New Market Theater_PDC.jpg
Startup PDX Challenge winners receive free office space for free in the New Market Theater, an 1872 building in Old Town.
(PDC image)
When the Portland Development Commission was handing out entrepreneurial grants a year ago, Roslynn Tellvik recalls feeling left out.
The PDC, like most startup incubators, selected a half-dozen young tech companies. Tech companies often do well in such competitions – startup costs tend to be lower in software and online businesses, and the reach of the Internet is vast.
To Tellvik, whose RAFT Syrups offers herbal and sugary syrups for teas and other drinks, the focus on tech companies felt exclusionary.
Startup PDX Challenge winners
, science kits for girls
, organic botanical and cane sugar syrup for cocktails and homemade sodas
, women’s “fight gear” and exercise clothing
, online housing rental marketplace
Design + Culture Lab
, urban design consultancy
, subscription giftboxes with Portland-made crafts
"We're not in tech," she said. "There's nothing for businesses like ours."
When the PDC brought back the Startup PDX Challenge for a second go-around this summer, Tellvik and cofounder Sook Goh decided to apply anyway and challenge the conventional thinking.
And after successive screening rounds RAFT Syrups emerged a winner, one of six companies from the Portland area that will receive $15,000 grants from Portland's urban renewal agency and office space for a year, also funded by the PDC.
The collaborative environment of a startup incubator was part of the appeal for RAFT Syrups, according to Tellvik.
"You can meet entrepreneurs all day long," she said. "But working alongside entrepreneurs, I think that can add some momentum to your day and your work."
The PDC fielded 134 applications for its second annual startup contest, for which it committed $125,000 – including $35,000 to tenant improvements to the winners' new shared office space inside the New Market Theater, an 1872 brick structure in Old Town. Winners move in early next month.
The agency made diversity a priority this year, seeking a more varied collection of founders and more variety among its businesses. The six winners and four finalists, which receive a package of donated business services, include:
- Eight startups with female founders
- Three with Asian founders
- Five with African-American founders
- Two with Native American founders
- One with a Latino founder
"This is the first time I think I've ever been in a room with as many female founders," said Lynn Le of Society Nine, which sells "fight gear" and athletic apparel for women and was previously an associate with the city-backed Portland Seed Fund.
"The fact that we're still coming out of the woodwork and we get the platform to speak from with the Startup PDX Challenge is a huge win," Le said.
Portland is home to a growing battery of incubators for young companies. In addition to the seed fund, Wieden+Kennedy's Portland Incubator Experiment (PIE) is hosting its fourth class in the Pearl District, and the state-backed Oregon Story Board named five companies Wednesday for its first "accelerator class" for film, video, animation and gaming startups.
The PDC's contest winners hope to make a mark in their year together, aiming to build brands or products before they leave the nest. Tyrone Poole of NoAppFee.com, an online rental housing marketplace, said he plans to spend the year building an indispensible company in Oregon.
"I want to use this as a catapult to get us on the map," he said.
-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699