Many entrepreneurs may already be aware of the wealth of startup resources in the Portland area. Others may still be learning the landscape. Whatever the case, it’s a good idea to step back once in a while and survey what’s out there. The Portland area is fortunate to have a number of recognizable business incubators, which serve startups by helping them become established and profitable, often by offering physical space, as well as connecting them to networks of advisory and financial resources. We thought we’d briefly profile some of the various incubators that we know of. Feel free to comment on any of these, or let us know if you’re aware of others.
Most of the incubators focus on helping tech companies. There’s the Portland Business Accelerator, run by Portland State University, which targets high-tech/bioscience startups. In nearby Beaverton, OTBC markets itself as an incubator for tech, biotech, cleantech and opentech startups, while down in Corvallis the more narrowly-focused ONAMI caters specifically to companies involved in nanoscience and microtechnology. Something of a blend between an incubator and a venture capital group for tech companies is SmartForest Ventures.
Two other incubators not focused exclusively on tech are OAME, targeting minority and women-owned businesses, and the Food Innovation Center, which, you guessed it, focuses on food innovation, and is run by Oregon State University.
One other local resource is Cubespace. It’s not an incubator, but it’s worth mentioning because it shares the common workspace feature of incubators.
Tags: business incubator, portland, startups
