Incubators House Next Generation of Successful Businesses

By Linda Barney, Barney and Associates

Two new Portland-area incubators are helping local software start-up companies succeed. The Portland Business Accelerator is an incubator created by Portland State University. The Open Technology Business Center (OTBC) in Beaverton is home to companies and individuals focused on open technologies. The SAO has partnership agreements with each, designed to support their goals to help start software-dependent companies in Portland. According to SAO President John Tortorici, the SAO will play an important role by offering member services and support to each incubator’s resident companies.

For incubator residents, the SAO will:

• Offer complimentary one-year memberships in the SAO, which provides companies with full access to membership benefits and services.
• Assist with recruiting efforts.
• Provide planning and development of programs and business assistance services.
• Provide access to industry expertise.
• Help identify potential mentors.
• Identify potential topics and speakers for incubator programs and seminars.

 In return, each incubator will:

• Provide visibility for the SAO as a key supporter.
• Promote SAO programs and events.
• Create joint programs with the SAO that will benefit both organizations.
• Provide meeting space at the incubator for SAO programs.

Both incubators are currently accepting applications for residency.

The Portland Business Accelerator

The Portland Business Accelerator (PBA) was created by Portland State University (PSU) to serve as a business incubator that links students and faculty to businesses in the region, supports business development in the central city, and provides a new opportunity for technology commercialization for the university. Located near PSU and downtown Portland, the PBA is focused on collaboration between the university and resident businesses. Read more.

The Open Technology Business Center

The Open Technology Business Center (OTBC), a business incubator located in Beaverton, Oregon, is the first institution devoted to supporting the formation, funding and growth of start-ups in the open technology industry. The OTBC serves as a hub for start-up ventures utilizing and innovating in open technology. Examples of open technology start-ups attracted to the center include embedded Linux device companies and firms developing solutions that incorporate open and proprietary software. Read more.

About the author

Linda Barney is the founder and owner of Barney and Associates, a technical and marketing writing firm. Founded in 1990, Barney and Associates specializes in technical writing, documentation, online help, web content, and training. Barney and Associates also provides a wide range of marketing writing services including creating media articles, white papers, data sheets, solution briefs, case studies, and reviewer’s guides. Contact Linda at linda@barneyassoc.com.