At Techstars, we are on a mission to help entrepreneurs succeed. Over the past 10 years we have helped over 1,200 companies grow and raise over $4 billion in funding, with a market cap of $10 billion. Now we’re on a search for the next wave of companies to join our worldwide network!

We currently have applications open for Techstars Mentorship-Driven Accelerator programs around the world. Join our program staff for an evening of networking, Q&A, and a chance to show us what you’re currently working on. They will be there to connect with you, inspire you, answer your questions and tell you more about our programs.

Ever struggled to get to a downtown or West side location to join a lunch discussion? Then a virtual "pub lunch" may be the answer!

This agile lunch discussion is a collaborate effort between Seattle and Portland agile minds, and we're hoping it won't stop there. The event is held on a zoom conference line. It is modeled after the AgilePDX Downtown Pub Lunch, which is an open round table with discussion topics sourced from the participants. Towards the end of each lunch discussion we will ask for topic suggestions and vote which one to pick for our next meeting. And we'll close out the discussion with a quick review feedback - so we can learn what works and what doesn't.

For this kick-off meeting, we will borrow the AgilePDX Downtown Pub Lunch topic about Hiring: What qualities do you hire for? Technical skills, learning attitude, team fit, emotional intelligence,... and to what extent does your search focus on building team diversity? These questions are only the beginning.

Join us in this new experiment and connect with the greater community of the Pacific Northwest. Visit our meetup page to RSVP and get the zoom conferencing information: https://www.meetup.com/AgilePDX-User-Group-Portland-Metro/events/252496023/

Have traffic and work schedules prevented you from joining an agile event on a topic which could help you or your teams? Then a virtual "pub lunch" may be the answer!

This agile lunch discussion is a collaborative effort between Seattle and Portland agile minds, and we're hoping it won't stop there. The event is held on a zoom conference line. We've learned using video is best, and you might consider your environment before joining -- find a quiet space where you won't be interrupted or feel self conscious. We're monitoring chat as a back channel, so if you can't find a spot in the discussion, add your question in chat and our hosts will try to work it in.

This weeks topic: Agile Outside of Engineering! The tech industry has collaborated for some time now to find new and better ways to tackle complex problems and deliver value to our stakeholders. And it seems companies have taken notice and agile "good practices" or "lessons learned" are being adopted outside of engineering groups. Methods like limiting your work in progress, planning & working in smaller increments, daily updates & coordination, review & adapt sessions are popping up in other departments and disciplines. Invite your friends to share stories and insights of such agile practices outside of software teams and IT departments. We can all learn from each other and would love to see new voices join, sharing unique challenges and solutions.

Please RSVP at our Meetup event and get the zoom connection info: https://www.meetup.com/AgilePDX-User-Group-Portland-Metro/events/254179707/

StartOut Growth Lab (“SGL”) is a startup accelerator that offers top quality mentoring, education, and networking opportunities for young companies that happen to be founded or co-founded by LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs.

As a part of the application period, we’ll be hosting a virtual ‘Ask Me Anything’ info session to talk through the program and answer your burning questions about the application process, the program and what to expect.

This session will be facilitated by the StarOut team and will feature past SGL founders.

For more information and to review guidelines on how to apply, visit: https://startout.org/growth-lab/

Just because we're still socially distanced doesn't mean we can't connect.

As the weather starts to change, vaccines continue to roll out, and the glimmer of recovery grows ever brighter, there's no better time to reconnect with folks in the community with whom you've lost touch. And there's no better way to gather with a random smattering of your startup community peers than Portland Lunch 2.0.

No agenda. No talks. Just lunch with your community.

And while we'd love to buy lunch for you like we used to, this time, there is no such thing as a free lunch. You'll have to bring your own. Or not.

https://www.airmeet.com/e/a78b59e0-9808-11eb-8b84-a77e963d9252

A free, virtual networking opportunity for Black startup founders around the US, organized by Accenture and PIE (https://piepdx.com)

Join Accenture for an exciting networking event for tech founders. Connect with Black founders, investors, and Accenture industry experts from across North America.

Keynote speaker: Dr. Charlton McIlwain

Author of the recent book, Black Software: The Internet & Racial Justice, From the Afronet to Black Lives Matter, Dr. Charlton McIlwain is Vice Provost for Faculty Development & Engagement at New York University, and Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at NYU Steinhardt. He works at the intersections of computing technology, race, inequality, and racial justice activism. He has served as an expert witness in landmark U.S. Federal Court cases on reverse redlining/racial targeting in mortgage lending, and recently testified before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services about the impacts of automation and artificial intelligence on the financial services sector. He writes regularly for outlets such as The Guardian, Slate's Future Tense, MIT Technology Review and other outlets about the intersection of race and technology. McIlwain is the founder of the Center for Critical Race & Digital Studies, is the President of the Board for Data & Society Research Institute, heads NYU’s Alliance for Public Interest Technology, and is NYU’s Designee to the Public Interest Technology University Network.

Founders attending this event will have the opportunity to...

• Meet Kathy Ross and Dujon Smith, leads of the Accenture Black Founders Development Program
• Hear about recent Accenture Ventures start-up investments and our FY23 goals
• Participate in peer-to-peer networking with founders and investors from across North America

Peer-to-Peer networking hosted on Mixtroz (https://www.mixtroz.com/).

This event is free, open to the public, and hosted by Field Day on Zoom.

Our Streets brings people together to respond to the needs of the community and change the dynamic of living, primarily serving people experiencing housing and food insecurity. With a true grassroots origin, the nonprofit began with a group of friends who observed the needs of their community and were inspired to take action in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement and COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Propelled by community momentum, the nonprofit has grown quickly – they’re now supplying over 600 meals to six shelters per day with 30 staff members and a permanent kitchen (plus a second opening soon).

In this Changemaker Channel, join us for a fireside chat with Buchi Asemota, Executive Director of Our Streets, that’ll leave you feeling empowered to make a change within your community.

What we’ll cover:

• Our Streets’ grassroots beginnings
• What it means to work in alignment with the values of the BLM movement
• Their exponential growth of operations (and why they dropped “PDX” from their name)
• Questions from the audience

About Changemaker Channel: In this series of virtual fireside chats with leaders of nonprofits on Field Day, a community engagement platform and Portland-based startup.

​Play is a universal language that all kids understand — and it's one of the most important ways they can learn the social and emotional skills they'll use in the classroom, in life, and into adulthood.

​No one knows the power of play better than Asia Wisecarver, Executive Director of Playworks PACNW — a nonprofit working with schools to support healthy and inclusive play for all kids across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska.

​Join us for this live fireside chat with Asia to learn about:

• ​The power of play — for kids and adults
• ​Why leveraging play requires a system change in schools
• ​Playworks PACNW's innovative nonprofit model that supports partnerships across four vast states

​Bring your questions for a Q&A!

​Not sure if you can make it? Register anyway — we'll share a recording.

About Changemaker Channel

​In this series, we interview leaders of nonprofits on Field Day to learn about issues impacting our community, the work they're doing to address them, and how we all can get involved.

​This event series is free, virtual, and open to everyone. Watch past events at heyfieldday.com/events.

Join us for a virtual Town Hall Happy Hour where you’ll connect with PDXWIT leadership and staff.

During the event, you’ll learn about the results of the 2023 member survey, get insight into PDXWIT’s plans for 2024, and ask questions during a community member Q&A session.

Closed captions will be available throughout the event. Contact [email protected] if you have other accessibility needs.

Hope to see you there!

Registration through Zoom is required to attend this event.

Fact: Nearly half of entrepreneurs do their marketing all by themselves.

If you’re a biotech or life science startup founder out there bootstrapping your social media, you’re not alone — but the stakes can feel especially high when you’re also juggling fundraising, business development, team building, and more.

Whether you’re a CEO moonlighting as your company’s social media manager, work with a talented generalist who is juggling a lot, or contract with an agency to help you scale your content, it’s important to take stock of whether you’re making the most effective use of your resources to move the needle on social media.

s2s Public Relations’ content marketing lead, Caitlin Kryl, joins OBI to share tried and true strategies and tactics startup leaders can apply to ensure they’re producing effective and efficient social media content that supports business goals — even on the tightest of budgets.

Learning objectives:

Define the value of social media to drive awareness and engagement among investors, potential partners, and customers Identify which social media platforms are right for your company and current bandwidth Explore untapped opportunities to scale your social media visibility and impact through executive social media and employee advocacy Learn about the benefit of content pillars and receive a template worksheet to help you brainstorm and establish your company’s own themes About the Speaker: Caitlin Kryl | Content Marketing Lead, s2s PR

Caitlin is a seasoned marketer and storyteller with a passion for demystifying the world of social media and content for startup leaders and small businesses. She has spent her career helping dozens of impact-focused organizations leverage written and visual storytelling to clearly articulate their brand value, powering lead generation, community engagement, and product demand. Before joining s2s PR, Caitlin led the digital marketing team at MATTER, the global healthcare innovation hub, developing strategies to grow and activate MATTER's community of 200+ healthcare startups and 50+ corporate partners.

Starting a virtual weekly chat to talk about AI. Super rough agenda is cool insights, demo live code if ya want, and any challenges you'd like help on. Agenda is totally open to suggestions, I by no means need to control this thing at all. I've also invited the startups that are part of Bend Startup Central so we can get some cool Oregon synergy vibes.