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Tag: zebras

Living in Flux: A virtual fireside chat with Portland’s April Rinne

Rick Turoczy on March 9, 2022

Like it or not, we live in a time of constant change. The past couple of years, perhaps more so than other times in our lives, have brought that fact into sharp relief. But surviving this state of being is very different from thriving in this mode of existence. Which is why I’ve really appreciated the work of Portland’s April Rinne, who has captured some of her thinking in Flux: 8 superpowers for thriving in constant change.

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Zebras Unite chats with Portland’s Jelani Memory, founder and CEO of A Kids Book About

Rick Turoczy on July 17, 2020

If you’re looking for a new podcast or simply want to get some insights from a two-time Portland founder, you might want to check out the Zebracast from Zebras Unite. In this episode, they chat with Jelani Memory, founder and CEO of Portland startup A Kids Book About.

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Portland startup Switchboard merges with like-minded Chicago startup Hearken

Rick Turoczy on June 25, 2020

Switchboard, a Portland company founded by Mara Zepeda — and one that powers the Portland Startups Switchboard — has announced the completion of a successful merger with a similarly minded business out of Chicago, Hearken. The combined entity will retain the Hearken name.

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The growing disenchantment with Silicon Valley’s approach to business

Rick Turoczy on February 11, 2019

It’s happened before. Many of us lived it. And if my reading list this weekend is any indication, it’s happening again. Like the days of the dotcom boom and bust, folks seem to be growing increasingly tired of the Silicon Valley way of doing business. And they’re getting fairly vocal about that disdain.

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An epic Twitter thread on venture capital, startups, and zebras

Rick Turoczy on January 14, 2019

Last Friday, the New York Times published a piece on the Zebra movement, a movement with Portland roots that highlights any number of things broken about the prevailing venture capital model and its pursuit of unicorns and calls for more rational and accessible means of funding startups.
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Zebras of New York: Counter startup capital movement — with Portland roots — featured in the NYT

Rick Turoczy on January 11, 2019

I still smile every time I see a startup covered by local media. So you can only imagine my downright giddiness when I woke up to a New York Times article on Zebras Unite, a growing international startup movement cofounded by Portland entrepreneurs Astrid Scholz and Mara Zepeda.

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Forget unicorns, Portland. Let’s aspire to be zebras.

Rick Turoczy on March 8, 2017

It’s a well known adage that Portland was built upon an ancient unicorn burial ground. So it should come as no surprise that a member of the Portland startup community would be proposing we bury the latest incarnation of that mythical beast—the so-called unicorn startup, a company with a valuation of at least $1 billion—as well. What could be better, you ask? How about Zebras? Read More