The StartupBend inbox has been overflowing with all sorts of interesting tidbits so we decided to round them all up into one delicious soup of news. Who wants news soup? Sorry no soup for you. Just kidding. Spend a few minutes getting caught up and penciling things into your calendar.
Want to reinvent CS education? OSU Cascades is hiring
Do you love to code? And love to teach? OSU Cascades is hiring two new CS instructors. It’s an opportunity to help reinvent CS education at OSU Cascades, and generate positive community impact. Yong Bakos, CS instructor, reports that the school “continues to collaborate with and facilitate K12 education, working with the school district, individual schools, teachers and students. Our CS undergraduates are out there volunteering and mentoring after school coding classes, and at events like ChickTECH. We continue to build positive relationships between students and local businesses. We have the opportunity to innovate by reinventing the computer science experience in higher ed. We work on open source projects related to ecology, river restoration, and other local concerns.” If that sounds like everything you love, then take a chance and apply.
Cascade Angels opens funding for early stage startups
Entrepreneurs seeking investment capital have an opportunity to present their early stage businesses to Bend-based Cascade Angels. Cascade Angels Fund V, LLC has opened its second application period, which runs through April 9. Entrepreneurs interested in applying can do so via Gust. The Fund anticipates investing in five to eight companies this year, targeting early stage companies from any industry. The investments are anticipated to range from $150,000 to $250,000 per company.
Do you love running, tech and startups? Join the newly formed BendTECH running club
The BendTECH coworking space has launched a running club. This informal group of delightful, very not hardcore running people meets Tuesdays at 12:30 p.m. at BendTECH at 1001 SW Emkay. Everyone is invited–you don’t need to be a coworking member. The pace is a reasonable 9 to 10+ min miles and the group is running three to five miles each time. It’s a great way to meet people in the community, get some exercise and explore some trails. If you have questions, email [email protected] Sometimes Taco Tuesday happens at BendTECH right after, which is like running club but without the running and instead people eat tacos.
VP of Ops for Customer.io and former Agency Revolution CEO keynotes Thursday PubTalk
This Thursday’s EDCO PubTalk features one of our favorite people and business leaders in the world. That would be Maggie Hubbell, the former CEO of Agency Revolution. Maggie led the acquisition of the Bend-based software company last year. She’s now the VP of Ops for Portland-based Customer.io. Don’t miss this chance to learn more about Maggie’s experience growing and selling a business. The evening also features pitches from Ken York with LifeExec, and Will Harlan, of SeatDreamzzz. PubTalk starts at 5 p.m. and per usual, it’s at McMenamims downtown. Have some tots and get your tickets here.
Droplr CEO outlines how intense exercise helps improve his work
We’ve written before about how Droplr CEO Gray Skinner likes to hire athletes to work at the Bend-based tech startup. But ICYMI, I also enjoyed learning more about the role that exercise plays in Gray’s work and life via this piece in AustinFit Magazine. Gray is an elite triathlete and cyclist. He has some great insights into how exercise relates to high-performance in his career. “Proving to myself that I can persevere and break through in training creates strength and confidence that I can do the same at work,” he says. Read the rest of the article, and then head out for a run.
The CNBC article read around the world, and one local’s response
There was certainly lots of chatter about the recent CNBC article that dubbed Bend as Silicon Valley’s next commuter town. You probably read the piece, but I wanted to share a second take on the issue from Seven Peak’s Matt Abrams. Matt, a native Oregonian, dug a bit deeper into what’s happening here in Bend and offered some additional perspective. “Keeping Bend Bend is what drives me and and my partners every single day. We aren’t trying to build another Silicon Valley or simply become its bedroom community,” he notes. Take a few minutes to read Matt’s thoughts about what’s happening in our startup and tech community.
That’s all the news soup we have for now. But hang tight, because we’re dubbing April “Meet New Startups Month” and we have a slew of fun companies we want to tell you about.
Kelly Kearsley
You can reach Kelly by email at [email protected].
