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As someone that tried very hard to raise even a little money in Portland before getting into Ycombinator and ultimately raising 6 million this idea is DOOMED.

As someone that tried very hard to raise even a little money in Portland before getting into Ycombinator and ultimately raising 6 million this idea is DOOMED. We did the Portland Angel Fund (or whatever it's called) American Idol off for start-ups...total joke. The whole industry is dominated by 'service providers' that look to charge start-ups for everything while writing no checks. They actually asked us to come back and speak at one of their conventions and wanted to charge us almost $400. There is no follow on capital. There is no entrepreneur culture. I love Portland and Oregon (grew up there, went to OSU), but this is a waste of time and money.

cullenking 16y ago
Is that the event put on by the Oregon Entrepreneurship Network? I have been very skeptical about all their events (really, to do anything I need to shell out HOW much? To go to a pub and drink a beer even?). I wouldn't say the idea is doomed. Even if it isn't successful, at least it's something in the right direction.
- garrettgillas 16y ago
  The OEN is one thing but the Portland tech scene shouldn't be characterized by such an organization with what might be called "outdated" policies. My feelings are that Portland has talent and what it needs is seed funding and mentoring. Something like an incubator... I believe that this imbalance is the "problem" with Portland.
- erik_landerholm 16y ago
  You are right to be skeptical. The reason why i say it is doomed is (i'm not sure it's this plan so i could be jumping the gun) because one of the plans that is being implemented we were interviewed by one of 'LPs' and the info about how the 'funding' works was very sketchy. It pretty much boiled down to pick 4-6 companies and give them loans that can be called back at roughly anytime and are personally guaranteed. When we (my partner and I) looking for money in portland and working on our start-up at the same time even giving BrainTree a few thousand bucks as guarantee was out of the question. The idea that any young, early start-up wants loans with personal guarantees makes no sense. If anything just get 5-6 credit cards and max them out to finance it. It's easier.
nhebb 16y ago
I love Portland and Oregon (grew up there, went to OSU), ... That points out one of the problems the Portland area has. Most states the size of Oregon split their funding between two major state universities and a number of smaller ones. Oregon splits the bulk of the funding between OSU, UO, and PSU. The strongest tech school is OSU - 80 miles from Portland. PSU is OK, but hardly a talent feed for local startups. OGI had a decent little CS program, but when it folded I don't think PSU's status came up much. ...but this is a waste of time and money. I hope this pans out, but the ideas vs. execution rule applies to government initiatives as well. The City of Portland has a terrible track record for its own IT projects, so I don't have a lot of faith that they can lead private industry where they themselves have failed. The biggest thing I'm afraid of is that it will be something like the Portland Seed Fund, which claimed to be YCombinator like, but is really a flawed effort: http://siliconflorist.com/2010/10/04/portland-seed-fund-y-combinator-unconstitutional/ http://siliconflorist.com/2010/10/04/portland-seed-fund-y-co...
mmt 16y ago
It also has too few (one, right?) major, international airports. AFAIK, Seatac is the next nearest, over 100 miles away, and another singleton airport.
pdxlover 16y ago
I agree with Erik. We tried raising money from the same groups in Portland and ended up getting ripped off by some of the people volunteering in these groups.

cullenking 16y ago

Is that the event put on by the Oregon Entrepreneurship Network? I have been very skeptical about all their events (really, to do anything I need to shell out HOW much? To go to a pub and drink a beer even?). I wouldn't say the idea is doomed. Even if it isn't successful, at least it's something in the right direction.

garrettgillas 16y ago
The OEN is one thing but the Portland tech scene shouldn't be characterized by such an organization with what might be called "outdated" policies. My feelings are that Portland has talent and what it needs is seed funding and mentoring. Something like an incubator... I believe that this imbalance is the "problem" with Portland.
erik_landerholm 16y ago
You are right to be skeptical. The reason why i say it is doomed is (i'm not sure it's this plan so i could be jumping the gun) because one of the plans that is being implemented we were interviewed by one of 'LPs' and the info about how the 'funding' works was very sketchy. It pretty much boiled down to pick 4-6 companies and give them loans that can be called back at roughly anytime and are personally guaranteed. When we (my partner and I) looking for money in portland and working on our start-up at the same time even giving BrainTree a few thousand bucks as guarantee was out of the question. The idea that any young, early start-up wants loans with personal guarantees makes no sense. If anything just get 5-6 credit cards and max them out to finance it. It's easier.

nhebb 16y ago

I love Portland and Oregon (grew up there, went to OSU), ... That points out one of the problems the Portland area has. Most states the size of Oregon split their funding between two major state universities and a number of smaller ones. Oregon splits the bulk of the funding between OSU, UO, and PSU. The strongest tech school is OSU - 80 miles from Portland. PSU is OK, but hardly a talent feed for local startups. OGI had a decent little CS program, but when it folded I don't think PSU's status came up much. ...but this is a waste of time and money. I hope this pans out, but the ideas vs. execution rule applies to government initiatives as well. The City of Portland has a terrible track record for its own IT projects, so I don't have a lot of faith that they can lead private industry where they themselves have failed. The biggest thing I'm afraid of is that it will be something like the Portland Seed Fund, which claimed to be YCombinator like, but is really a flawed effort: http://siliconflorist.com/2010/10/04/portland-seed-fund-y-combinator-unconstitutional/ http://siliconflorist.com/2010/10/04/portland-seed-fund-y-co...

mmt 16y ago

It also has too few (one, right?) major, international airports. AFAIK, Seatac is the next nearest, over 100 miles away, and another singleton airport.

pdxlover 16y ago

I agree with Erik. We tried raising money from the same groups in Portland and ended up getting ripped off by some of the people volunteering in these groups.