Portland startups, open source, and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
If there’s one truism that gets repeated more than any other in the world of early stage startups, it is this: Go talk to potential customers. It doesn’t matter how great your idea is. It doesn’t matter how needed and obvious it seems to be. It doesn’t matter that you’re an expert in the field. If customers don’t see the need for your product, all you’ve got is a hobby.
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I may have mentioned a time or ten that my first experience in Portland startups was with a digital healthcare company that was building some wacky new thing called Electronic Medical Records for physicians near the end of the last century. And while it’s been a couple of decades since I was active in that realm, I still think that digital health startups have potential around here.
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Even with the ravaging effects of the pandemic and the sputtering economy, Portland still boasts a number of resources for non-traditional office space, be they coworking spaces like CENTRL Office or on-demand solutions like Radious. But those solutions still require capital — which can always be in short supply for early stage startups. That’s why some community members are considering pursuing a lower-cost offering for founders.
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Two years. It’s been rough. But many founders and startups have still managed to survive amidst the hardship. Not that any of it has been easy. But if you’re willing to share some details on how your resilience as a founder helped keep your business alive — or what factors led to your shutting your startup down — with RAIN, they’re compiling a report to better understand the current state of startups in Oregon.
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If I have one big complaint about the Oregon startup world, it’s that practically everything is anecdotal. Not a lot of documentation or centralized resources to be found. There are definitely resources out there. But they tend to be more the exception than the rule.
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Being a founder is hard. Really hard. And there are any number of impediments and obstacles to overcome. But for every single startup founder out there, there is one single thing that is top of mind. That one thing that is keeping them up at night. What’s your single most perplexing or paralyzing issue at the moment?
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Surveys. They’re like a way to get information. That can be infuriating at times. Especially when they keep hitting you. Wave after wave. But I’ve got two that are well worth your time. If you’re interested in startups getting more support. And women founders. Or one. Or the other. Whatever the case, I’ve got something for you to do this weekend.
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While everyone is being negatively impacted by this worldwide pandemic, folks who identify as women are often disproportionately affected by what’s happening. That’s why XXcelerate wanted to check on Oregon womxn entrepreneurs to see how they’re doing.
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Every year I look forward to the results of the Portland Women In Tech (PDXWIT) State of the Community survey results. Not because the results are easy to hear. Or even stomach. Far from it. But they’re a clear indicator of where our community is broken. And where work can be done.
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You know those times when you’re ridiculously busy — you mean everyday? says every entrepreneur — and you’ve convinced yourself that that thing you forgot to do was actually done. But it wasn’t. Yeah. That. I meant to share the details of a survey Built Oregon and our partners recently completed to help give folks a better understanding of the impact of this whole COVID-19 situation on local business. But I didn’t. So I am now.
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