Silicon Florist » Search Results » lunch+2.0

Reminder: OpenSesame Lunch 2.0 is Wednesday

Jake — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 18:49:21 +0000

In case you’ve been too busy soaking up the sun to remember, OpenSesame (@opensesamenow) wants to have you over for lunch on Wednesday.

Not familiar with OpenSesame, the eLearning marketplace startup that won the grand prize at OEN Angel Oregon back in March?

All the more reason to swing by their lunch and get the scoop on what they do, their startup experience so far, any open positions. You know the drill.

Even if you know what they do, why not enjoy a casual lunch and networking with some of your friends on a balmy July day, or hey, even meet some new folks.

One note, if you’re driving, use the Portland State Business Accelerator’s driving directions, not Google Maps, which apparently chooses a very roundabout route.

See you there.

Oh, and don’t forget to RSVP on Upcoming.

Upcoming Portland Lunch 2.0s

July 27 hosted by OpenSesame

Skipping the boilerplate this time and wondering if anyone reads down here anymore.

I’m thinking lately that Lunch 2.0 has run its course. We’ve had a good 3.5 year run, with some awesome events and great hosts.

However, the crowds are definitely smaller and have been dwindling for a while, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, although part of the value of Lunch 2.0 is connecting people with companies and organizations here in town.

Demand for hosting has gone way down as well, not really sure why. So, it could be that Lunch 2.0 organically runs its course, unless someone wants to market it more actively than I do.

Thoughts? Find the comments here or hit me up directly.

PIE: From side project to startup

Rick Turoczy — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 17:34:14 +0000

A few years back, I had the opportunity to run a BarCamp Portland session called “From side project to startup.” I’ve always liked that thought. Because it’s a dream that so many of us have. To work on something we love—even if it’s on the side. And for that project to build so much momentum and find users and find revenue. And that we could make it our job. Day in and day out.

Well, I never believed it would happen to me. But with Silicon Florist and PIE, it has.

I’ve told this story at least a thousand times. So forgive me if you’re heard it once or twice. But I thought now—as we’re entering the next phase of PIE—it might be a good time to commit it to paper. Or pixels. Or whatever.

Because while you may have heard bits and pieces, I don’t think anyone has really ever had to sit through the whole thing.

Lucky you.

And so, to make a short story, long…

PIE 0.1

Around two years ago, in mid-2009, I got a direct message from Renny Gleeson, the head of global interactive strategy at Wieden+Kennedy.

Renny and I had a met a couple of times. Most notably at the first Ignite Portland, for which he had graciously offered up the W+K space to host. But honestly, I had no idea why he was contacting me.

So we met, at the maze that is the W+K Portland office. And he started to describe an idea he had.

It seems that the first floor of W+K had some vacant office space. A former retail location. That had been sitting open for a while. At 1227 NW Davis.

Renny had two concerns. First, he thought that W+K was missing an opportunity for a stronger connection to the tech startup community. Second, he thought W+K was missing an obvious connection to the Portland community in general. Something they had tasted with Ignite and Lunch 2.0—but something that had never been fully realized.

Renny thought he might be able to use the space to solve those issues. To reconnect W+K to startups and Portland. And for some reason, he thought he would ask me if I would like to help.

Strangely enough, I had been having very similar conversations about “a space for Portland startups.” First with Justin Kistner and then with Scott Kveton and Jason Glaspey. We’d even begun to formulate a bit of a list about who might be interested. And what we might do there.

So I put Renny in touch with Scott to talk more about all of our ideas.

And a month later? We were all standing in an empty space in the Pearl, describing the concept to a bunch of folks whom we hoped would participate.

PIE 1.0

What we had in our mind for the first version of PIE back then was very much along the lines of what Kevin Rose is currently pursuing with Milk.

We thought that if we brought a bunch of strong individual contributors into close proximity with a bunch of fledgling startups that, not only would the startups have a better chance of succeeding, but we’d have the ability to get everyone together to collaborate on interesting side projects. Hack things together on the fly. Test ideas. See if we hit upon anything.

And we did launch a couple of projects. And we did work together. Although our most promising one was scrapped after the company who hired us to build it suddenly remembered that they had acquired a company for that very functionality—more than a year before they hired us to build it.

I hear you. What was in it for Wieden+Kennedy besides warm fuzzies? Well, as a benefit, W+K would have the opportunity to come down and pick our brains. Or throw challenges at us. Or ask us to poke holes in their ideas.

It was a think tank of sorts. Something to help keep W+K in touch with the bleeding edge of technology. And to provide criticism on rusting edge ideas.

And it seemed like a great idea.

That said, in hindsight there were—admittedly—two huge bugs in PIE 1.0:

People who have just left their day jobs to work full time on their startup are very interested in focusing on said startup. No matter how side-project-y they’ve been in the past, they’re not much for the side projects at that point in time.
A strong individual contributor who is used to rolling out of bed and going to work finds it very difficult to justify a commute to an office space—no matter how compelling his or her coworkers might be.

And a third, lesser but still critical bug: We were all so busy running in a thousand directions, we never did a good job of describing what PIE was or what we were trying to do. We failed to explain that to the folks upstairs. And we failed to explain that to the outside world.

But we had momentum. And there were some interesting things happening. So it didn’t seem like it was holding us back. We kept charging ahead with the side project that was PIE.

PIE 1.5

You know those releases that are designed to be bug fixes but they seem to change the very nature of how your product works? Yeah.

With Bac’n sold and Urban Airship taking off (pun intended), PIE was rapidly becoming the UA office—with some other startups tacked on the side. So UA looked for some other space, moved upstairs briefly, and then eventually moved out, landing in their current location on NW 11th and Flanders.

And PIE morphed a bit, becoming very much a coworking space, full of like minded but largely disconnected companies—companies which seemed to very rapidly outgrow our space. First Urban Airship outgrew the space. Then? Refresh Media grew out of PIE. Gorlochs grew out of PIE. PHP Fog grew out of PIE. BankSimple‘s development team grew out of PIE.

Sensing a theme here?

But that was awesome. We loved seeing companies grow quickly. And take advantage of some of the peer mentoring we were able to offer. But that wasn’t really what we’d started out to do. But you know? Sometimes you have to go with the flow. Or what is that word the cool kids use? Oh yeah. Pivot.

So we continued to function as a coworking space. And to build our alumni network. And the collaborative atmosphere of PIE took a back seat to ensuring that people had desks and we were hosting events and whatnot.

Oh. And bear in mind, that this is still just a side project for everyone involved.

So we’ve got companies renting desks at PIE, growing quickly, and then leaving to make room for new companies. And we’ve got some companies who’ve been at PIE for awhile. Long enough to remember the old days. And we’ve got alums doing amazing things and landing more funding.

And then there was this interesting dynamic happening upstairs.

You see, it turns out W+K was making some phenomenal hires. Folks who understood online. And who knew mobile. And who got the whole tech thing. I mean, really got it. Folks who were stronger and more thoughtful than many of the folks at PIE. And who got to focus on that kind of thinking full time. Not just as an aspect of their startup.

And so, PIE began to wane as a think tank, as well.

Should PIE stay or should PIE go?

So the beginning of 2011 rolls around. And the cofounders have to sit down with W+K management to discuss what’s been happening with PIE. Because, let’s face it. It’s still Renny and W+K’s experiment. We were just serving as the willing lab rats.

And I’ll have to admit, it was one of those stomach churning, nail biting, sweat inducing meetings.

We were walking into the meeting knowing full well that we had failed to meet the original objectives of PIE. We hadn’t really created any new products—other than the startups we had launched. We hadn’t hit upon a new revelation in platforms that multiple W+K clients would find helpful. We hadn’t really ever gelled as a think tank for the account teams.

Fail. Fail. Fail.

So tail between our legs, we walked into the meeting. Expecting to leave with boxes for cleaning off our desks. Expecting that we would be looking for somewhere new to sit. Or heading back to our home offices and coffee shops.

But that’s not what happened.

Oh I mean sure, we discussed what abject failures we were at meeting our intended goals of the original experiment. And how we had failed to release any meaningful work as a collective. Don’t get me wrong. We reveled in that for a while.

But then, the discussion turned to what had actually happened. And where we had succeeded. Succeeded beyond our expectations.

Mentoring and accelerating.

You see, organically and largely through serendipity we had managed to create a space that had become a hub of activity and intelligent people. A space that was capable of making connections, providing guidance, and accelerating companies. Helping startups get their footing, find funding, and hire people more rapidly than they would have without PIE. Helping them find their way. Helping them make it.

Really, just mentoring them.

And so that’s where W+K asked us to focus. Not on fixing where we had failed. But on putting more momentum behind where we were succeeding. They asked PIE to become a full fledged mentoring resource. To help accelerate and incubate companies.

And it turns out, Renny offered, that they had some folks who would help us in that regard: Wieden+Kennedy’s customers.

PIE 2.0

And so we’ve embarked on the next stage of the experiment. The next version of PIE.

It’s an incubator fashioned after the TechStars model. We provide space, mentorship, and a small stipend in exchange for an equity stake in the companies who participate.

And we’re hoping to work with folks from TechStars, Y Combinator, 500 Startups, and any number of other organizations focused on helping startups succeed.

We just want to see startups make it.

We’ll be running the incubator with amazing people from the Portland tech community, the broader tech community, and well-known brands like Target, Coca-Cola, and Nike.

And we’ll be working to find awesome startups—either within Portland or without—to come spend three months us at PIE, building their dreams into going concerns. Maybe they’ll get funding. Maybe they’ll stand up on their own. Maybe they’ll be acquired. Maybe they’ll just be ready to step into Y Combinator or TechStars or the Portland Seed Fund.

We just want them to make it. To move from side project to startup. And to focus on building good solid companies.

And yes. I keep saying “we.” That’s the side story. I’m happy to announce that I’ll be working on PIE full time. That’s right. My side project has become my startup. And like Silicon Florist, it’s a startup designed to help startups. I can’t wait to see where this goes. And I’m sincerely hoping you’ll take the chance to join me.

Don’t worry. I’ll still keep posting my drivel here. Highlighting the awesome startups in Portland and what they’re accomplishing. And we’ll still be more than happy to host hackathons and gatherings and celebrations for the Portland tech community. And hopefully more.

You can’t get away from me that easily, silly.

Apply to PIE

So now we come to the close. And here’s the request I have. If you’ve got a startup or a side project and you’d like to work with us, please apply to be part of the first class of PIE. If you have friends who have awesome startup ideas, please point them our way.

Applications close August 1. And class starts September 1.

Questions? Interested in mentoring? Please feel free to drop me a line at rick@piepdx.com.

For more information, visit PIE, follow @PIEpdx on Twitter, or like PIE on Facebook.

Have Lunch with OpenSesame

Jake — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 19:04:38 +0000

OpenSesame (@opensesamenow) will be our next Lunch 2.0 host on July 27.

You might remember OpenSesame from such honors as the grand prize at OEN Angel Oregon back in March.

What does OpenSesame do?

I’ll let Rick (@turoczy) explain:

The new venture—which combines talents from previous Portland startups like Eleven Wirelessand SplashCast—is very much an app store for corporate training videos. Allowing trainers from a wide variety of disciplines to get their content in front of corporations. And providing corporate HR departments with an API to hook the curriculum right into their existing training systems.

Ah eLearning, you’re probably familiar with those HR compliance courses you’re mandated to take every few years on sexual harassment, insider trading, privacy and security, etc., but there’s so much more out there from educators like Khan Academy and Capturator.

OpenSesame brings all that content together, connecting buyers and sellers in a marketplace.

Sound interesting? Good, RVSP and bring your questions with you. I hear they’re hiring too.

Hosts: OpenSesame

Where: 2828 SW Corbett Avenue, Portland, OR 97201

When: July 27, 2011 from 12 PM to 2 PM

RSVP on Upcoming

Update: I’m told Google Maps and GPS directions are a bit flakey for the address, especially if you’re coming from the West. So, for clarification, OpenSesame is in the Portland State Business Accelerator, which is at the intersection of SW Corbett and SW Meade. Need more help? Here are driving directions from the PSBA.

Upcoming Portland Lunch 2.0s

July 27 hosted by OpenSesame

If you’re interested or know someone who might be interested in hosting a Lunch 2.0, drop a comment, hit me up on Twitter (@jkuramot), etc.

Want to know what’s involved? Check out the how-to primer.

Big thanks to all the hosts who have hosted or plan to host Lunch 2.0. As with the majority of the tech events in Portland, sponsors make them happen. So, we humbly thank you.

Reminder: Lunch 2.0 with Portland’s Broadband Planners is Wednesday

Jake — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:45:53 +0000

I have to say I’m stunned that only 30-some people have RSVP’ed for Lunch 2.0 on Wednesday with the Office of Cable Communications & Franchise Management.

It must be the beautiful weather that’s distracting you or work or something else. No worries. That’s why a friendly reminder always precedes these events.

Consider yourself reminded.

This Lunch 2.0 is kind of a big deal because it’s about ping and pipe, a.k.a. the City’s Broadband Strategic Plan, which has been out in draft for a month and is waiting for your comments.

Why you? Presumably you live in Portland and have the internets. You probably have a viewpoint about whether internets should be provided by the City of Portland, how much it should cost, how fast it should be, what providers the City should contract, etc.

Well, you need to show up Wednesday and let Deputy Director Mary Beth Henry (@pdxcycle) and her colleagues know your well-formed opinions on the subject because otherwise, you may find yourself shaking your fist at the slow City internets in a couple years.

Oh, and there will be free eats and the usual elbow-rubbing networking too. So, if you like those things, you’ll be in luck.

So, don’t wait, head over and RSVP now.

Upcoming Portland Lunch 2.0s

June 29, hosted by Office of Cable Communications & Franchise Management, Broadband Strategic Planning

Don’t worry, I have a couple in line for July. Watch this space for details.

If you’re interested or know someone who might be interested in hosting a Lunch 2.0, drop a comment, hit me up on Twitter (@jkuramot), etc.

Want to know what’s involved? Check out the how-to primer.

Big thanks to all the hosts who have hosted or plan to host Lunch 2.0. As with the majority of the tech events in Portland, sponsors make them happen. So, we humbly thank you.

Oh it’s on. Beaverton startup Act-On lands $10 million in funding for cloud-based marketing automation

Rick Turoczy — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:59:32 +0000

It’s always nice to wake up to another nail in the “it’s hard to find funding in Portland” coffin. And this time, not only is it funding for a cloud-based company in the Portland area, it’s funding for a company that sits outside the Old Town/Pearl region of town that has been a recent magnet for capital. Way outside. Like Beaverton.

Act-On software has secured $10 million in C round funding, led by Trinity Ventures. Why does Trinity sound familiar? Oh, because Trinity also just sunk some cash into ShopIgniter.

This investment follows a recent investment last November of $4 million. Portland venture capital regular, Voyager Capital, helped co-lead that round. Erik Benson of Voyager currently sits on the Act-On board.

So what does Act-On do that’s attracted $14 million in less than a year?

Built around a 3rd generation e-mail marketing system, and featuring forms, landing pages, drip programs, social media prospecting, webinar management and the ability to automate critical marketing tasks, the Act-On integrated marketing platform generates rich analytics in real-time for your multi-channel online marketing campaigns. An adaptive behavioral scoring capability and a deep integration with Salesforce.com and SugarCRM enable Act-On to push only the most promising, sales-ready leads to your sales representatives.

Our customers tell us that Act-On enables them to keep their focus on their campaign objectives rather than on the underlying technology, and that they feel free to create and manage the marketing processes that best align with their corporate culture, skill sets and reporting requirements, thereby maximizing their effectiveness and ensuring positive outcomes.

Customers? Like who? Well, IBM, Motorola, and Cisco, to name a few.

Might be time for another Portland Lunch 2.0 out in Beaverton.

For more information, read coverage from TechCrunch and Xconomy. For more on the company, visit Act-On.

(Hat tip @katzpdx)

Have Lunch with the City of Portland’s Broadband Planners

Jake — Sat, 21 May 2011 18:06:00 +0000

Hot on the heels of the third Lunch 2.0 at WebTrends, I’m pleased to announce another three-time host will be joining the likes WebTrends and AboutUs, the City of Portland.

On June 29, the Office of Cable Communications & Franchise Management will join the Portland Development Commission and CivicApps as the third City organization to host a Lunch 2.0 and invite the community to an open dialog about City matters.

This one is close to all our hearts, citywide broadband access.

Connecting to Our Future is the result of City of Portland Resolution 36816 (PDF). Check out coverage by Rick (@turoczy) and Mike Rogoway (@rogoway) for background.

Since January, Deputy Director Mary Beth Henry (@pdxcycle) and her colleagues have been hard at work drafting the Broadband Strategic Plan, and it’s ready and waiting for your comments.

Seriously. Hit link above to read the draft plan and attend the Lunch 2.0 on June 29 to let Mary and team know what you think of their plan.

The lunch will be held in the Portland Building, the one guarded by Portlandia (the statue, not the show). Mary Beth will give a short presentation covering the broadband initiative in the Auditorium, then we’ll adjourn to Room C on the second floor for networking and further discussion.

Don’t miss this opportunity to let the City know what you think. I’m pretty sure we all support ubiquitous, affordable, robust broadband, but how the City accomplishes this effort is what’s up for discussion.

Thanks to Mary Beth and the City for offering us the chance to participate and have our voices heard.

Don’t wait to RSVP for this one. It looks to be a popular one. As usual, leave a comment when you RSVP if you’ll be wanting vegan/vegetarian fare.

Hosts: Office of Cable Communications & Franchise Management, Broadband Strategic Planning

Where: 1120 SW 5th Avenue, Portland, OR, 97204

When: June 29, 2011 from 12 PM to 2 PM

RSVP on Upcoming

Upcoming Portland Lunch 2.0s

June 29, hosted by Office of Cable Communications & Franchise Management, Broadband Strategic Planning

If you’re interested or know someone who might be interested in hosting a Lunch 2.0, drop a comment, hit me up on Twitter (@jkuramot), etc.

Want to know what’s involved? Check out the how-to primer.

Big thanks to all the hosts who have hosted or plan to host Lunch 2.0. As with the majority of the tech events in Portland, sponsors make them happen. So, we humbly thank you.

Reminder: Webtrends Lunch 2.0 is Wednesday

Jake — Mon, 09 May 2011 18:00:04 +0000

Did you forget that Webtrends (@webtrends) wants to have you over for lunch on Wednesday?

No worries, that’s why we’re here, to remind you about free lunch. Oh, and to inform you about startups, the local tech scene, etc. All that stuff too.

You may get a chance to check out Webtrends’ newest product Analytics 10, which unites all your social, mobile and web analytics into a single console.

And hey, if it’s sunny (a big if), you can hang out on their balcony too.

Bonus, it looks like they’re hiring too, in several areas, not just technical positions.

Sound good? Thought so.

Before you go, make sure to RSVP on Upcoming.

Upcoming Portland Lunch 2.0s

May 11, hosted by Webtrends

Don’t worry, I have a hosted lined up for June, just haven’t found time to announce it yet. Watch this space for details.

If you’re interested or know someone who might be interested in hosting a Lunch 2.0, drop a comment, hit me up on Twitter (@jkuramot), etc.

Want to know what’s involved? Check out the how-to primer.

Big thanks to all the hosts who have hosted or plan to host Lunch 2.0. As with the majority of the tech events in Portland, sponsors make them happen. So, we humbly thank you.

Have Lunch with WebTrends, Again

Jake — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 18:24:24 +0000

Local analytics powerhouse, WebTrends (@webtrends) will be hosting their third Lunch 2.0 on May 11, 2011.

Not that a Lunch 2.0 needs one, but the occasion is the launch of their newest product, Analytics 10, a tool that unifies web, social and mobile analytics into a single package. Win.

They’ll have Analytics 10 available to test-drive, if you’re interested, but if you’re not, no worries, the usual free-form networking will be in full swing as well. Maybe if we’re lucky, the sun will make an appearance, so we can bask on the deck.

After co-hosting previous Lunch 2.0s with Open Source Bridge (@osbridge) in 2009 and Network Redux (@networkredux) last year, this will be WebTrends’ third time buying lunch for us, putting them in elite company with AboutUs (@aboutus) as the most generous Lunch 2.0 hosts.

You’ve probably been to WebTrends before for a user group meeting, a town hall or some other tech meetup; over the past couple years, they’ve become a great resource to the Portland community, opening their offices to many different geeky events.

So, thanks for that WebTrends, and thanks for keeping the Lunch 2.0 train rolling.

And it looks like they’re hiring too.

Don’t wait, hit the link to RSVP for yourself and any guests/coworkers/entourage members.

Hosts: WebTrends

Where: 851 SW 6th Avenue #1600, Portland, OR, 97204

When: May 11, 2011 from 12 PM to 2 PM

RSVP on Upcoming

Upcoming Portland Lunch 2.0s

May 11, hosted by WebTrends

If you’re interested or know someone who might be interested in hosting a Lunch 2.0, drop a comment, hit me up on Twitter (@jkuramot), etc.

Want to know what’s involved? Check out the how-to primer.

Big thanks to all the hosts who have hosted or plan to host Lunch 2.0. As with the majority of the tech events in Portland, sponsors make them happen. So, we humbly thank you.

REMINDER: Small Society is buying you lunch on Wednesday. You know, in a Portland Lunch 2.0 kind of way.

Rick Turoczy — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:18:40 +0000

As some of you know, Portland Lunch 2.0 organizer Jake Kuramoto has his hands a little full as of late. So I’m stepping in to guest post for him on the upcoming Lunch 2.0 at Small Society.

Um. Yeah. So our friends at Small Society? You know, that awesome Portland iOS dev shop founded by Raven Zachary (@ravenme) and James Keller (@semaphoria)? They’re buying you lunch this Wednesday. So they’d like you to come visit. And eat.

Besides, they’ve got new digs. And they’ve likely built some new apps since the last time you saw them. And well, they’re just nice people.

So go see them And eat their food. But chew with your mouth closed.

Here’s how.

Hosts: Small Society (@smallsociety)

Where: 517 SW 4th Avenue, Suite 400, Portland, OR, 97204

When: April 6, 2011 from 12:00 to 2:00 PM

And, as always, please RSVP on Upcoming so that they know how many folks to expect.

If you’re interested or know someone who might be interested in hosting a Lunch 2.0, drop a comment, hit me up on Twitter (@jkuramot), etc.

Want to know what’s involved? Check out the how-to primer on hosting Portland Lunch 2.0.

Big thanks to all the hosts who have hosted or plan to host Lunch 2.0. As with the majority of the tech events in Portland, sponsors make them happen. So, we humbly thank you.

Silicon Florist » Search Results » lunch+2.0

Reminder: OpenSesame Lunch 2.0 is Wednesday

Most Commented Posts

PIE: From side project to startup

PIE 0.1

PIE 1.0

PIE 1.5

Should PIE stay or should PIE go?

PIE 2.0

Apply to PIE

Related posts

Have Lunch with OpenSesame

Most Commented Posts

Reminder: Lunch 2.0 with Portland’s Broadband Planners is Wednesday

Related posts

Oh it’s on. Beaverton startup Act-On lands $10 million in funding for cloud-based marketing automation

Related posts

Have Lunch with the City of Portland’s Broadband Planners

Related posts

Reminder: Webtrends Lunch 2.0 is Wednesday

Related posts

Top 10 Silicon Florist posts for April 2011: Badass-ness, Code for a Better World, Portland 100 and more

Related posts

Have Lunch with WebTrends, Again

Most Commented Posts

REMINDER: Small Society is buying you lunch on Wednesday. You know, in a Portland Lunch 2.0 kind of way.

Related posts