

Portland, Oregon, startup news - Silicon Florist
Rick Turoczy
Interested in Portland, Oregon, startup news…? Silicon Florist has been a leading source for news on early-stage startups in the Rose City since 2007. Now, I'm offering a quick recap of the stories from the week to ensure that you're always in the loop on what's happening in the Portland startup community.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 5, 2024 • 9min
BONUS: New Portland Office of Small Business makes first hire
Portland recently stood up a new Office of Small Business through Prosper Portland, but they didn't have anyone to run it. Until now. The inaugural leader of the Portland Office of Small Business has now been revealed. So I recorded a bonus episode to cover the news.
It's Mitch Daugherty, cofounder of Built Oregon.
PORTLAND OFFICE OF SMALL BUSINESS LINKS
- Mitch Daugherty https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchdaugherty/
- Mitch's post announcing the role https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mitchdaugherty_built-oregon-founder-tapped-to-lead-portland-activity-7248109181902200832-lTZz
- Portland Business Journal on the new leader of the Portland Office of Small Business https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/inno/stories/news/2024/10/04/built-oregon-mitch-daugherty-office-small-business.html
- Built Oregon https://builtoregon.com
PORTLAND OFFICE OF SMALL BUSINESS
00:00 Portland Office of Small Business: Special episode
00:51 Portland Oregon is small business
02:23 Why Portland Oregon needs an Office of Small Business
03:37 Prosper Portland launches Portland Office of Small Business
04:45 Mitch Daugherty has been hired to lead the Portland Office of Small Business
06:55 Why this loss for Built Oregon is a win for Portland
08:15 More on Built Oregon
ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------
For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog and podcast that covers founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.
ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------
Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0).
All because of a blog. Weird.
https://siliconflorist.com
#portland #oregon #smallbusiness

Oct 4, 2024 • 27min
Week ending Oct 4, 2024 - Portland startup news
What a week in Portland Oregon startup news. One company secured more than $100 million in PE. Another secured $9.2M in VC. And there's still a ton of other Portland startup news to cover. As well as a secret story that I can't yet reveal.
PORTLAND STARTUP LINKS
Icon $9.2M https://www.axios.com/pro/fintech-dea...
PayRange PE deal https://payrange.com/news/ridgeview-p...
Portland Business Journal on PayRange https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/...
Pitch Latino Portland 2024 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pitch-la...
TODOS Media / @todosmedia
Haasan Hates Portland @JumptownTV
Bend Venture Conference https://bendvc.com
UpStart Collective https://upstartcollective.org
PORTLAND STARTUP NEWS
00:00 Crazy week in Portland startup news
01:19 @iconsavingsplan375 raises $9.2M in venture capital
04:18 @PayRange lands a 9 figure Private Equity investment
08:02 Pitch Latino Bend and Pitch Latino Portland
11:50 Portland Water
12:41 @watchtodos
16:24 Bend Venture Conference
19:29 First Friday and Hacklandia
22:20 Big news for small business in Portland is coming Friday afternoon
24:45 Thank you so much for hanging out with me 🫶
ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------
For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog and podcast that covers founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.
ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------
Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage ( • An introvert's guide to networking | ... ).
All because of a blog. Weird.
https://siliconflorist.com#portland #startup #entrepreneur

Sep 27, 2024 • 22min
Week ending Sep 27, 2024 - Portland startup news
Portland startup news for this week includes a Portland startup apparently raising $70 million, Portland Retro Gaming Expo, Rose City Techies, Latino Founders Pitch Latino Bend 2024, The Oregon Beer Trail, and Built Festival 2024.
PORTLAND STARTUP LINKS
- Portland Retro Gaming Expo https://www.retrogamingexpo.com/
- Rose City Techies https://www.meetup.com/rose-city-techies/
- Lumiro https://lumiro.app
- Mebot https://mebot.ai
- My Fit Check https://myfitcheck.ai
- Pitch Latino Bend 2024 https://latinofounder.com
- The Oregon Beer Trail https://www.theoregonbeertrail.com/
- Bult Festival 2024 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/built-festival-2024-tickets-1009971801847
PORTLAND STARTUP NEWS
00:00 Portland startup news
00:30 Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2024
03:00 A Portland startup raised $70 million…?
07:07 Rose City Techies
13:11 Pitch Latino Bend 2024
15:24 The Oregon Beer Trail
17:54 Built Oregon Festival 2024
ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------
For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog and podcast that covers founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.
ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------
Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0).
All because of a blog. Weird.
https://siliconflorist.com
#startup #entrepreneur #portland

Sep 20, 2024 • 25min
Week ending Sep 20, 2024 - Portland startup news
Portland startup news for the week ending September 20, 2024. Here's the Portland startup stuff I was tracking this week. Portland startup news includes a Portland startup community gathering on September 20 at 4PM at the Rogue Eastside Brewery to meet with WordCamp US 2024 attendees, coffee meetups, Oregon Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Accelerator drones has its first demo day, Portland Alternative Investment Association (PAIA), 4K4Community fun run, Rose City Techies, and more…
PORTLAND STARTUP LINKS
- Portland startup community gathering https://calagator.org/events/1250481309
- WordCamp US https://us.wordcamp.org/
- UpStart Collective 2nd birthday https://calagator.org/events/1250481280
- Kathryn Latham on the PAIA / workwithkl_5-takeaways-for-oregon-founders...
- 4K4Community https://www.4k4community.com/
- Rose City Techies https://www.meetup.com/rose-city-tech...

Sep 13, 2024 • 34min
Week ending Sep 13, 2024 - Portland startup news
Episode 50! This week in Portland startup news finds us with the best startup events in Portland plus WordCamp US 2024. Plus lots of Portland startup goodness.
PORTLAND STARTUP NEWS
00:00 Portland startup news intro
00:48 Bend Venture Conference Growth Stage startups
05:45 Portland startup and tech events in September https://siliconflorist.com/2024/09/12/a-random-smattering-of-tech-events-just-exploded-across-the-september-calendar/
19:55 @WordPress WordCamp US 2024 https://us.wordcamp.org/
22:00 4K4Community Fun Run https://www.4k4community.com/
24:57 CoCore compute resources for #ai
29:55 Built Festival 2024 https://www.builtoregon.com/built-festival
ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------
For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog and podcast that covers founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.
ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------
Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0).
All because of a blog. Weird.
https://siliconflorist.com
#entrepreneur #portland

Sep 6, 2024 • 19min
Week ending Sep 6, 2024 - Portland startup news
LLM fine tuning, SXSW Pitch, and more in Portland startup news. Stay updated on the latest Portland startup news, including the LLM fine tuning and SXSW Pitch event. Don't miss out on the innovative #ai tech being showcased by local entrepreneurs. Topics include Devin Gaffney talking finetuning LLMs, SXSW Pitch applications due, Better Portland suggesting tasks for newly elected Portland officials, Evergreen Home helping homeowners, and Field Vision upping your sports betting prowess.
PORTLAND STARTUP COMMUNITY
00:00 Portland startup community news
00:47 Fine tuning LLMs
04:29 @SXSW Pitch 2025
07:42 Better Portland
13:40 Evergreen Home
16:08 Field Vision
PORTLAND STARTUP LINKS
- Swiss Miss on the heyday of blogging https://www.threads.net/@swissmiss/post/C_YA9YZxZnD
- Finetuning LLMs http://devingaffney.com/how-much-data-is-enough-data-for-finetuning-an-llm/
- Better Portland https://mailchi.mp/wearebetterportland.com/09-04-24-shaping-portlands-future-a-collective-vision-for-business-growth
- SXSW Pitch 2025 https://cart.sxsw.com/products/acceleratorapp
- Evergreen Home https://apps.apple.com/us/app/evergreen-home/id6523435940
- Field Vision https://www.fieldvisionsports.com/
ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------
For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog and podcast that covers founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.
ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------
Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0).
All because of a blog. Weird.
https://siliconflorist.com
#portland #startup #entrepreneur

Aug 30, 2024 • 24min
Week ending Aug 30, 2024 - Portland startup news
This week in Portland startup news, an electrifying $7 million grant, @depotdev $4.1M Seed, Pitch Latino Portland 2024, new @kickstarter campaign, startup question and answer, and more.
PORTLAND STARTUP NEWS CHAPTERS
00:00 @ycombinator Alum raises $4.1 million Seed
05:05 Photon Marine helps land $7 million grant
08:20 Pitch Latino Portland 2024
11:20 PitchBlack alum secures Kickstarter funding
15:33 @wholefoods adds two Portland companies to its accelerator
19:35 Do you have startup questions…? We probably have answers
PORTLAND STARTUP NEWS LINKS
- Depot Seed Round https://venturebeat.com/programming-development/depot-raises-4-1m-to-help-developers-speed-up-software-builds-by-40x-or-more/
- Photon Marine grant https://www.portfridayharbor.org/press-release-port-electrification-grant-award/
- Pitch Latino Portland 2024 https://latinofounder.com
- Pacmodo Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pacmodo/pacmodo-the-backpack-reimagined/
- Whole Foods Accelerator https://media.wholefoodsmarket.com/whole-foods-market-announces-participants-of-2024-local-and-emerging-accelerator-programs-early-growth-cohort/
- Startup questions (completely anonymous) https://sflo.me/q-and-a
ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------
For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog and podcast that covers founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.
ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------
Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0).
All because of a blog. Weird.
https://siliconflorist.com
#portland #entrepreneur

Aug 23, 2024 • 23min
Week ending Aug 23, 2024 - Portland startup news
This week, five big Portland startup news stories to cover: an acquisition, a new innovation hub leader, a new venture capital fund, a new app to help you control your social media use, and a new milestone for the Portland Startups Slack.
PORTLAND STARTUP NEWS
00:00 Portland startup acquired by Dropbox
05:55 New leadership for the Portland Metro Region Innovation Hub
11:24 A new venture capital fund in Portland
16:12 An antidote to doomscrolling
19:20 A milestone for the Portland Startups Slack
PORTLAND STARTUP LINKS
- Dropbox acquires Reclaim.ai https://reclaim.ai/blog/dropbox-acquires-reclaim
- Portland Metro Region Innovation Hub https://www.linkedin.com/company/portland-metro-region-innovation-hub/posts/?feedView=all
- New VC fund https://medium.com/@josh_carter/founders-first-fund-lots-of-false-starts-9827339d6d3a
- Dayo in the App Store https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dayo-co/id6475719573
- Portland Startups Slack https://pdxslack.com
ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------
For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog and podcast that covers founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.
ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------
Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0).
All because of a blog. Weird.
https://siliconflorist.com
#portland #entrepreneur

Aug 16, 2024 • 14min
Week ending Aug 16, 2024 - Portland startup news
This week in Portland startup news, the new Portland airport (PDX) is open to the public and features a bunch of local vendors, the Portland Metro Regional Innovation Hub promises news next week, what was Portland Independent Chamber of Commerce and then Business for a Better Portland is now just Better Portland, Oregon Startup Center solicits applications for the Beaverton Startup Challenge, and AI Portland is host a science fair for artificial intelligence.
PORTLAND STARTUP NEWS LINKS
- New Portland airport
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5hPs1wt5Tc
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q14tGViZcJI
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvF6CYJ35zg
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od2yFHGROR8
- Travel Portland Near Me Now https://www.travelportland.com/plan/near-me-now-app/
- Better Portland https://wearebetterportland.com
- Beaverton Startup Challenge https://oregonstartupcenter.org/startup-challenge-2025
- AI Portland Science Fair https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScMsz1ddICMEwg_XsjbEMZpQc50bHkhl1XUPGVCcspyIpE3HA/viewform?pli=1
PORTLAND STARTUP NEWS
00:00 PDX new Portland airport
01:45 Travel Portland app helps you find awesome Portland stuff
03:33 TEASER: Portland Metro Regional Innovation hub
05:19 Better Portland
10:55 Oregon Startup Center Beaverton Startup Challenge
11:55 AI Portland science fair
ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------
For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog and podcast that covers founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.
ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------
Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0).
All because of a blog. Weird.
https://siliconflorist.com
#startup #entrepreneur

Aug 9, 2024 • 18min
Week ending Aug 9, 2024 - Portland startup news
This week in Portland startup news, Silicon Florist turns 17 years old, an innovative look at the Oregon Innovation Index 2024, BLUPRNT wants to help you with your marketing using AI, and Bend Venture Conference tickets are available.
PORTLAND STARTUP LINKS
- Silicon Florist is 17 https://siliconflorist.com/2024/08/07/wondering-when-the-whole-wiser-part-happens-silicon-florist-is-17-years-old/
- Oregon Innovation Index 2024 AI chatbot https://wiseox.ai/mascot/66ac14301d1c420027106b2b
- Donella Meadows systems intervention framework https://donellameadows.org/archives/leverage-points-places-to-intervene-in-a-system/
- BLUPRNT https://visionandstory.com/
- Bend Venture Conference https://www.bendvc.com/
ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------
For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog and podcast that covers founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.
ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------
Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0).
All because of a blog. Weird.
https://siliconflorist.com
#entrepreneur #blogger


