DeskHub

Get an opportunity to pitch your company and get feedback from an Oregon investor and serial entrepreneur. Meet other local entrepreneurs in other industries. Perfect way to work on your pitch deck. Non-members pay $25, Join TiEOregon and pay only $5 You did not have to attend the previous parts of the series to attend.

TiE program for Entrepreneurs. Schedule time with a professional to help you with an issue in your start-up. Rekesh Sridharan, President, Ledlenser Corporation a Division of Leatherman Tool Group, USA is this month's mentor.

Rakesh has over 20 years of experience as a global executive in growing consumer goods businesses, delivering sustainable growth, improving the bottom line and building strong organization. Rakesh is a big picture focused executive with expertise in strategy execution, market development, acquisition & integration, finance and operations. (Learn more about TIE Charter Member Rakesh Sridharan on our About Page @ oregon.tie.org)

Once a quarter, at The Creative Roundtable, we like to up the ante of our events and really think outside the box. We strive to make creative experiences for our community that you can’t find anywhere else!

We know sometimes it is tempting to work on the weekends, but Saturday, June 25th, close your computers, put away your sewing machines and stop working on your to-do list. Come experience the first of it’s kind Urban Typography Scavenger Hunt!

Limited Early Bird Tickets Available! Click the link to buy yours! (Early Bird: $20, Regular: $25, Roundtable Members: Free)

The Scavenger Hunt will begin promptly at 6pm, so make sure you aren’t late! Doors open at 5pm, come early to enjoy Sizzle Pie Pizza, refreshments and hang out with your creative community. We are giving each team 90 minutes to find all the clues which will be scattered throughout the Pearl.

Come with your sense of adventure, willingness to work with others and enthusiasm for finding inspiration in unsuspecting places.

Click the link to learn more & buy tickets! (Early Bird: $20, Regular: $25, Roundtable Members: Free)

Super awesome after party to be announced!

Are you a member of our 24 Week Roundtable Program? Don't forget, our members get access to all of our events free of charge! (Did you forget your discount code? Check the community slack!)

During the 6th installment of “The Perfect Pitch,” Tom Kingsley will discuss how to talk about “Traction” in the perfect investor pitch.

Traction – development, hiring, and sales progess (pre or post revenue).

As always you, the participant will have the chance to stand and give your pitch too! Pitch Club is an ongoing series of events where entrepreneurs can practice their pitch in a supportive environment. This could be a sales pitch, concept pitch, investor pitch, etc. whatever kind of pitch you need feedback on! Come to Pitch Club regardless of the stage you are in.

There is no need to have attended the other installments to attend this one – we look forward to seeing you there!

Can you believe we're already HALF way through 2016?

Step outside your office or workspace for an evening with The Creative Roundtable community. We will be sharing goals we hope to achieve before the end of 2016 and finding ways to stay accountable for business success!

As always, light snacks and refreshments will be provided. Bring your big ideas and friend or two. We look forward to seeing you!

Thursday, May 26 6:30-8:30pm at DeskHub

Learn more & claim your spot here, it's free!

• Jehn & Jena

Calling on tech entrepreneurs for a small business funding seminar! Are you looking for funding for your proprietary technology? Please sign up!

Oregon Best funds and supports cleantech startups and we are hosting a series of small business funding seminars for SBIR/ STTR grants.
This is a Lunch + Learn event - sign up here - best $10 you'll ever spend! 12 - 1:30pm Tuesday May 24th.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lunch-learn-small-business-funding-seminar-tickets-25210896470

We will start with a 10 min overview Oregon Best and what we do ( and explain what cleantech is) followed by a 30 min in-depth SBIR/ STTR presentation by expert Leon Wolf.
We will give you an overview of the process, understand eligibility requirements and give free support in applying for grants for appropriate companies.

Many people get confused by the word cleantech. We want to clarify and shed light on the wide range of technologies that fall under this category.

The hope is that more people will: 
a.) see themselves and their tech as possibly falling under the "cleantech" umbrella 
b.) contact us about their technology c.) seek eligibility and support in applying for an SBIR/ STTR grants.

Oregon Best invests at very early "risky" stages - before the technology has been proven.
We then support startups in several ways by: 
a.) Investing between $50k - $250 per startup 
b.) Making Introductions / networking with key partners
c.) Funding interns to work in their company d.) Connecting co's to an experienced CEO or Entrepreneur-In-Residence to help them navigate growth, priorities, business plans, pitches e.) Help with manufacturing / scale up through our partnerships f.) showcasing the company at conferences, trade shows and BESTFEST g.) Support with Government grants SBIR/ STTR

Please register to attend! Lots of great information to learn about and resources to help tech startups.

During the 5th installment of “The Perfect Pitch,” Tom Kingsley will discuss the 7th item to cover in the perfect investor pitch – The Competition!

Competition – current, potential, and your defense

As always you, the participant will have the chance to stand and give your pitch too! Pitch Club is an ongoing series of events where entrepreneurs can practice their pitch in a supportive environment. This could be a sales pitch, concept pitch, investor pitch, etc. whatever kind of pitch you need feedback on! Come to Pitch Club regardless of the stage you are in.

There is no need to have attended the other installments to attend this one – we look forward to seeing you there!

—————————–Tom Kingsley————————–Tom has conceived, built, and managed new product lines and businesses for over 30 years as a technology executive of several startups and Fortune 500 companies including Synopsys, Sharp, Xilinx, Avnet, and Citibank. As co-founder and CEO of CrowdCompass, Tom most recently guided the company from founding through successful start-up, financing, acquisition, and integration.

Join us for happy hour at DeskHub! Come network and have fun! We will have a short segment at 5:30, which includes:

• Introduction to DeskHub

• Hear from our Entrepreneur Spotlight Leah Silber from Tilde

• Lightning talk from Tracy Hooper on How to introduce yourself with impact

Make sure you say hi to Ronda Closner. She runs DeskHub! Read our May newsletter to learn more about Ronda.

PDX Women in Tech exists to celebrate professional women in the Portland-metro area who work with, manage, lead or have an interest in technology. Whether you are developing event-driven, non-blocking applications in node.js or setting technology strategy for a Fortune 500 company - or anything in between - come join us!

Join us on Wednesday, April 20th for the next event in the series, Confessions of an Entrepreneur.

Jay Haladay is the founding partner of 10 Branch, an investment and advisory firm that is associated with the Haladay Family Office. Jay spent over 40 years in the technology field, working for the first 10 years at the IBM Corporation. The last 30 years have been spent founding, developing and operating vertical market software businesses. He recently retired as CEO and Chairman of the Board of one of these firms, Viewpoint Construction Software. Based in Portland, Oregon Viewpoint serves over 8,000 construction customers in 26 countries. With almost 800 employees, Viewpoint is the largest dedicated provider of construction specific software to this large global market. In elevating Viewpoint to this stature, Jay was responsible for raising over $500M in growth equity during the past 6 years. Jay and his wife have four married children and five grandchildren are Oregon residents. 10 Branch is dedicated to providing both financial and operational support for growing businesses in Oregon.

This event will be moderated by Ajay Malhotra, Vice President, Technology & Media Practice, CBRE.

During the forth installment of “The Perfect Pitch,” Tom Kingsley will discuss the 5th and 6th items to cover in the perfect investor pitch:

• How We Make Money – simple summary of product, price, and a typical order
• Market – TAM, segment SAMs, target segment and order of penetration

And as alway you, the participant will have the chance to stand and give your pitch too! Pitch Club is an ongoing series of events where entrepreneurs can practice their pitch in a supportive environment. This could be a sales pitch, concept pitch, investor pitch, etc. whatever kind of pitch you need feedback on! Come to Pitch Club regardless of the stage you are in.

If you have a strong idea that could be pitched more clearly, then join us for the Startup Pitch Bootcamp. In just three hours, this intensive workshop will help you improve your pitching skills and understand the components of a great pitch, providing plenty of practice until you get it right. Pitching is a key skill of every successful entrepreneur. How do you communicate your business clearly to employees, customers, and investors? What are some common pitching mistakes that make you look inexperienced? What is the best way to pitch your business?

Who Should Attend the Pitch Bootcamp? - Anyone who needs practice and expert advice on pitching - Anyone who has an idea for a startup or an early-stage company - Anyone that is interested in joining a new startup or looking for a co-founder

What are some of the Topics? - What are the components of a great startup pitch - How do you pitch complex concepts in a simple way - What are some mistakes to avoid when pitching - How do you know when you pitch is good enough - and more...

What is the Agenda? - Welcome and Socializing - Introduction to the Founder Institute - Expert Talks on How to Pitch Your Business - Pitch Workshop - Speed Pitching - Discussion and Drinks at a Local Bar or Restaurant

Join The Creative Roundtable for our first Creative Challenge of 2016: The "March Mad-Lib" Creative Challenge

And so the story goes…

…at the University of Oregon, Keeley and Erika were in their college apartment, scraping the bottom of yet another empty jar of peanut butter. As hungry college students and athletes, they ate a lot of peanut butter, and on this occasion, neither of them felt like biking to the store in the rain to buy more. So, they decided to try making their own! That day, Wild Friends was born.

More than four years have passed since the day they made that first jar. They’ve left their college apartment behind and are now based in Portland, Oregon. They’ve launched dozens of new flavors of nut butter and sell in thousands of stores across the country.

However, despite all these changes, a few things have stayed the same — most importantly, their passion for awesome tasting products, made with the healthiest whole ingredients they can find.

At this free fundraising workshop, We will host a successful Entrepreneur who has successfully raised capital for their company and experienced Investor that funds startups, will walk you through the process to raise capital for your own idea.

This is NOT a startup pitch competition, or an opportunity to pitch investors your ideas.

Do you want to start your own technology company, but don't know where to get started? You are not alone. Every day millions of people go to jobs they don't enjoy, but few do something about it. At the “Employee to Entrepreneur” event, you can hear the stories, tips, and best practices of those who left their jobs to pursue their own startup company. Listen to the experiences of people just like you that have made the transition, and discuss any questions or concerns that you have. How do you know if you have a good idea? What are the first steps in an entrepreneurial journey? Join us for a fun evening!

Excited to have Audibility speaking to us this week!

Every week we have a new local entrepreneur building an amazing company here in Portland. They give a short presentation followed up with a great Q&A session where you get to ask questions and ask about the real challenges and triumphs behind the business.

As always we welcome everyone interested in startups and founders building great companies here in Portland.

Come and check it out and bring a friend.

A Hack the Dot event is a two hour hackathon where coding school students, junior developers, experienced developers, marketers, designers and curious web people come together to build ideas around a domain name. Our events are meant to be a quick and fun way to build a humorous (and functional) product quickly, while meeting people in your tech/startup community. There will be pizza and BEER PROVIDED BY BASE CAMP BREWING COMPANY!

Join us for food and drinks sponsored by DeskHub as we all come together to celebrate the women of the Portland startup scene. We’ll also have a female founders room where women-led startups can demo their products. All genders are welcome to attend.

We believe Portland can lead the Wearable Fashion, Wearable Tech, Future Fashion movement. The market potential is massive and has the largest potential to effect our human condition in the coming decade.

Join us for a night of industry leaders coming together with key industry leaders to discuss Portland's future in developing Wearable technology and why Portland can lead based on our culture, industry and passion.

More details and registration on the EventBrite page

Sponsored by FashionXT www.fashionxt.net and The Startup Brand www.thestartupbrand.com.

rom Co-Founder & CEO of CrowdCompass to investor and adviser, Tom Kingsley has delivered and heard hundreds of pitches. As a result of his experiences, Tom is the perfect candidate to help you develop “The Perfect Pitch.” Come learn from Tom’s experiences and get feedback on your own pitch at the first Pitch Club of 2016.

Excited to have Wink Pens speaking to us this week!

Every week we have a new local entrepreneur building an amazing company here in Portland. They give a short presentation followed up with a great Q&A session where you get to ask questions and ask about the real challenges and triumphs behind the business.

As always we welcome everyone interested in startups and founders building great companies here in Portland.

Come and check it out and bring a friend.

Portland Startup Weekend November 13th - 15th
Register Here

The Portland Startup Weekend brings together people with different skill sets (such as developer, designers, and business people) to experience an intense weekend of building a new business. Why should you attend?

• Build your network
• Co-founder dating
• Learn a new skill
• Get face time with thought leaders
• Join a global community
• Actually launch a business!

Details for next Portland Startup Weekend:

Date: November 13th-15th
Time: Friday: 6 -10pm, Saturday: 9am -11pm, Sunday 9am -9pm
Place: DeskHub - 334 NW 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97209

About Startup Weekend: Startup Weekends are 54-hour events designed to provide superior experiential education for technical and non-technical entrepreneurs. Beginning with Friday night pitches and continuing through brainstorming, business plan development, and basic prototype creation, Startup Weekends culminate in Sunday night demos and presentations. Participants create working startups during the event and are able to collaborate with like-minded individuals outside of their daily networks. All teams hear talks by industry leaders and receive valuable feedback from local entrepreneurials. The weekend is centered around action, innovation, and education. Whether you are looking for feedback on a idea, a co-founder, specific skill sets, or a team to help you execute, Startup Weekends are the perfect environment in which to test your idea and take the first steps towards launching your own startup.

Join us for TiE Oregon's November edition of Pitch Club featuring Ryan Jenson CEO & founder of HoneyComb!

When: Nov. 5th 5:30pm - 8:30pm Where: DeskHub, 334 NW 11th Ave., Portland, OR 97209 Cost: TiE Members: Free; Non-members: $25 Exclusive 20% Portland Startup Switchboard Promo Code: HONEYCOMB

Mr. Jenson has experienced-based knowledge of what it takes to get even the most difficult products to market. Founding and running a company that specializes in agricultural drones (in which regulation is still being decided by the U.S. government), Ryan and HoneyComb have had to learn how to pivot and adapt while still delivering value to customers and building their company. The insight that Ryan can provide to entrepreneurs and their startups is extremely valuable in today's highly saturated and ever-changing market.

Once Mr. Jenson is finished speaking, you will have the opportunity to practice your pitches with us. You can practice investor pitches, concept pitches, sales pitches, co-founder pitches, product pitches, elevator pitches, or any other pitch you can think of. Bring your pitch and pitch deck to receive actionable and valuable feedback from fellow entrepreneurs who have been through it or are going through it. You never know, there may be an investor or two sprinkled throughout the crowd.

Not fully comfortable pitching? Come be part of the audience and learn by watching and providing feedback to others. However, it pays not to just be a watcher; you will definitely get the most benefit from this event by getting up and practicing your pitch! Many went before you, lived to tell the tale (we don’t bite!) and got a lot of actionable feedback!

Speaker Bio:

Ryan is CEO & founder of HoneyComb which specializes in the development of drone technology and data services for precision agriculture. Over the past decade Ryan has contributed to a wide range of technology projects with the USDA, Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, British Royal Navy, NASA and Fortune 500 companies. His experience encompasses agriculture, big data, remote sensing, aerospace systems, and software to name a few. Ryan holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering; along with a bachelor’s degree and minor in electrical engineering that he received at age 19. Today his name appears on over 30 publications & presentations and he routinely advises on business strategy, disruptive technology, and leadership.

Ken Levy, who bootstrapped his company 4-Tell to revenue and then some will talk about; Convincing clients to use a product that’s not finished, growing with revenue from clients, and waiting as long as possible to get investors.

We'll have coffee, some morning snacks, and the amazing morning connections made to start your day off right!

You are cordially invited to the 1st Portland Startups Booster Club Social: a fundraiser for local startup, Workfrom.

We'll be auctioning and raffling off donations from local artists and crafters, coffee shops and coworking spaces, entrepreneurs and all-around awesome companies. Win free coworking passes. Enjoy free food and drinks, courtesy of Constant Contact, Venture Business Centers and SoftLayer Catalyst. Meet other local startups and makers including Cardsmith and PhotoSnap in our community lounge.

Silent Auction & Raffle prizes donated by Wacom, TenOne, ClientJoy, To the Point PDX Acupuncture, Vanessa Edwards, Chris Justice, Melissa Moser, Savor Soup House, St John's Roasters, Bare Bones, Southeast Grind, Arbor Lodge, Portland Pedal Power, Hatch Community Innovation Lab, Collective Agency and more.

COST: TiE Members: FREE, Public: $25

Join us for another edition of TiE Oregon Pitch Club, the most educational pitch clinic in town! Our featured speaker for this edition is Brent Hieggelke.

Brent Hieggelke is the Chief Mobile Evangelist for Urban Airship and is responsible for uncovering and inspiring innovation with customers, app development and agency partners, mobile platform providers and the industry-at-large.

Before Urban Airship, Brent spent more than a decade helping brands optimize digital marketing initiatives in Marketing Executive positions at WebTrends, TouchClarity and Omniture. Most recently, Brent founded and launched Second Porch, the first Facebook-integrated social vacation rental site that was sold to HomeAway, Inc. in May 2011. Early in his career, Brent also co-founded New City, a media company in Chicago.

Brent has been awarded multiple marketing awards, and is a frequent speaker at both marketing and digital conferences. He is a member of the Mobile Marketing Association’s North America board and the International Executive Council of the Internet Marketing Association.

Once Brent is finished speaking, you will have the opportunity to practice your pitches with us. You can practice investor pitches, concept pitches, sales pitches, co-founder pitches, product pitches, elevator pitches, or any other pitch you can think of. Bring your pitch and pitch deck to receive actionable and valuable feedback from fellow entrepreneurs who have been through it or are going through it. You never know, there may be an investor or two sprinkled throughout the crowd.

Not fully comfortable pitching? Come be part of the audience and learn by watching and providing feedback to others. However, it pays not to just be a watcher; you will definitely get the most benefit from this event by getting up and practicing your pitch! Many went before you, lived to tell the tale (we don’t bite!) and got a lot of actionable feedback!

Come to ChickTech’s Scrum Workshop to get a refresher or an introduction to the world of Scrum. For two Wednesday evenings in a row, you will go through the core aspects of the Scrum Framework. This includes why Scrum works, the key players on each Scrum team, and how product development occurs within Scrum.

Registration for this event includes both workshop sessions. You can register for the event via Eventbrite.

Scrum is an agile way to manage a project, usually software development. Agile software development with Scrum is often perceived as a methodology; but rather than viewing Scrum as methodology, think of it as a framework for managing a process. -Mountain Goat Software

The Instructor: Austin Richter, Scrum Master Austin, a Certified Scrum Master, has been working within the Scrum Framework for two years. Before that he worked as Project Coordinator on a team that was transitioning from a Waterfall approach to Scrum.

Session 1, September 30th: Introduction to Scrum and Building a Backlog The first session will offer an overview/refresher of the Scrum Framework. In this workshop we will explore the differences betwen a Waterfall approach and the Scrum Framework. This will highlight the importance of feedback to a team. We will demonstrate these concepts by constructing a bridge and building backlogs. During the building a backlog activity we will explore the three roles on the Scrum Team.

Session 2, October 7th: Sprint Simulation In this workshop you will build something for a customer using the Scrum process. Through this exercise you will go through each step of the Scrum process and produce the necessary artifacts to be successful in a given Sprint. From building a task board to demonstrating your product to the stakeholders, you will be immersed into the scrum process during the Sprint Simulation.

By the end of this workshop series you'll have a comprehensive understanding of Scrum.

Part of ChickTech’s mission is to retain women in technology. We intend for this event to build community and add skills to resumes. We encourage anyone who wants to practice the Scrum workflow to register for this event!

Dates: September 30th and October 7th

Time: Doors open at 5:30pm and close around 8:30pm. The sessions will run 6-8pm

Location: DeskHub 334 NW 11th Ave Portland, OR 97209

Registration pays for dinner both evenings, along with the class costs. Any amount left over supports ChickTech: High School.

A big thank you to our event location provider, DeskHub!

ChickTech: Career events are open to all genders with a focus on women.

Come to ChickTech’s Scrum Workshop to get a refresher or an introduction to the world of Scrum. For two Wednesday evenings in a row, you will go through the core aspects of the Scrum Framework. This includes why Scrum works, the key players on each Scrum team, and how product development occurs within Scrum.

Registration for this event includes both workshop sessions. You can register for the event via Eventbrite.

Scrum is an agile way to manage a project, usually software development. Agile software development with Scrum is often perceived as a methodology; but rather than viewing Scrum as methodology, think of it as a framework for managing a process. -Mountain Goat Software

The Instructor: Austin Richter, Scrum Master Austin, a Certified Scrum Master, has been working within the Scrum Framework for two years. Before that he worked as Project Coordinator on a team that was transitioning from a Waterfall approach to Scrum.

Session 1, September 30th: Introduction to Scrum and Building a Backlog The first session will offer an overview/refresher of the Scrum Framework. In this workshop we will explore the differences betwen a Waterfall approach and the Scrum Framework. This will highlight the importance of feedback to a team. We will demonstrate these concepts by constructing a bridge and building backlogs. During the building a backlog activity we will explore the three roles on the Scrum Team.

Session 2, October 7th: Sprint Simulation In this workshop you will build something for a customer using the Scrum process. Through this exercise you will go through each step of the Scrum process and produce the necessary artifacts to be successful in a given Sprint. From building a task board to demonstrating your product to the stakeholders, you will be immersed into the scrum process during the Sprint Simulation.

By the end of this workshop series you'll have a comprehensive understanding of Scrum.

Part of ChickTech’s mission is to retain women in technology. We intend for this event to build community and add skills to resumes. We encourage anyone who wants to practice the Scrum workflow to register for this event!

Dates: September 30th and October 7th

Time: Doors open at 5:30pm and close around 8:30pm. The sessions will run 6-8pm

Location: DeskHub 334 NW 11th Ave Portland, OR 97209

Registration pays for dinner both evenings, along with the class costs. Any amount left over supports ChickTech: High School.

A big thank you to our event location provider, DeskHub!

ChickTech: Career events are open to all genders with a focus on women.

Stop by and see the beautiful new DeskHub co-working space in the karma filled 11th and Flanders location. Enjoy hosted signature cocktails by Dystopia Vodka and small bites from Pearl Catering. This month only the networking event is open to both PDBA members and non-members.

Every week we have a new local entrepreneur building an amazing company here in Portland. They give a short presentation followed up with a great Q&A session where you get to ask questions and ask about the real challenges and triumphs behind the business.

As always we welcome everyone interested in startups and founders building great companies here in Portland.

Come and check it out and bring a friend.