We’ve had the pleasure of partnering with any number of corporations throughout our experiments. Now, we’re partnering with Portland’s largest law firm to ensure that startups in our community have efficient access to mentorship from legal experts.
This collaboration will allow PIE to offer its startups resources and mentorship opportunities with experienced Stoel Rives attorneys who focus their practices on working with emerging companies. The partnership marks another step in Stoel Rives’ ongoing efforts to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Portland.
Originally founded as a collaboration between Portland based creative agency Wieden+Kennedy and the Portland startup community, PIE has continued to partner with private industry to support its ongoing operations. Since the venture was founded in 2009, financial and in-kind support has been provided by leading companies including Autodesk, CENTRL Office, Coca-Cola, Daimler, Environments, Google, Intel, Intrinsic Ventures, Nike, Target, Uncorked Studios, and W+K.
“Through its community-building efforts, PIE has become the de facto hub of the community that supports early stage tech startups in Portland — and their expanding efforts into manufacturing and consumer products promise to increase the gravity of the organization,” said Brie Bridegum, lawyer with Stoel Rives. “I’m excited to become more engaged with PIE and its programs and I know a numberof my peers at Stoel Rives share in this excitement.”
“Unless you’re among our alums or one of the hundreds of mentors who volunteer for our programs, it’s difficult to describe the exact value that PIE provides to the broader Portland startup community,” said Rick Turoczy, cofounder and general manager of PIE. “That’s why it’s always heartening to have organizations such as Stoel Rives proactively approach us to provide support for our programs and the startups in our community. We’re looking forward to this partnership providing streamlined access to a whole new group of mentors with significant legal insights.”
Through the partnership, the attorneys in Stoel Rives’ Emerging Companies practice group will provide practical and thorough advice to a diverse range of companies that are forming, financing, hiring, creating and protecting innovations, as well as resolving disputes that may arise along the way. The team brings a combination of legal knowledge, entrepreneurial thinking and understanding of the financial markets as they help entrepreneurs navigate from startup through sale or public offering.
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