Podcast
Portland, Oregon, startup news - Silicon Florist
Hosted by Rick Turoczy · EN
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.
16episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Week ending May 15, 2026 - Portland startup news
1w ago00:13:12Tap to summarizePortland Startup Week 2026 wraps with a quiet news week and a loud everything-else week. Oregon showcased innovation — and got some tough love on the workforce side. A robotic greenhouse out of Portland punched its ticket to the global Startup World Cup finale. And 19 AI startups took the stage at Big Pink for the inaugural Oregon AI Accelerator demo day — which the organizers say is the first of at least ten.Inside this one: Agility's Jonathan Hurst delivers some hard truths about Oregon talent at the Oregon Innovation Showcase. Diane Fraiman of Voyager Capital reminds us we have done this before and can do it again. Canopii — David Ashton's autonomous robotic greenhouse — wins the inaugural Startup World Cup Portland Regional and heads to San Francisco in November to compete for $1 million. And the Oregon AI Accelerator runs its inaugural demo day to a packed room at Big Pink.CHAPTERS:00:00 Portland startup news01:45 Oregon Innovation Showcase04:20 Startup World Cup Regional06:30 Oregon AI Accelerator Demo Day09:15 SecretsLINKS:Portland Business Journal — https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2026/05/14/oregon-innovation-showcase-agility-robotics.htmlCanopii harvests a win at the Startup World Cup Portland Regional — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/05/14/canopii-harvests-a-win-at-the-startup-world-cup-portland-regional/Canopii — https://canopii.usStartup World Cup — https://www.startupworldcup.io/Chatting with Oregon AI Accelerator startup DockChron — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/05/13/chatting-with-oregon-ai-accelerator-startup-dockchron/TAO's Oregon Tech Awards 2026 winners — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/05/14/taos-oregon-tech-awards-2026-winners/TAO — https://techoregon.orgFIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…- https://patreon.com/turoczy- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy- Portland Oregon startup news on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/portland-oregon-startup-news-silicon-florist/id1711294699- Portland Oregon startup news Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2cmLDH8wrPdNMS2qtTnhcy?si=H627wrGOTvStxxKWRlRGLQ- Startup Stories on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1Tk7bbzaNYowGouI9ucKC3- Startup Stories on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-stories-with-silicon-florist/id1849468494- The Long Con on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-long-con/id1810923457- The Long Con on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/48oglyT5JNKxVH5lnWTYKA- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.bsky.social- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/- https://pdxslack.comABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, 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#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur
Transcribe →Week ending May 8, 2026 - Oregon startup news
2w ago00:32:38Tap to summarizeThis week's recap: Panthalassa's $140M Series B for ocean-energy-powered AI compute and where it lands on the all-time Portland funding leaderboard. Plus the finalized Portland Startup Week 2026 lineup (including the AI events I punted on last week), Latino Founders' Next Wave Startup Lab Climate Edition opening apps for May 29–31, three founder podcast conversations, plus Startup Grind PDX rebooting and Creative Mornings Portland's Kaitlin Carpenter on The Awkward Handshake — plus a gentle PSA on the Oregon Innovation Showcase site situation. And the secrets, of course.CHAPTERS:00:00 Oregon startup news06:00 Panthalassa $140M12:00 Where $140M ranks17:45 Portland Startup Week 202621:10 Latino Founders Next Wave Climate Edition23:40 SecretsLINKS:Oregon Innovation Showcase (working URL) — https://socialenterprisesinc.swoogo.com/2026SNL: Clown Penis dot fart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWIlScfHwOUPanthalassa $140M Series B — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/05/04/quietly-raising-one-of-the-largest-rounds-in-portland-startup-history-panthalassa-140m-series-b/Panthalassa — https://panthalassa.com/How $140M stacks up — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/05/04/how-does-panthalassas-140m-stack-up-here-are-the-largest-oregon-rounds-covered-on-silicon-florist/Portland Startup Week 2026 Preview — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/05/04/portland-startup-week-2026-preview/Portland Startup Week — https://www.portlandstartupweek.com/Latino Founders Next Wave Climate Edition — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/05/05/apply-to-latino-founders-next-wave-startup-lab-climate-edition/Latino Founders — https://www.latinofounder.comDevin Gaffney conversation — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/05/04/devin-gaffney-talks-about-social-media-anger-and-more/Doctor Notes / TAO conversation — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/05/05/oregon-ai-accelerator-company-doctor-notes-sits-down-with-technology-association-of-oregon/Canopii on robotic farming — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/05/07/canopii-talks-the-future-of-robotic-farming/Startup Grind PDX reboot — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/05/07/startup-grind-pdx-reboot/Kaitlin Carpenter on The Awkward Handshake — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/05/08/creative-mornings-portland-organizer-kaitlin-carpenter-on-the-awkward-handshake/
Transcribe →Week ending May 1, 2026 - Portland startup news
3w ago00:31:08Tap to summarizeA week that felt like everywhere-all-at-once. Waymo finally confirmed it's coming to Portland — they're driving manually for now, but they're here. Portland Startup Week 2026 dropped its schedule with 50+ events already and counting. And All Raise — a national organization doing some of the most important work in venture — has its CEO right here in Portland, and she's just getting started.CHAPTERS:00:00 Portland startup news06:00 All Raise09:45 Waymo Is Coming to Portland15:20 Portland Startup Week 202623:00 Roxxem Wins TiE Oregon Westside Pitch25:10 SecretsLINKS:Waymo Is Coming to Portland — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/28/waymo-is-coming-to-portland/Waymo Portland blog post — https://waymo.com/blog/shorts/waymo-in-portland/Portland Startup Week 2026 — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/30/portland-startup-week-2026-start-filling-up-your-calendar/Portland Startup Week — https://www.portlandstartupweek.com/Roxxem Wins Westside Pitch — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/28/roxxem-walks-away-with-the-tie-oregon-westside-pitch-2026-win/Roxxem — https://www.roxxem.com/Spork Bytes Spork Box — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/30/now-spork-bytes-offers-up-indie-meals-in-addition-to-family-style-catering-a-with-the-same-buy-local-ethos/Spork Bytes — https://www.sporkbytes.com/Seattle Flow Startup Day — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/29/reminder-seattle-flow-startup-day-2026-ticket-prices-increase-soon/Startup Day 2026 — https://startupday.seattleflow.org/Switchkraft Conversation — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/29/getting-creative-with-manufacturing-and-switchkraft/Switchkraft — https://switchkraft.zoneFIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…- https://patreon.com/turoczy- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy- Portland Oregon startup news on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/portland-oregon-startup-news-silicon-florist/id1711294699- Portland Oregon startup news Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2cmLDH8wrPdNMS2qtTnhcy?si=H627wrGOTvStxxKWRlRGLQ- Startup Stories on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1Tk7bbzaNYowGouI9ucKC3- Startup Stories on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-stories-with-silicon-florist/id1849468494- The Long Con on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-long-con/id1810923457- The Long Con on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/48oglyT5JNKxVH5lnWTYKA- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.bsky.social- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/- https://pdxslack.comABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, 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#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur
Transcribe →Week ending Apr 24, 2026 - Oregon startup news
Apr 2500:22:42Tap to summarizePortland startup news for the week of April 24, 2026 — I finally wrote up the "Vicious Cycle of Venture Capital" — the dynamic I've been talking about for years that explains why early-stage fundraising is so hard in Portland. Plus: Portland is hosting its first-ever Startup World Cup regional (applications due early May, $1M investment on the line), the Oregon UAS Accelerator just held demo day with 12 companies pitching drone and counter-drone solutions, Panic continues to be the most delightful company in Portland, Portland Startup Slack hit 8,000 members, and Mayor Keith Wilson delivered his State of the City address.Chapters00:00 Oregon startup news intro06:30 VC Squared: The Vicious Cycle of Venture Capital11:15 Startup World Cup comes to Portland ($1M prize)14:00 Oregon UAS Accelerator Demo Day (12 companies)17:50 Secrets🔗 LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:VC Squared — The Vicious Cycle of Early Stage Capital:https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/22/the-vicious-cycle-of-early-stage-capital-or-lack-thereof/Startup World Cup — Apply (deadline early May):https://www.startupworldcup.io/oregon-app-2026Oregon UAS Accelerator Innovation Showcase (recorded):https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/24/did-you-miss-the-oregon-uas-accelerator-innovation-showcase-no-they-recorded-it/Oregon UAS Accelerator:https://oregonuas.org/Join Portland Startup Slack:https://pdxslack.com/Mayor Keith Wilson — State of the City:https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/20/portland-oregon-state-of-the-city-with-mayor-keith-wilson/Panic — Easter Egg Physical Mail Story:https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/21/how-an-end-credits-easter-egg-keeps-panics-inbox-full-of-interesting-physical-mail/12 Startups Pitching at Oregon UAS (preview):https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/20/12-startups-to-pitch-at-the-oregon-uas-accelerator-innovation-showcase/My TEDx Portland Talk — An Introvert's Guide to Building Community:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0Oregon Governor's Prosperity Council:https://www.oregon.gov/gov/policies/pages/prosperity-council.aspxFIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…- https://patreon.com/turoczy- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy- Portland Oregon startup news on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/portland-oregon-startup-news-silicon-florist/id1711294699- Portland Oregon startup news Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2cmLDH8wrPdNMS2qtTnhcy?si=H627wrGOTvStxxKWRlRGLQ- Startup Stories on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1Tk7bbzaNYowGouI9ucKC3- Startup Stories on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-stories-with-silicon-florist/id1849468494- The Long Con on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-long-con/id1810923457ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, 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#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur
Transcribe →Week ending Apr 17, 2026 - Oregon startup news
Apr 1800:20:38Tap to summarizePortland venture capital just hit a 10-year low — $69.7 million across 15 deals in Q1 2026. And honestly? I think that's a good thing. Because I've seen this movie before, and the companies that came out of the last downturn include a unicorn, a billion-dollar exit, and several acquisitions.Plus: one of the most active seed funds in the region just changed their name, 300 open source developers are descending on Portland next week for TokioConf, and yes — I talk about pitch competitions. So many pitch competitions.CHAPTERS 00:00 Oregon startup news intro05:45 Portland VC hits a 10-year low10:50 Cascade Seed Fund becomes Long Way Ventures13:35 TokioConf 2026 15:45 SecretsLINKSPortland VC 10-Year Low — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/17/portland-venture-capital-just-hit-a-10-year-low-good/Long Way Ventures (Cascade Seed Fund rebrand) — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/15/long-way-ventures-a-new-name-for-one-of-the-most-active-early-stage-funds-in-the-region/TokioConf tickets — https://www.tokioconf.comClaude Social Night in Salem — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/14/claude-code-at-the-capital-claude-social-night-at-ventis-in-salem-oregon/TAO AI Sandbox — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/14/its-raining-pitch-competitions-tao-ai-startup-innovation-sandbox/TiE Westside Pitch registration — https://events.tie.org/Oregon/WestsidePitch2026Gorge PitchFest — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/14/reminder-gorge-pitchfest-2026-applications-are-due-april-17-2026/FIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…- https://patreon.com/turoczy- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy- Portland Oregon startup news on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/portland-oregon-startup-news-silicon-florist/id1711294699- Portland Oregon startup news Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2cmLDH8wrPdNMS2qtTnhcy?si=H627wrGOTvStxxKWRlRGLQ- Startup Stories on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1Tk7bbzaNYowGouI9ucKC3- Startup Stories on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-stories-with-silicon-florist/id1849468494- The Long Con on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-long-con/id1810923457- The Long Con on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/48oglyT5JNKxVH5lnWTYKA- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.bsky.social- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/- https://pdxslack.comABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, 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#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur
Transcribe →Week ending Apr 10, 2026 - Oregon startup news
Apr 1100:36:05Tap to summarizeUpstart Collective officially opened its new home on the fifth floor of Big Pink — and it's a big deal for Portland's startup community. Plus: Governor Kotek signed SB 1507 (the QSBS tax), but her signing letter hints at a fix. ConductorOne rebrands to C1. And a YC alum in Vancouver, WA wants to freeze your brain and hook it up to the internet. CHAPTERS00:00 Oregon startup news07:00 Upstart Collective grand opening at Big Pink13:00 QSBS / SB 1507 20:00 ConductorOne rebrands to C123:00 Nectome — freezing brains and hooking them to the internet30:00 Secrets LINKShttps://doing.tools/ https://pitchmap-pnw.com/ https://pigsquad.com/ https://pigcon.pigsquad.com/ https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/08/its-official-upstart-collective-grand-opening-ceremony-welcomes-startup- coworking-to-big-pink/ https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/09/governor-kotek-signed-sb-1507-as-expected-but-she-also-said-something-ab out-qsbs-that-you-need-to-hear/ https://www.c1.ai/ https://nectome.com/ FIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…- https://patreon.com/turoczy- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy- Portland Oregon startup news on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/portland-oregon-startup-news-silicon-florist/id1711294699- Portland Oregon startup news Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2cmLDH8wrPdNMS2qtTnhcy?si=H627wrGOTvStxxKWRlRGLQ- Startup Stories on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1Tk7bbzaNYowGouI9ucKC3- Startup Stories on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-stories-with-silicon-florist/id1849468494- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.bsky.social- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/- https://pdxslack.comABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, 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#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur
Transcribe →Week ending Apr 3, 2026 — Oregon startup news
Apr 400:30:58Tap to summarizePortland's Mayor Keith Wilson launched a Central City Roundtable to reinvigorate downtown — but there's not a single entrepreneur or startup person at the table. This week I've got feelings about that. Plus: an intercollegiate hackathon, a Portland cleantech startup heading to Atlanta, Business Oregon's $125K innovation plan check-in, the top 10 Silicon Florist stories for Q1 2026, and a deep dive through 18 years of Portland accelerator history.TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Portland startups intro05:05 Business Oregon's $125K innovation plan RFP08:05 Central City Roundtable — who's at the table (and who's not)14:40 Top 10 Silicon Florist stories for Q1 202619:00 History of Portland accelerators25:20 SecretsLINKSHackUP Intercollegiate Hackathon- Site: https://www.hack-up.dev/- SF: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/02/lets-leave-those-heated-collegiate-rivalries-to-march-madness-hackup-brings-college-developers-together/Fordje → Cox Cleantech Accelerator- Cox: https://www.coxenterprises.com/news/new-cox-cleantech-accelerator-cohort-aims-to-enhance-energy-systems-increase-industrial-efficiency-and-improve-infrastructure- SF: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/02/portlands-fordje-selected-for-atlantas-cox-cleantech-accelerator/Oregon AI Accelerator Demo Day (May 14)- SF: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/31/oregon-ai-accelerator-first-ever-demo-day-is-may-14-at-big-pink/Business Oregon Innovation Plan RFP (~$125K)- SF: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/30/business-oregon-has-125k-for-someone-to-tell-us-how-innovative-weve-been-for-the-last-5-years/Central City Roundtable — Who's Missing- SF: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/02/qq-do-you-feel-represented-by-portland-mayor-wilsons-new-central-city-roundtable/- Portland.gov: https://www.portland.gov/mayor/keith-wilson/news/2026/2/24/mayor-keith-wilson-launch-central-city-roundtable-march-6Top 10 SF Stories Q1 2026- SF: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/31/top-10-portland-startup-stories-on-silicon-florist-for-q1-2026/Portland Accelerator History- SF: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/31/an-imperfect-and-meandering-history-of-portland-startup-incubators-and-accelerators/My Open Source Experience Podcast- SF: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/31/chatting-with-the-my-open-source-experience-podcast/ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, 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#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur
Transcribe →Week ending Mar 27, 2026 - Oregon startup news
Mar 2800:21:27Tap to summarizeThis week: Beaverton Startup Challenge deadline, All Raise's VC diversity survey, Dominic Kuklawood on The Awkward Handshake, my Prosperity Council response on SB 1507, the Yex Labs fiscal impact model that shows Oregon could lose a billion dollars over 10 years from QSBS taxation, and Charles Voloshin's Control Your Persona manifesto. Plus secrets.Chapters00:00 Intro00:27 Beaverton Startup Challenge — applications due01:48 All Raise survey 02:41 Dominic Kuklawood on The Awkward Handshake04:10 SB 1507 & the Prosperity Council response07:35 Yex Labs QSBS fiscal impact model — Monte Carlo simulation13:55 Control Your Persona16:20 SecretsLinks- Beaverton Startup Challenge: https://www.oregonstartupcenter.org/beaverton-startup-challenge-applications-open- All Raise: https://www.allraise.org/- Calagator: https://calagator.org/events- Portland Startup Events: https://lu.ma/PortlandStartupEvents- The Awkward Handshake podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjpnwIgg0K0- My Prosperity Council response: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/23/my-response-to-the-oregon-governors-prosperity-council/- QSBS fiscal impact model: https://www.yex.ai/- Control Your Persona manifesto (Soqratic / Charles Voloshin): https://controlyourpersona.org/FIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…- https://patreon.com/turoczy- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy- Portland Oregon startup news on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/portland-oregon-startup-news-silicon-florist/id1711294699- Portland Oregon startup news Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2cmLDH8wrPdNMS2qtTnhcy?si=H627wrGOTvStxxKWRlRGLQ- Startup Stories on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1Tk7bbzaNYowGouI9ucKC3- Startup Stories on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-stories-with-silicon-florist/id1849468494- The Long Con on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-long-con/id1810923457- The Long Con on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/48oglyT5JNKxVH5lnWTYKA- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.bsky.social- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/- https://pdxslack.comABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, 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#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur
Transcribe →Week ending Mar 20, 2026 - Oregon startup news
Mar 2100:35:46Tap to summarizeThis week: Silicon Forest Tech Summit 2026 recap, Eclypsium raises another $25M (bringing their total past $110M), Seattle's OneCourt wins SXSW Pitch with a Portland Trail Blazers connection, PIE alum James McDermott is back with a new AI startup called Antfly, and in Secrets — why Oregon's QSBS tax policy is an existential threat to the startup ecosystem.⏱️ CHAPTERS (estimated — adjust to actual timecodes)0:00 Governor's Prosperity Council Survey (FILL IT OUT)4:55 Silicon Forest Tech Summit 2026 Recap 10:00 Eclypsium Raises $25M (Total: $110M+)15:30 OneCourt Wins SXSW Pitch (Blazers Connection)19:00 Antfly: PIE Alum James McDermott's New AI Startup25:17 Secrets🔗 LINKS Governor's Prosperity Council: https://www.research.net/r/OregonProsperityCouncilSurvey Eclypsium: https://eclypsium.com/ Eclypsium $25M raise (GeekWire): https://www.geekwire.com/2026/portland-cybersecurity-startup-eclypsium-raises-25m-to-secure-ai-infrastructure/ OneCourt: https://www.onecourt.io SXSW Pitch 2026 Winners: https://sxsw.com/pitch/ Antfly (GitHub): https://github.com/antflydb/antfly Lytics: https://www.lytics.com/ Contentstack: https://www.contentstack.com/ Silicon Forest Tech Summit / STEAM Circuit: https://www.steamcircuit.com/ Scott Hanselman: https://www.hanselman.com/ AI Portland: https://www.aipdx.info/ UpStart Collective: https://www.upstartcollective.org/ PIE (Portland Incubator Experiment): https://www.piepdx.com/ Pie Spot: https://www.pie-spot.com/ Portland Trail Blazers: https://www.nba.com/blazers/ V4 Final (Startup Stories episode): https://www.v4final.com/ Oregon Regional Innovation Hubs: https://www.oregon.gov/biz/programs/regional_innovation_hubs/pages/default.aspx QSBS / SB 1507 explainer: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/06/why-is-no-one-talking-about-oregon-eliminating-qsbs-tax-breaks/ WebTrends: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebtrendsFIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…- https://patreon.com/turoczy- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy- Portland Oregon startup news on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/portland-oregon-startup-news-silicon-florist/id1711294699- Portland Oregon startup news Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2cmLDH8wrPdNMS2qtTnhcy?si=H627wrGOTvStxxKWRlRGLQ- Startup Stories on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1Tk7bbzaNYowGouI9ucKC3- Startup Stories on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-stories-with-silicon-florist/id1849468494- The Long Con on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-long-con/id1810923457- The Long Con on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/48oglyT5JNKxVH5lnWTYKA- https://bsky.app/profile/turoczy.bsky.social- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/- https://pdxslack.comABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, 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.
Transcribe →Week ending Mar 13, 2026 - Oregon startup news
Mar 1400:20:37Tap to summarizeMuch better mood this week. Depot — a YC alum with Portland roots — just raised a $10M Series A. Tower, co-founded by PIE alum Brad Heller, raised $6.4M. PDXWIT is rebooting. The Claude Code hackathon drew 120 people who built 52 projects in 3 hours. And the Silicon Forest Tech Summit is tomorrow.TIMECODES 00:00 Oregon startup news intro 08:30 Silicon Forest Tech Summit preview 10:30 Depot raises $10M Series A 14:00 Claude Code Hackathon 16:00 Secrets LINKS Tower raises $6.4M https://techfundingnews.com/tower-6-4m-claude-data-pipelines-last-mile/ Depot $10M Series A - Blog post: https://depot.dev/blog/depot-raises-series-a - SF post: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/12/yc-alum-depot-raises-10m-series-a/ QSBS / SB 1507 - SF post: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/06/why-is-no-one-talking-about-oregon-eliminating-qsbs-tax-breaks/ Axios Portland - Oregon losing growth: https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2026/03/09/oregon-businesses-expand-out-of-state-growth-incentives - Small businesses struggling: https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2026/03/11/small-businesses-rising-costs-reputation-challenges PDXWIT reboot - SF post: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/01/26/portland-women-in-technology-pdxwit-reboots/ Seattle Startup Day (May 15) - Tickets / info: https://startupday.seattleflow.org/ - SF post: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/12/considering-heading-to-seattle-for-startup-day-2026-early-bird-prices-end-tomorrow/ Founders Live Build Portland (April 9) https://www.founderslive.com/events-list/portland-2026-04 Bluesky CEO change https://bsky.social/about/blog/03-09-2026-a-new-chapter-for-bluesky Silicon Forest Tech Summit 2026 - Tickets / info: https://www.oregoncc.org/attend/events/2026/03/silicon-forest-tech-summit-2026 - SF post: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/05/who-is-taking-the-stage-at-the-silicon-forest-tech-summit-next-week/ Claude Code Hackathon recap (Sam Keane) - Sam's recap: https://writing.alteredcraft.com/p/portland-built-with-claude-meet-the - SF post: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/12/back-in-my-day-hackathons-used-to-take-a-whole-weekend/ Decisio Startup Story - SF post: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/11/struggling-to-figure-out-what-to-watch-theres-an-app-for-that/ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, 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#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur
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