We’ve seen a lot of leadership changes in local nonprofits that interact with the startup community. Business for a Better Portland, OEN, TiE Oregon, and others have all had fairly recent shifts at the top. And now Xcelerate Women is joining the list as they seek new leadership.
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It’s always nice to see other organizations recognizing the depth of talent we have in our midst here in the Portland startup community. And being part of that community, it’s highly likely that you’ve had the opportunity to encounter Paige Hendrix Buckner. She was a serial Portland startup founder, cofounder of XXcelerate Fund, instrumental with the development of the TiE youth entrepreneur program TYE, cohosted TechfestNW, and — as if that weren’t enough — has been a tireless mentor to any number of founders in town. So seeing the news today that Paige has been named the COO of global startup accelerator program Founder Gym? It just made sense.
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If you’re a more than part-time founder who identifies as a woman, has a business that’s more than a year old and is generating at least $25,000 a year, and are registered in Oregon, then you have the opportunity to secure additional mentorship and support through the XXcelerate Fund XXcelerator program. But you have to get your application in today.
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I always say that the “P” in “PDX” stands for “procrastination.” It’s all but a definitive cultural trait around these parts. But sometimes, we all miss out on something really special due to that dragging of the proverbial feet. That’s why I’m really happy to announce that — instead of closing today — the XXcelerate Fund’s startup accelerator, XXcelerator, is giving you another week to get your application completed.
It’s always nice to see Portland companies featured in national media. Especially when it’s folks who you know have been hard at work, building amazing companies, with little to no media recognition for what they’ve been doing. Like Walker Tracker, which was just featured in Forbes as an example of the participants in the XXcelerate Fund.
Portland is nothing if not collaborative. So it would only make sense that a bunch of the Portland startup community would band together to help welcome the newest startup support organization in to town, WeWork Labs Portland. And what better way to show that support than to gather in celebration of the launch of the project.
If there’s anything good to come out of the completely ridiculous and negative inequities of the technology and startup scenes, it’s a series of vibrant organizations that celebrate and champion more diverse groups. Especially in regards to women. You know, those folks that comprise 51% of our population?
If you’re a startup that’s looking for some support, there are a couple of opportunities to apply for that sort of assistance. Cascade Angels is currently accepting applications for early stage startups seeking funding. And XXcelerate Fund is accepting applications for the next round of its XXcelerator program for women founded companies.
One of the things I love about Portland is that it’s a large enough metropolitan area to be statistically relevant, but it’s not so big that you can’t move the needle. One such opportunity to effect change in our city focuses on providing better support for our women entrepreneurs. And one of the most promising efforts to address this opportunity is the XXcelerate Fund, which receives funding from the city through Prosper Portland.
There was a time, not so long ago, when Portland had an embarrassment of riches on the startup incubator and accelerator front. But as the pendulum swung from early stage to growth stage—and as regional offices and bigger players promised increasingly attractive wages and benefits—the once crowded incubator and accelerator community thinned. But all of that may be changing in 2018.
