Today, we’re announcing our fifth startup accelerator class — after a four year hiatus —through a program funded in part by Prosper Portland and its Inclusive Business Resource Network. The program, helmed by PIE program manager Chevonne James, is housed in The Dairy Building in the central eastside industrial district at the southeast corner of the Portland IQ, through a collaboration with Intrinsic Ventures.
The companies in the fifth cohort of PIE are:
- Additive Care (https://additivecare.com/) offers a push button 3D printing solution for the healthcare industry
- AllGo (https://www.canweallgo.com) provides insights on the comfort and accessibility of public places for plus-size people
- CMDsense (http://cmdsense.com/) is transforming the construction industry through technology
- De Las Mias (https://delasmias.com/) empowers Latinas to live healthier lives
- Modern Adventure (https://www.modernadventure.com/) is an immersive travel brand offering exclusive experiences across the globe with the world’s most interesting people
- Nocturne Collective (http://nocturne.co/) crafts the systems your brand needs
- Praxis Department (http://www.thepraxisdepartment.com/) helps companies create resilient cultures that scale
- Varcity (https://varcitynetwork.com/) is a social network connecting student athletes to community
- Werkhorse fosters intuitive on-demand staffing
- Workfrom (https://workfrom.co/) hosts the largest database of workspaces for remote professionals
“Throughout PIE’s history, we’ve tried any number of experiments to help early stage startups in Portland,” said James. “Through that experimentation we’ve determined that providing a shared workspace where founders can collaborate with one another is critical to our program. While we’ve been working with these companies virtually for a number of months, we’re already seeing exponentially more progress now that we’re all in the same physical space at the Dairy Building.”
“The Dairy Building is very excited to be hosting PIE and the burgeoning new companies they house,” said LeAnn Raschke, Real Estate Manager for The Dairy Building at NAI Elliott. “With private call rooms, large central meeting area, conference rooms, and a common kitchen, The Dairy Building provides the perfect meeting place for collaborative events and meet-ups. PIE is a welcome addition to the community of like-minded small business owners and entrepreneurs in the building. We look forward to seeing the growth and networking opportunities that PIE will bring.”
The latest version of the ongoing PIE experiment in collaboration among the Portland startup community and other established organizations—like corporations, government, and educational institutions—refactors its former model for early stage startups, moving away from the typical “three months and out” format to embrace a rolling cohort model where mentored companies grow up and out of the space as quickly or as slowly as needed. In addition, through its partnership with Prosper Portland, PIE has increased its efforts to attract founders who identify as women and/or people of color in an effort to better represent the wealth of entrepreneurial activity in the Portland community. Two of the companies in the current cohort, Additive Care and AllGo, are graduates of the TiE XL Bootcamp, which is also part of the Inclusive Business Resource Network.
“PIE has long been an essential partner in our work promoting inclusive entrepreneurship in Portland, and we are excited to support Chevonne, Rick, and the PIE team as they mentor a new group of startups,” said Prosper Portland Executive Director Kimberly Branam. “These businesses represent the full array of diverse founders, interests, and industries that reflect Portland’s vibrant startup scene.”
About Prosper Portland Inclusive Business Resource Network
From tech startups to neighborhood retail, small businesses are vital to the city’s economy. The Inclusive Business Resource Network is a citywide program that brings multiple services for small business into a single network to provide greater efficiencies and cross-functional innovation. The Network leverages the power of partnership to increase the success of underrepresented entrepreneurs.
Through focused resources, collaboration and client-centered services the Network seeks to drastically shift outcomes for business owners of color, immigrants, women founders, and other underrepresented minorities. Approximately 600 businesses are served through the Network each year, and 400 businesses – 65 percent owned by women and 75 percent owned by people of color – receive long-term support (30+ advising hours a year).
For more information, visit https://prosperportland.us/portfolio-items/inclusive-business-resource-network/
About Intrinsic Ventures
Intrinsic Ventures and its affiliate companies acquire and develop commercial real estate in transit-oriented, urban areas, and endeavor to create public benefits in unique locations. Our goal is to invest in the future of urban areas and to establish projects in pedestrian districts where alternative forms of transportation, like buses, bicycles and trains, are easily accessible. We create some measure of public benefit through our efforts in conjunction with a viable investment.
Our buildings—which include The Dairy Building—are vital, mixed-use hubs that thrive because their location and close proximity to other, minor-commercial properties creates a draw for local, repeat customers. By developing clusters of contiguous properties, we create a sense of community amongst our multi-tenant buildings. Developing and preserving historic buildings on tree lined sidewalks, establishing thriving communities in open public spaces and job creation are at the core of Intrinsic’s philosophy.
For more information, visit http://www.intrinsicventures.com/
About PIE
PIE is an ongoing experiment designed to enable established organizations — corporations, government, and educational institutions, among others — to more effectively collaborate with the Portland, Oregon, startup community in mutually beneficial ways. Throughout its history, PIE has served as a curated coworking space, a community event space, a startup accelerator, a flashpoint for corporate innovation, an accelerator for accelerators, and a home-away-from-home for startup types — and the startup curious — from around the world. To further support all startup communities, PIE provides access to its learnings and programs through the PIE Cookbook, an open source guide for building a startup accelerator
PIE is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization through its fiscal sponsor, Built Oregon. PIE and Built Oregon are founding partners of the Portland IQ.
For more information on the program, visit http://www.piepdx.com/. To access the PIE Cookbook, visit https://github.com/piepdx/pie-cookbook/blob/master/README.md
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MEDIA CONTACT
Rick Turoczy
Cofounder and General Manager, PIE
rick@piepdx.com
PIE Blog 
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