New OTBC Director Part of Oregon Trade Mission to Asia
By Linda Barney, Barney and Associates
In July, the board of directors of the Open Technology Business Center (OTBC) announced that Steve Morris was named executive director of OTBC. Linda Adlard, chief of staff for the City of Beaverton and president of the OTBC board of directors, points to Morris’s extensive experience starting and growing technology companies. “When we were developing the job description for the executive director, we were looking for a talented professional and Steve is the perfect fit. His deep knowledge of technology, running a business, and entrepreneurship perfectly match the OTBC mission of helping technologists succeed in building companies. He is the right person for the job.”
In talking about his new role as director of OTBC, Morris states, “I look forward to shepherding the OTBC, and the community of entrepreneurs, into the future. The atmosphere at OTBC is energizing and we all look forward to contributing to a growing regional economy.”
Selling Oregon – Governor’s trade mission in Asia
In June, a 50-member trade delegation from Oregon toured with Governor Ted Kulongoski on an aggressive five-day trade mission to Oregon’s two biggest overseas trading partners: the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan. Morris was part of the trade delegation traveling to Japan and spoke throughout the tour about open technology in Oregon, the benefits of doing business in Oregon and taking advantage of resources at OTBC.
 Part of the trade delegation (Left to right): Patrick Mayer (International Manager, Oregon Dept. of Agriculture), Bill Wyatt, (Director of the Port of Portland), Jim Bernau (President of Willamette Valley Vineyards), Patrick Egan (Chief of Staff for the Governor), Bob Repine (Director of OECDD), David Zepponi (President, Northwest Food Processors Association), Randall Edwards (State Treasurer), Governor Ted Kulongoski, Steve Morris (Director, OTBC), Sid Leiken (Mayor of Springfield), Karen Goddin, (OECDD International Manager), (unnamed), Brad Pettinger, (Administrator, Oregon Trawl Commission), and Rick Aizawa, (Manager, Air Service Development, Port of Portland)
Noting that one in five Oregon jobs depends on international trade, Governor Kulongoski emphasized the benefits of marketing to foreign buyers and the contribution that foreign-owned businesses make to the state’s economy. “Last year, the state exported more that $12 billion worth of goods and services, and the dollar value of Oregon’s international trade has never been higher,” said Kulongoski.
According to Kulongoski, “Our mission is to encourage Korean and Japanese companies and investors to do even more business with Oregonians. Though the Koreans and Japanese already buy Oregon’s products, we will show them why they should buy even more of those products. Though they already own facilities in Oregon that provide thousands jobs for people, we will show them how they can profit by expanding those facilities or building new ones.”
During the trade mission, the governor stressed Oregon's role as an international capital of open source software development. Kulongoski stated, “Oregon is the home of the Open Source Development Lab (OSDL) and the open source Linux platform,” He pointed out that several Japanese companies are members of OSDL, including such industry giants as NEC, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Hitachi and Toshiba. “I believe that open source software represents the future of the software industry, and that Oregon will help lead the world to that future,” stated the Governor.
Open technology generates business: Oregon is the place to start an open source business
Morris made presentations during the trade mission and was on the cover of the Japanese magazine NextWise. The following are excerpts from his presentation in Japan titled, “Open Technology Generates Business: Oregon is the Place to Start an Open Source Business.”
Open in Oregon
During his presentation, Morris described how Oregon is a major player in open source and open technology. Morris told the Japanese audience that “Oregon is home to a significant number of open source developers and businesses. Intel and IBM have many open source software engineers concentrated in the Portland area. Also, there is Mentor Graphics who develops EDA (electric design automation) software as well as a number of other high-tech hardware and software companies. In addition, it is home to the Open Source Development Lab (OSDL) located in Beaverton. Consequently, there is a platform for high-level technology development in Oregon.”
“I think that the reason why Oregon is so outstanding in open source software industry in the US is tremendous support by private and public entities,” states Morris. “The state of Oregon also supports OSS developments financially.” Morris described how the Open Source Lab at Oregon State University has made major Firefox innovations and a number of specialized classes and open source business models are developed at Portland State University. Google recognized Oregon’s role in open source by giving a $350,000 grant to the Oregon universities to further their work in open source software development and research.
In addition, the Oregon state government has committed to proactively use open source software, such as Linux. OSCON (the O’Reilly Open Source Convention) is held every July in Portland. GOSCON (Government Open Source Conference), which introduces how open source software is used in state government, was started in Oregon in the fall of 2005.
Morris told the audience, “As for Oregon cultural aspects, people in Oregon are very open and friendly, and like to communicate.” He let the audience know that Oregon is blessed with 296 miles of sensational coastline, 5 major mountain ranges and scenic high deserts.
What OTBC can offer
Morris described OTBC to the audience as an incubator for growth-oriented, early-stage startups that are developing software or hardware technology products. Morris stressed the importance of business incubators because statistics show that in the US, 70% of companies that were supported by incubators remained in business after four years. Morris stated, “OTBC provides startups with various services for their business success. First of all, it provides business assistance including consultation and advice. For instance, our specialists in various fields, including law and licensing, can assist a startup in developing a business model." Most of the professional services are provided for free. OTBC also provides a startup with a business infrastructure including office space, reception areas, conference rooms, Internet access and other services. Another goal is to open a gate for information exchange and human networking. At OTBC, various events including technical workshops and industry-government-academia information exchanges are scheduled regularly.
Morris indicated that OTBC is evaluating the interest for a program called the Soft Landing Project that would help overseas companies move to Oregon and reside in the OTBC incubator. The services in this new program might include locating housing and handling visa-related issues as well as the usual OTBC services. Morris states, “OTBC has already received requests from companies in Singapore and Germany for relocation to OTBC and two firms will be moving in from these countries soon as OTBC resident companies.”
How can I get more information about OTBC?
The Open Technology Business Center welcomes inquires from companies and individuals about joining OTBC. To obtain more information on OTBC, call the Open Technology Business Center at (971) 223-4660 or email Steve Morris at smorris@opentechcenter.com.
Click the following link for an SAO article about services provided by OTBC: The OTBC Business Incubator
Steve Morris’s Bio
Steve Morris is managing director of OregonStartups.com and was with OTBC as an Entrepreneur in Residence since January 2006. In this capacity, he has served as an executive coach to several of the entrepreneurs in the center. Morris has more than 25 years of management experience in the software, service, and semiconductor test industries at companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Cadence Design Systems, Mentor Graphics, and Credence Corporation. He founded Teseda Corporation and served as CEO from 2001 to 2005. He has extensive experience in strategic marketing, business plan development, strategic partnerships, and venture capital fund-raising. His volunteer activities include memberships in the Oregon Entrepreneurs Forum (OEF) Startup Services Steering Committee, the 2006 Angel Oregon Steering Committee, and the AEA Emerging Business Committee. A native of Eastern Oregon, Morris graduated from Reed College and the Carnegie-Mellon University Graduate School of Industrial Administration (now the Tepper School of Business).
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.
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