theupperleft Lee Reeves

On Season 2, Episode 5 of theupperleft, we sit down with Rick Turoczy (https://twitter.com/turoczy), cofounder and general manager of PIE (https://piepdx.com), an ongoing experiment designed to explore how more established organizations — like corporations, government entities, and educational institutions — can more effectively collaborate with the Portland startup community, for mutual benefit.

Rick is more than mildly obsessed with connecting dots in the Portland startup community (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0). In addition to PIE, he has written about the community for a dozen years (https://siliconflorist.com), helped start TechfestNW (https://techfestnw.com), and serves as the lead organizer of Portland Startup Week (https://portland.startupweek.co). At the time of this recording, he was actively prepping for PIE Demo Day (https://bit.ly/PIEDD2019) and working to bring his peers from around the country to Portland for the Startup Champions Network Summit (http://startupchampions.co).

On Season 2, Episode 4 of theupperleft, we sit down with Joe Ottinger, Founder and CEO of Iinnovate Leadership Network, a consulting firm helping companies innovate, scale, and renew growth. Joe has published two books and numerous articles on innovation and leadership and believes that innovation can transform companies, communities, and lives.

As part of Iinnovate, Joe has published a study with the University of Washington about Greater Seattle's innovation economy. Now in its fourth year, the 70-page 2018 Greater Seattle Innovation Ecosystem Report is the most ambitious yet, identifying the successes and current challenges in the region. The report covers the tech and life sciences sectors and identifies resources including the top investors, professionals, service providers, research, and support organizations that make Seattle's innovation economy run.

Joe is active in the Greater Seattle community and is on the board of Young President Organization's (YPO's) Global Entrepreneurship and Innovation Network representing 25,000 CEOs in over 100 countries.

On Season 2, Episode 3 of theupperleft, we sit down with Lincoln Smith, Founding Executive Director of Kamloops Innovation in Kamloops, BC. KI is a non-profit organization that enables new entrepreneurs to jump-start their business with assistance and mentorship. Kamloops Innovation's mission is to inspire, nurture, and accelerate technology-based startup businesses in Kamloops and the surrounding regions.

Episode 3 topics include: localized startup ecosystem development in rural communities, tech and innovation entrepreneurship in cities with less than 100,000 residents, and why economic development organizations should deploy localized development strategies that play to the strengths of the community.

On Season 2, Episode 2 of theupperleft, we sit down with Allie Magyar, Founder and CEO of Vancouver, WA based Hubb, an event management solution and powerful business intelligence tool that brings innovation and data-driven decision making to the events industry. Hubb recently announced a $6.3M Series B round that was led by Five Elms Capital and includes follow-on investment from Oregon Venture Fund and Elevate Capital.

Allie is passionate about entrepreneurship and women in technology, and recently discussed her experience managing growth and pursuing funding as a female entrepreneur at the first ever Elevate Inclusion Summit in Portland, Oregon: https://blog.hubb.me/allie-talks-venture-capital-for-female-entrepreneurs

Hubb raised a $3.7 Seed round, including $140,000 at the 2016 Bend Venture Conference and $155,000 at the 2016 Seattle Angel Conference.

On Season 2, Episode 1 of theupperleft, we sit down with Matt Rubright, Vice President of Early and Growth Stage Technology at Silicon Valley Bank. In Matt's capacity as VP, he directly helps early and growth stage companies reach their potential by connecting them with SVB's capital and community.

Matt is active in the Seattle startup community and has led several presentations on the local fundraising ecosystem on the fundraising process, critical considerations, and investors in the local market.