I’ve mentioned this pattern a few times before. We see it repeating again in this new new normal. A crisis occurs. Collaborative communities — open source, startup, Portland — rush to the fore, eager to solve it. Immediate tactics have some meaningful but limited impact. And then the bigger problems reveal themselves. And things get real complicated real quickly.
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For startups, each and every potential customer seems like a must-win situation. But sometimes winning the account can be even worse than losing it. Or can waste a ton of time — your most valuable resource — for your company. But how do you tell who to qualify and who to disqualify? A few folks from the startup community are seeking to help answer that question with Ongoing Disqualification as a Sales Differentiator.
Remember when I said it was feeling a bit like a Portland startup accelerator renaissance? Well, today upped the ante. Because Portland had two new accelerator announcements. R/GA announced the first Portland version of their series of brand-powered accelerators—like ones they’ve done with LA Dodgers and Snap—and Uncorked Studios announced a startup accelerator in collaboration with Autodesk and PIE.
There’s definitely a feeling of a momentum shifting in the community, lately. For a time, Portland’s startup activity wasn’t in Portland, at all. It was in the suburbs. Where communities like Beaverton and Hillsboro provided space for would be juggernauts. At the turn of the century, that momentum shifted to Portland proper and—more notably—the Pearl District. Now, there’s a new center of gravity emerging around the startup community: the Central Eastside.
There was a time when you couldn’t swing a wearable without someone releasing a new fitness tracking app. But, regardless of how many iterations of the concept were released, they all seemed to do basically the same thing: count steps. And maybe count calories. So when Portland’s Uncorked Studios started approaching a new solution with adidas, they cut to the core of the issue.
We hear it all of the time. About technology’s ability to connect. About it being a platform for expression. About how it can bridge distances. Now, a collaboration among Portland based businesses Wildfang, Uncorked Studios, and Ziba is using technology to provide a platform for the voices of women in our nation—and they’re encouraging every woman to participate. Read More
Many folks are lucky to get to work in awe inspiring environments. Here in Portland, there’s no shortage of amazing office spaces—and more are joining the fray every day. But lest we forget, a lot of those amazing environments are the result of hours of creative work by folks behind the scenes. Read More
Portland is no stranger to a hackathons. Hack this. Hack that. Hack the other thing. Portland does it. From cranking code to soldering boards to rethinking civic data. Hacking is part of our collaborative and collegial nature as a community. And it’s a way that we explore technology with others. But usually not with a ton of other folks. Read More
While we live in a day and age where any amount of information and content sits at our fingertips, sometimes it’s just nice to talk to someone and get to ask questions face to face. That’s why Uncorked Studios has invited the PDC to an open house on the PDC five year strategy. Read More
Portland contextual-design agency Uncorked Studios—which was founded by former Wieden+Kennedy folks—has added another W+K alum to their roster, Anne-Marie Harbour. Read More
