इस एपिसोड के बारे में
Leading the week: Kelly Lyons steps into the Innovation Hub's empty chair right as PSU — the Hub's fiscal sponsor — lands $6M for innovation and commercialization, and Rick had the story out before the Hub itself put out a statement. From there, Josh Carter's UpStart Collective marks 4 years and a full floor of Big Pink, a decade after Portland first waved him off. The Bend Venture Conference narrows its Growth Stage field to 15 semifinalists — heavy on Oregon names like Caravel Bio and Looptworks, with a few out-of-state ringers along for the ride — ahead of its October main-stage finale. And if you're building anything, circle September 15: that's the deadline for the Oregon AI Accelerator's zero-equity cohort, the Oregon Innovation Showcase's deeptech call, and Founders Inc's hardware program, all landing the same week. Plus: August's top 10 posts, in case you missed Panthalassa's $2B moment or the news that Portland Startup Week isn't what it used to be.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Oregon startup news intro
02:15 - Oregon Innovation Showcase: Deep tech and hardware applications
03:18 - Oregon AI Accelerator: Cohort 2 applications (Due Sept 15)
04:25 - Founders Inc: Hard tech opportunities in the Bay Area
05:23 - Metro Region Innovation Hub: New Executive Director Kelly Lyons
09:18 - Bend Venture Conference: The 22-year angel investor legacy
11:55 - BVC Growth Stage Semi-Finalists: Tech Category
19:00 - Silicon Florist turns 19: The 20-year celebration preview
24:45 - Upstart Collective: Celebrating 4 years in Big Pink
30:20 - Secrets
LINKS:
Innovation Hub names new director — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/01/portland-metro-region-innovation-hub-names-new-director/
Portland Metro Region Innovation Hub — https://www.portlandmetrohub.org/
Oregon AI Accelerator wants you — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/02/building-with-ai-oregon-ai-accelerator-wants-you/
Oregon AI Accelerator — https://oregonaix.com/
Learn to stop worrying and embrace AI with Scott Hanselman — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/02/learn-to-stop-worrying-and-embrace-ai-with-scott-hanselman/
Steam Circuit — AI Without the Hype — https://www.steamcircuit.com/events/ai-builder-series-ai-without-the-hype-september-5-2026
Oregon Innovation Showcase 2027 call for founders — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/03/interest-in-showcasing-your-innovation-youre-in-luck-oregon-innovation-showcase-2027-is-looking-for-folks-to-feature/
Oregon Innovation Showcase — https://www.oregoninnovationshowcase.org/
Bend Venture Conference reveals Growth Stage semifinalists — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/04/bend-venture-conference-2026-reveals-growth-stage-semifinalists/
Bend Venture Conference — https://www.bendvc.com/
Hardware / deep tech accelerator — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/04/looking-for-a-startup-accelerator-for-your-hardware-or-deep-tech-startup/
Founders Inc Blueprint — https://f.inc/blueprint
Top 10 Silicon Florist posts for August — https://siliconflorist.com/2026/09/01/top-10-silicon-florist-posts-for-august-2026/
FIND RICK TUROCZY ON THE INTERNET AT…
- https://patreon.com/turoczy
- https://linkedin.com/in/turoczy
- https://siliconflorist.substack.com/
- https://pdxslack.com
ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------
Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0).
All because of a blog. Weird.
https://siliconflorist.com
