The startup world is often seen as one of constant change. And that’s because it generally is. But every once in a while, there’s an entity that manages to stay the course. Remaining consistent. And ideally, solvent. And those few and far between, steadfast entities are critical. Because it’s those elements of a startup ecosystem that provide the tentpole-esque support that ensures the ever changing elements can do what they do. And that the community will survive. From my perspective, that’s what Founders’ Co-op has done over the last 15 years for startups throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Read MoreTag: venture capital
Black Founders Matter urges venture capital industry to engage BIPOC women
Local venture capital firm Black Founders Matter is encouraging their entire industry to be more intentional about engaging BIPOC women through both investments and employment. And they’ve launched an effort called the 25 by 25 VC Diversity Pledge to formalize it.
Read MoreSilicon Florist links arrangement for May 3, 2022 💐
Angel Oregon Life & Bioscience Finale: Get Your Tickets!
Join us for the Angel Oregon Life & Bioscience (AOBIO) Grand Finale & Innovation Showcase, to be held in person on May 26th, 2022, 3-7pm at Amaterra Winery in Portland.
Read MoreSilicon Florist links arrangement for March 11, 2022 💐
Venture Capital is Dead
Venture capital is dead. There, I said it. In the last 12 months, over $5 billion in venture investments have been lost globally due to a lack of return on investment from these funds. This was not an isolated incident either — there have been many more casualties across the globe as global markets continue to plummet with no end in sight. So what will replace VC?
Read MorePortland venture capital fund Black Founders Matter featured in Crunchbase
One of the more recent VCs to call the Portland area home, Black Founders Matter, recently had the opportunity to take Crunchbase through some of the goals and motivations for starting the fund designed to support Black-led businesses.
Read MorePitchbook: 2021 was $1 billion year for venture capital in Portland
The Portland Business Journal is reporting this morning on numbers from Pitchbook that show Portland metro area startups raised more than $1 billion in venture capital in 2021. The more impressive number from my perspective? That total was the result of investments in 138 deals.
Read MoreUpon 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.
Read MoreRise of the Rest charts Portland among top 20 cities where Bay Area and New York VCs are investing outside their region
Raising capital is hard. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. It’s just difficult. And when you have to go outside of town for that capital, that makes it exponentially more challenging — and complex. But if this recent report from Rise of the Rest tells us anything, it’s that Portland startups are doing a decent job of dealing with that additional complexity. And landing early stage capital from outside of the state.
Read MoreOregon 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.
Read MoreFounder of 1859 Ventures provides advice for would be Angels and early stage LPs
Definitions change. And culture changes. Which means that communities have to deal with those changing dynamics. But sometimes, those changes mean that folks lose the thread. And lose track of the reasoning behind why definitions and roles exist.
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