexus of passionate founders building early stage companies and the community of mentors who wants to support and bolster those founders as they strive to build the next great Portland company. While we all recognize that building a startup is ridiculously difficult, sometimes we forget that founders are suffering from any number of stressors and pressures, despite the stiff upper lip they project.
I always appreciate folks who are looking to be more helpful to the Portland startup community. Especially when they’re asking how they can be helpful. That’s why I’m sharing this survey from OK Studio.
Like most things Portland, there are a ton of awesome makers and manufacturers in town doing a ton of awesome things. But thanks to our culture of aggressive humility, we don’t always know about all of that awesomeness. That’s why it’s nice to have things like the Friends of Fictiv happy hour. If only to bring some of those hidden gems in our midst to light.