18 months ago, on February 9, 2009, I wrote a blog post that launched the Portland Ten– an early stage incubation project– into the world. Our goal has been to get 10 Portland startups to $1MM in revenue within 18 months.

Today, upon hitting the milestone of having made it through this first 18 months, we’re now starting to reflect on the experience. We are mid-marathon with three weeks left in our 5th cycle, Summer 2010, but before I have a chance to forget or pass by this special day, I wanted to share some background on why we started the Portland Ten, and an overview of events that have happened in the year and a half since.

How It Started: My Obsession With The "Science" of Startup Failure

Early in my career, after working at several small businesses and startups that tanked, I became fascinated with the "science" of startup businesses, particularly from the lean startup point of view. Given the 50-90% failure rate of startups who fail to make it beyond the first year, I wanted to really understand how founders can spend the least amount of time/resources to determine whether a business idea will create value or not.

I was obsessed with identifying what an entrepreneur can do to minimize preventable failure and build a viable company, and spent the next several years involved with a number of startup/seed incubation projects– Provo Labs, Eastern Idaho Entrepreneurial Center, Hundred Dollar Business, FundingUniverse, and EPIC Ventures.

Portland’s Chicken & Egg Dilemma: Funding or Founders First?

In 2007/2008, I was working for a venture capital firm, and was contracted to look for early stage companies in Portland that would be fundable. To be frank, we had little success finding the quantity & quality of companies that made it viable to place investment dollars in Portland. Along the way, in meeting with dozens of entrepreneurs, investors, and other members of the Portland/Oregon tech startup community, a chicken-and-egg lack of funding versus lack of great startups sentiment was almost universally agreed on.

However, startups felt like investors should step up first, and investors felt that startups should step up first. The problem with that dilemma is that investors can’t and won’t lower their investment criteria and place dollars into companies that are unviable; and entrepreneurs who do not move forward due to a perceived lack of capital, are not able to generate the traction and market validation necessary to attract angel or venture capital funding.

Making The First Move

Complacency has never been my thing; and in late 2008, having recently moved to Portland from Seattle, I had some free time on my hands and wanted to get to work on a major project. Portland’s startup dilemma provided terrific context and a compelling reason to build something where I could apply things I’d been learning and observing for years.

So after some initial planning and feedback from friends & advisors, the project started, and we set out trying to find 10 entrepreneurs who would commit to the $1MM goal, and would be willing to participate in the program. Here’s the story of what has unfolded:

Cycle 1: Winter 2009

2/9/09 Portland Ten officially launches, housed at NedSpace, with advisors Mark Grimes, Josh Friedman, and Robert Eickmann.

2/11/09 SiliconFlorist.com does a write up on Portland Ten.

2/11/09 Portland Ten gets flamed with criticism on Hacker News and SiliconFlorist.

3/8/09 Founders John Metta, Ken Beare, Dave Miller, and Ben Parzybok join the first 12 week cycle of Portland Ten.

4/3/09 Portland Ten goes to lunch with Vidoop cofounders Scott Blomquist and Luke Sontag.

5/22/09 Our first 12-week cycle ends with an open house at Willamette University.

Cycle 2: Summer 2009

5/23/09 First staff member Nick Cottle joins P10 as a Venture Analyst.

6/18/09 Founders Eileen Quenin, Steve Woodward, Alan Wizemann, and Don Hollerich join the Summer 2009 Portland Ten. 

6/18/09 Launch Startup Checkups, Workouts programs.

7/2/09 Write up on P10 by Oregon Business Magazine’s Robin Doussard.

7/28/09 Kristin Wolff joins P10 as an advisor.

8/15/09 P10 goes to lunch with Jive cofounders Bill Lynch and Matt Tucker.

8/27/09 P10 co-hosts Lunch 2.0 with FundingUniverse, NedSpace.

Cycle 3: Fall 2009

9/2/09 Launch of Six Week Sprint program.

9/14/09 Two P10 Summer 2009 alumni launch products.

9/24/09 Launch of Founders’ Coffee program.

10/03/09 Jenica Cogdill joins P10 as a consultant.

10/7/09 P10 Summer 2009 alum, ShopIgniter, selected as one of 5 tech companies in Oregon to present at Venture Northwest.

12/7/09 P10 holds our First Annual Christmas Party

Cycle 4: Winter 2010

1/11/10 P10 announces new partnerships with Willamette University, secures $35,000 in grant funding from Portland Development Commission, Sponsors Davis, Wright, Tremaine, Olsen Group, Perkins and Company, Stephenson Group, Amy Winkelman Consulting, Profit Guide, and Cocoon Design, and launches a Scholarship Fund for participating entrepreneurs.

1/12/10 P10 quoted in Read Write Start.

1/20/10 Jennie Kalberer joins P10 as a Six Week Sprint program facilitator.

1/25/10 Founders Chris Degiere, John Roberts, August Gilges, and Kurt Sussman begin the Portland Ten program.

1/25/10 Launch Skill Development, Scholarship Fund, and Sponsor programs.

3/1/10 P10 written up by Portland Business Journal.

3/3/10 P10 Summer 2009 alum ShopIgniter secures $3MM in venture capital from Madrona Ventures.

3/4/10 P10 quoted in Entrepreneur.com.

3/25/10 Portland Ten launches Spring Founders’ Guide.

4/16/10 Portland Ten’s First Staff Annual Fondue Party.

Cycle 5: Summer 2010

5/19/10 P10 announces Portland Startup Challenge and adds incentive partners OEN, BackSpace, The Green MicroGym, NedSpace, CorePower Yoga, and Seven Planet.

6/3/10 Mayor Sam Adams calls out Portland Ten at the Open Source Bridge conference, for connecting the best minds in Portland, to which the audience applauds.

6/7/10 Founders Kevin Pile, Brad Windecker, and Kerry Finsand join the Portland Ten program.

6/16/10 Gerald Baugh from Portland Development Commission, and Diane Fraiman, Voyager Capital, join Portland Ten as advisors.

6/16/10 Madeline White joins Portland Ten as our office manager.

7/1/10 Portland Ten produces Summer Founders’ Guide, adds  new Sponsors Voyager Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, Herd, Freed, Hartz, laPLANette, Cybertary, White & Lee, and Wealth Strategies NW.

7/23/10 Portland Ten First Annual Staff Pinata Party.

8/9/10 Portland Ten celebrates 18 months since launching, with the Summer 2010 cycle wrapping up on August 27, 2010.

Now What?

As we approach our October 2010 deadline, to get 10 companies to $1MM, and in celebrating the first 18 months of this marathon, we are taking some time to reflect on this goal:

• Where we, and Portland, are at in comparison with where we started
• What outcomes have been produced, quantitatively and qualitatively
• What work continues to need to be done within the Portland startup community, to reach that target

In this process, and in the coming weeks, we will be sharing information and lessons learned, as well as collecting data from the 30 Portland entrepreneurs who have participated in the Portland Ten and Six Week Sprint, the hundreds of companies we interviewed in 5 application cycles, as well as the dozens and hundreds of community members in Portland and the greater Northwest region, who have been a part of our first 18 months.

One thing is for sure: Portland Ten is no longer an idea, and it has grown beyond myself. This truly has been a team effort, and I’d like to thank each and every individual and organization who stepped up to the plate to support the idea and the Portland startup community:

Advisors & Mentors: Mark Grimes, Rob Wiltbank, Kristin Wolff, Gerald Baugh, Diane Fraiman, Linda Weston, John Sechrest, Josh Friedman, Rob Eickmann.

Support Staff: Jim McConnell, Al Nodarse, Bill Pierzknik, Cocoon Design, Amy Winkelman, Pam Abrahamsson, the 245 Group.

Partners: Willamette University, Portland Development Commission, OEN, Startup Weekend,  NedSpace, FundingUniverse, Mercy Corps NW, BackSpace, The Green MicroGym, CorePower Yoga, and Seven Planet.

Sponsors: Davis, Wright, Tremaine, Olsen Group, Perkins and Company, Stephenson Group, Amy Winkelman Consulting, Profit Guide, Voyager Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, Herd, Freed, Hartz, laPLANette, Cybertary, White & Lee, and Wealth Strategies NW.

P10 Fan Club: there are so many, many others who contributed time, expertise, support, and participation during the first 18 months of Portland Ten– Jive Software, iterasi, Small Society, Yahoo!, Aisle7, Legion of Tech, Corvallis Benton Chamber Coalition, Jenica Cogdill, CubeSpace, Kevin Woo, Katherine Gray, Kate Walling, Brent & Lorelle VanFossen, Nancy King, Zuhair Gafur, Abraham Hyatt, SiliconFlorist.com, Mike Rogoway, Mayor Sam Adams, Skip Newberry, Dave Howell, Eileen Quenin, Ben Foote, David Molina, Cynthia Salbato, Elia Freedman, Daniel Soule, our Founders’ Coffee and Twitter community, and dozens of others– your contributions have greatly affected P10 and our work in the community.

Of course, the biggest thanks and kudos goes to my staff, and all 30 of the Portland Ten and Six Week Sprint participants who entered the programs, graduated, and have plugged away at their businesses for the last 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 months.

P10 Founders: Ken Beare, Dave Miller, Ben Parzybok, John Metta, Alan Wizemann, Steve Woodward, Don Hollerich, Kurt Sussman, Chris Degiere, August Gilges, John Roberts, Kevin Pile, Brad Windecker, Kerry Finsand.

Six Week Sprint Founders: Mandi Ellefson, Jennie Kalberer, Bill Burcham, Paul Bingman, Kate Walling, David Price, August Gilges, Beverly Fields, Cynthia Chimienti, Shannon Brown, Sean Larkin, Collin Ferguson, Sean Patrick, Jason Johnson.

You guys are the true startup rockstars of Portland and the real reason we do this work in the first place– thanks for stepping up and inspiring us to run the startup race with you; it’s been a complete privilege and we look forward to your continued progress & success in months & years to come.

P10 Staff: Nick Cottle, Jennie Kalberer, Madeline White. We have operated this entire 18 month project with less than the equivalent of 2 full-time employees, which is a complete miracle!

To my staff– you’ve been invaluable in your dedication to this project, your passion for working with startups, your support for each other and myself through good times and otherwise, your endurance and high commitment to doing excellent work on thin budgets, tight deadlines, and most importantly, your enthusiasm for being part of the Portland Ten team. Thank you each, sincerely.

Get Involved!

We continue to believe in the potential for Portland’s startup community to push beyond the glass ceiling and generate economic value and interesting, financially viable ventures, now and ongoing in the future.

If you’d like to get involved, or have any comments, questions, or suggestions about the Portland Ten and our programs, please feel free to contact us at cduncan@portlandten.com, or drop by Founders’ Coffee, Tuesday mornings 9 am at Backspace, 115 NW 5th Ave.

Madeline has previously worked for Portland Ten as a venture analyst, and has been a terrific addition to our staff, and invaluable in supporting the Portland Ten, Six Week Sprint, Skill Development, Checkups, Founders’ Coffee, and Field Trips programs.

You can read her bio below or on our Staff page.

Madeline White, Office Manager

Madeline is currently a full-time MBA candidate at Willamette University’s Atkinson Graduate School of Management with a focus in entrepreneurship and marketing.  She started working with Portland Ten in January, as a Junior Venture Analyst and is now working as office manager. 

Madeline graduated with honors from Montana State University, Bozeman with a Bachelor of Arts in Media and Theatre Arts.  Her focus was on documentary film making and producing.

Prior to starting graduate school and working with Portland Ten, Madeline worked as a licensed real estate assistant on a highly successful four-person sales team.  She worked as the listing agent, and was thus responsible for the managing, marketing, and maintaining her team’s listings.

Diane and Gerald have been providing strategic advice and support to the Portland Ten for several months, and we look forward to their continued participation in our work with the entrepreneurial community. You can read more about them below, or on our Staff page.

Diane Fraiman, Advisor

Diane serves as a Venture Partner with Voyager Capital and focuses on software and digital media investments in the Pacific Northwest, particularly Oregon. With over 30 years of technology company experience in leading marketing, strategy and business development, Diane works with startups in the enterprise software, Internet/Web 2.0, and security software industries throughout the West Coast.

Diane was previously Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Sanctum, a VC-backed startup providing Web application security software (acquired by Watchfire) and Vice President of Worldwide Marketing for the database company Informix Software (acquired by IBM), both based in Silicon Valley. Prior to her move to Silicon Valley, Diane was Vice President of Marketing for Tektronix (acquired by Danaher) in their Video and Networking Division and a marketing executive with Sequent Computer (acquired by IBM), both based in Oregon. She previously spent 16 years in sales and marketing roles at Digital Equipment Corporation in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Diane graduated with a Bachelors degree from Vanderbilt University in Biomedical Engineering, and received an Executive MBA from Insead in Fountainebleau, France. Diane lives in Portland, Oregon.

Gerald Baugh, Advisor

Gerald is the Business & Industry Manager for Portland Development Commission, an agency created by Portland voters in 1958, which has played a major role in keeping Portland one of America’s most livable cities, by completing projects in waterfront redevelopment, small business loans, affordable housing, new retail opportunities, transit-oriented development, business recruitment and retention.

Previously, Gerald was the Manager of Business Development at City of Vancouver, Regional Coordinator at State of Oregon - Economic & Community Development Dept, Regional Coordinator at State of Oregon, and Commercial Property Casualty Broker at Wausau Insurance.

Portland Ten invites all entrepreneurs, small business owners, and freelancers to participate in the Portland Startup Challenge, June 7-August 27.

Participants are encouraged to hit 6, 12, or 24 milestones (a complete list of milestones is available here) during the 12 week session, with a matching incentives program and community-wide awards ceremony on August 27th to celebrate and recognize participants for their achievements.

Committed Tracks

Portland Ten: Hit 24 milestones in 12 weeks, commit to $1MM in revenue within 18 months. 8 hours/week of advising/peer support, full access to 24 skill sessions, 3 Checkups. $3,000 enrollment, extended payment scholarships available. Eligible for Portland Startup Challenge incentives program.

Six Week Sprint:  Hit 12 milestones in 6 weeks, no specific revenue commitment. 2 hours/week of advising/peer support, full access to 24 skill sessions, 2 Checkups. $975 enrollment, extended payment scholarships available. Eligible for Portland Startup Challenge incentives program.

Community Tracks

Community Track: Hit 6 milestones in 12 weeks. 1 Checkup/month, 2 Skill sessions/month. $50/month membership. Eligible for Portland Startup Challenge incentives program.

DIY Track: Enjoy the do-it-yourself approach? Tackle milestones on your own throughout the summer, and drop by Founders Coffee or other Portland Ten events.

How to Apply

To apply for the Portland Startup Challenge, please fill out the online application at www.portlandten.com/apply.

About Portland Ten

Since launching in 2009, Portland Ten has seen successes including ShopIgniter’s $3MM venture capital funding, a $35,000 grant from Portland Development Commission, 12 alumni successfully completing the $1MM program, working with 100+ startups in the Checkups, Skill Development, and Six Week Sprint programs, and being featured in Entrepreneur.com, SiliconFlorist.com, Oregon Business Magazine, and more.

Jennie has a background working with small & emerging businesses and is passionate about helping entrepreneurs be more successful in their ventures. We’re excited to have Jennie join the Portland Ten team!

Jennie Kalberer was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She graduated from Oregon College of Art and Craft in 2000 with a focus in Ceramics and Drawing. She worked as an interior designer before receiving her MBA in Finance from the University of Portland.

Jennie is a Founder and Director of Kahnaway Art & Ecology in the Columbia River Gorge, and she consults for start-ups and new venture projects. She also is the owner of Clean Like You Mean It, a natural cleaning products company.

She serves on the Board of OCAC, and volunteers at Chapman Elementary, her son’s grade school.

At this time, we are also launching our new Perpetual Entrepreneurship Fund, a revolving scholarship program which provides extended tuition payment terms to selected founders who meet application criteria and commit to 24 hours of volunteer work.

In addition, we are offering expanded opportunities for entrepreneurs at all skill levels to strengthen their startup ventures through a diversified suite of programs: Portland Ten, Six Week Sprint, Skill Development, Startup Checkups, Founders’ Coffee, and Field Trips.

We’re excited to launch our fourth cycle of the Portland Ten, as well as continue supporting the 9 companies who have previously committed to the $1MM goal. We’re also thrilled about the new Perpetual Entrepreneurship Fund, which will allow us to work with founders who are otherwise financially unable to participate, but are nonetheless willing to commit to build strong companies that can provide economic possibilities here in Portland.

"Coming from a technology background, Portland Ten has helped me dive into the realm of a business development founder and has become paramount to our strategy to become a million dollar company at or before the end of next year," says Alan Wizemann, founder of ShopIgniter and Portland Ten alum. "I highly recommend any new business to try to get into Portland Ten, you will be glad you did."

To apply for the Portland Ten, Six Week Sprint, or Perpetual Entrepreneurship Fund, please visit www.portlandten.com/apply, or www.portlandten.com/scholarships.

"PDC supports Portland Ten as an innovative way to help potential high-growth companies to increase direct revenues, attract investment capital and create high wage jobs for the local workforce," says Bruce Warner, PDC Executive Director. "This results-oriented initiative will assist in the fulfillment of the city’s economic development strategy goal of entrepreneurial development for the region’s high-growth, small and emerging businesses in software, apparel, manufacturing and clean tech."

"I have seen Portland Ten mature in a very short time while it simultaneously catapulted an initial cohort of new technology companies to their next level of growth," says Robert E. Wiltbank, PhD, Associate Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship at Willamette University. "I see the value of the initiative as a learning opportunity for my students, an accelerator for new businesses in Portland (and beyond), and a model initiative from which we - as educators, investors, and business and civic leaders - can learn."

These partners are joined by Portland Ten’s new Community Sponsors, including the Olsen Group, Davis, Wright, Tremaine, Stephenson Group, Amy Winkelman Consulting, and Jim McConnell, CFO, who make financial and/or in-kind contributions to Portland Ten’s new Perpetual Entrepreneurship Fund and Skill Development workshops in sales, legal, public relations, product management, financial forecasting, and more, with a full schedule of workshops to be released January 25th.

We also look forward to continued partnerships with NedSpace, which provides collaborative coworking space for startups, innovative technology companies, non-profits, artists and social entrepreneurs, and FundingUniverse, which produces CrowdPitch, a quarterly pitching event for entrepreneurs.

At this time, we’d like to thank all of our partners & sponsors, as well as the Portland startup community for the warm and enthusiastic welcome since our launch in February 2009. The participation from Portland Development Commission, Willamette University, and our Community Sponsors shows a tremendous commitment from these organizations to supporting our local entrepreneurs.

We also remain committed to further strengthening the startup, tech, investment, and business communities in the Portland, Oregon region, and look forward to our portfolio companies’ continued success in 2010.

• Thursday, December 17th, 6-8 pm
• NedSpace Old Town (117 NW 5th)
• Read more details or RSVP here.

We’ll be showing a slideshow of activities & events from the past year, enjoy food & beverage, and celebrate Portland entrepreneurship and everything we’ve all accomplished together.

If you have photos from NedSpace, Portland Ten, or general tech/startup community events you’d like to include in the slideshow, please email them to cduncan@portlandten.com.

Feel free to bring your co-founders, significant other, and other startup junkies!

Also, if you have photos from NedSpace, Portland Ten, or general tech/startup community events you’d like to include in the slideshow, please email them to cduncan@portlandten.com.

See you then!

• Thursday, December 17th, 6-8 pm
• At NedSpace Old Town, 117 NW 5th Ave, Portland, OR
• RSVP on Upcoming here

Join us as we celebrate both the holidays and wrapping up our first year of work with the Portland startup community.

We’ll take a few minutes to show a slideshow of photos of our founders & the community from our programs & events over this past year, and give you a sneak peak at what’s coming up in 2010.

Bring a dish and a bottle and let’s celebrate a great year!

Daily Cafe
902 NW 13th Ave at NW Kearney
dailycafe.net

Founder’s Coffee is a low-key, weekly get together for Portland entrepreneurs to connect with each other.  No speakers, no pitches, just business founders gathering together to visit for an hour.

The first month of founders coffee has produced valuable connection.  Come meet your fellow founders.