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Tag: VC

Upon further review: Adding a Combined Statistical Area population lens to the VC investment analysis by Rise of the Rest

Yesterday, I shared a recent report by Rise of the Rest which illustrated the number of VC dollars from the Bay Area and New York City that were being invested elsewhere in the country. Portland did okay in the rankings. But something was gnawing at me. Like I needed some additional context. And suddenly it dawned on me this morning that that additional context might be the populations of the metropolitan areas that were highlighted — and what the per capita venture capital investments were.

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Oregon barely among top 25 states for Series A & B venture funding in Q2 and Q3

According to Crunchbase, Oregon was ranked 24th in the US in terms of Series A and Series B venture capital raised during the second and third quarters of 2021 — with a total of $119 million raised. They also noted that this marked an improvement of 88% over the same time period, last year.

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There’s a new pre-Seed fund in the Pacific Northwest. Meet Startup Haven Venture Fund.

In order to sustain a vibrant startup investor ecosystem, funds need to start, find success, and raise more funds. And should that success cause them to grow beyond their previous stage focus, then new funds need to start to backfill the gaps. So as many of the early stage funds in the Pacific Northwest achieve success and move downstream to Seed and Series A investments, it’s nice to see new funds stepping up to take the opportunity to support pre-Seed startups. Like the new Startup Haven Venture Fund.

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And so it goes: Indie.vc is no more

One of the most rewarding things about covering the Portland startup community is the opportunity to watch things come full circle. Sometimes, that’s extremely positive. Like watching founders start something, build something, and successfully exit something. Sometimes, it’s less positive. Like being around for both the beginning and the end of an effort, successful or otherwise.

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VamosVentures selects Portland’s Juan Barraza as a part of its inaugural scout program

More and more venture capital funds are embracing the concept of “scouts” to help them with deal flow — and its a win win for folks who are in close contact with startups but aren’t necessarily investing. The funds get access to a wider spectrum of companies. And the scouts get compensated for finding startups that are on thesis for the funds.

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A new name and some new money to help introduce it: Meet DeepSurface (formerly Kanchil)

I’ve been tracking on a Portland startup called Kanchil for a bit. Mostly because they’ve posted opening to the Silicon Florist job board. It seemed pretty stealthy at the time, so I was reticent to post much about it. But now, they have a new name and some new funding. And other people are writing about it. So now I feel more comfortable encouraging you to take a look at DeepSurface.

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Portland Venture Capital fund Black Founders Matter gets write up in The New York Times

While I’m extremely lucky to get the opportunity to see all kinds of amazing founders and companies here in Portland, it’s always nice when they’re recognized on a larger stage. Like today, when Marceau Michel and his venture capital fund, Black Founders Matter, were featured in The New York Times.

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Black Founders Matter cuts first check for A Kids Book About

Speaking of new venture capital funds in Portland… Granted everything is pretty grim right now. And energy is hard to come by. Let alone optimism. So when there is a glimmer of something hopeful in the Portland startup community, that seems like something to celebrate. Like Portland’s Black Founders Matter fund making its first investment. In a Black founded Portland startup. And then that news making it into TechCrunch.

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