Portland Oregon startups, tech, news, events, jobs, and community
Portland startup and tech news, jobs, and events #pdx
Whether it’s the first time you’ve built a company or the fifth, every early stage founder wants to take every advantage available. And for some folks, accelerators and incubators can be a beneficial means of getting that much needed help in a very concentrated format. But you can’t get in if you don’t apply, so maybe consider these looming accelerator deadlines. Read More
Portland is lucky to have a bunch of awesome people swinging through all throughout the year. And every once in a while, we’re lucky enough to get one of them to hang out and chat about their experiences.
This time it’s Paul deGrandis, who’s going to share his thoughts on Data, Culture, Networks, People, this Tuesday, February 21, at 6PM. Read More
Pay attention startups. You should be making something that makes people’s lives better. It’s that easy. Want big valuations? Want venture capital? That’s all it takes.
Don’t believe me? Well don’t believe me. Believe the guy who said it, Paul Graham, the tech entrepreneur behind a little incubator you might have heard about called Y Combinator. Read More
[Editor: So, the Portland Seed Fund is now open. Providing a new funding mechanism for fledgling Portland startups. And we here, who have been anxiously awaiting the opening of the fund, are excited about this endeavor, it makes me wonder how people outside of Portland are receiving it.
Well, enter Dale Davidson, a recent Portland transplant who attended the launch. Here’s his guest post on the event and some of his thoughts on the fund.] Read More
When you have a line up with two successful Y Combinator companies like CarWoo and Cloudkick and the launch of the Portland Seed Fund, the venue can fill up pretty quickly. And that’s exactly what happened with tonight’s event.
But anyone who knows Portland knows that we’re all about making sure everyone gets a chance to participate. So even if you can’t get in or if you’re out of town or whatever, you’ll be able to tune in to the Portland Seed Fund launch party—all from the comfort of your Web browser. Read More
Since its inception, the Portland Seed Fund has held with it the promise to fill a much need role in the Portland startup scene—the ability to provide small amounts of capital to burgeoning young startups that might not yet be ready for larger rounds. And while I’ve been critical of the some of the original positioning around the Fund, I’ve eagerly awaited and supported the Portland Seed Fund team as they’ve worked to put the program together.
Now, the Portland Seed Fund has reached the point that they’re ready to accept applications. And to open with a bang, they’ve brought a couple of former Oregon companies—who also happen to be Y Combinator alums—to help celebrate the milestone. Read More
As everyone knows, there are always a ton of tech events happening in Portland on any given day. And it’s difficult to make it to most of them. But luckily there are folks like Don Park who take the opportunity to capture the moment.
So if you missed the get together with Darius Monsef of COLOURlovers, last week at PIE, fear not. Don managed to capture a pretty good audio stream of the event—and some video. It’s well worth a listen.
Take a few minutes to hear Darius—and the entire COLOURlovers team—talk about Y Combinator, the Portland startup scene, and getting your ideas out there.
Read More
Portland Seed Fund claims to be loosely based on Y Combinator. I think they may be using the term “loosely” loosely. And it may be unconstitutional in Oregon.
[HTML1]There comes a time—not often mind you—but there comes a time when even I—admittedly often naively optimistic in my cheerleading of the Portland startup scene—have to admit that something just isn’t right. This is one of those times.
Over the weekend, Mike Rogoway at The Oregonian published an overview piece on the new Portland Seed Fund, a project designed to help provide funding for bootstrapping startups to get their legs under them. It’s not Mike’s piece with which I have trouble. I was happy to see it. That with which I have trouble is the Portland Seed Fund comparing its program to Y Combinator, an incubator and mentoring program for tech startups. Read More
Can Portland become a startup hub? It’s a question that we discuss time and time again.
We have the hackers, but can we attract the right kind of investors? Can we create a startup environment that meshes with the Portland—and Silicon Forest—culture? Can we build a sustainable startup engine?
I believe we can and I know I’m not alone in that regard.
Now, Paul Graham, founder of the well-known early stage startup incubator Y Combinator, has provided another vote of confidence for the Rose City. In a post entitled “Can You Buy a Silicon Valley? Maybe.” he proposes a way to fund and retain startups “for a particular city.”
It’s an interesting argument. But what I found most interesting was this (emphasis is mine):
How well this scheme worked would depend on the city. There are some towns, like Portland, that would be easy to turn into startup hubs, and others, like Detroit, where it would really be an uphill battle. So be honest with yourself about the sort of town you have before you try this.
So now, it’s not just obvious to us, anymore. It’s obvious to the outside world, as well.
It seems like there’s an opportunity here. And we shouldn’t squander it.
(Hat tip Elia Freedman)
After spending the better part of the year researching the Portland startup community, Carolynn Duncan has come to the same conclusion as the many of us: Portland is one huge R&D shop. Which is great for innovation. But not always as good for revenue-generating business.
Carolynn writes:
- The pre-revenue, pre-funding entrepreneur community lacks a core understanding of the fundraising process, and perceives that there is a lack of seed capital.
- Local investors and funds appear to be few & far between, while investors outside the area fly between Seattle and San Francisco, without paying serious attention to what’s happening in PDX.
- Geeks prefer working on their own side projects independently, rather than joining a startup, or taking their technologies to a commercialized level.
In essence, the area as a whole interacts much like a national laboratory or research university, with results being that the entrepreneurial talent neglects to convert side projects into startups, and the geeks, while coalescing as a supportive & sociable community, tends to be underutilized/underemployed.
So how do we address that problem? Traditional venture capital models? No. How about something that better meshes with the existing startup culture? An incubator along the lines of Y Combinator.
Meet Portland Ten.
The goal? Incubate 10 Portland startups capable of generating at least $1 million in revenue per year—by August 2010.
Ten by ’10. Get it?
But Carolynn doesn’t see this as a problem at which one can just throw capital. It requires something more educational. More focused on mentoring. Using the expertise she’s gained on the VC side of the desk and her co-advisors—Mark Grimes and Josh Friedman—have gained running (and in Mark’s case, selling) their own startups.
It’s an intensive bootcamp, but there isn’t any money going to the startups. With Portland Ten, the startups are paying:
[We’re looking for] an entrepreneur right on the cusp of starting a high-growth business. A teachable entrepreneur who will commit to the required activities, and the optional activities when possible.
An entrepreneur who will consider themselves the first investor in the project and raise the funds to pay the $500/month program tuition.
Interested in applying to participate? Portland Ten is currently accepting applications for its first 12-week session, beginning February 23.
If you’ve got a side project that you’re convinced will be a viable business, it’s time to grab those bootstraps, my friend—and check out Portland Ten.
[UPDATE 2/12/2009] This post elicited some great comments and it sparked an interesting discussion on Y Combinator’s Hacker News. As a result, Carolynn has taken the opportunity to address 14 of the questions/critiques about Portland Ten.
