The eighth class of the Portland Seed Fund will take the stage Wednesday afternoon before 100 investors in downtown Portland, completing the latest cycle of the accelerator.
This class of companies ranges from health care technology to food to sharing platforms. There are also three startups outside of the fund’s traditional Portland metro.
The companies have been through a three month program that matches them with mentors and educational tutorials and a large peer network of the group’s portfolio founders.
This is the last cohort of startups out of the Portland Seed Fund’s second fund. That fund was raised in 2014 and totaled $7.7 million. It includes reserves for follow-on investments as well as some capital for opportunistic deals that come PSF’s way.
The team is planning to raise a third fund. Details of that are not yet available, said co-managing director Angela Jackson. The next class of companies will be funded out of that third fund. The next cohort is expected in 2017.
Of note with this class is the inclusion of four health-related companies including two startups in the behavioral health space as well as a definite consumer bent to many of the companies. Despite being home to big brands in apparel like Nike, Adidas and Columbia Sportswear, Portland’s tech scene is known more as a business-to-business or infrastructure town than straight consumer products.
Jackson added that an important differentiator for these consumer startups is the solid business foundation they have laid.
“They have customers,” she said. “They have been able to sell to consumers and shown a viable business model that is proven or being proven as opposed to a lot of consumer internet stuff that is hard to prove and scale fast enough without a lot of capital.”
Here are the eight companies.
- Nemametrix is a Eugene-based drug discovery and development platform that uses the nematode worm as a model organism. Just this week, the company announced a $1 million seed round that was led by Cascade Angels. In addition to the Portland Seed Fund, Oregon State Venture Fund, TiE Oregon, Oregon BEST and a number of private investors also participated.
- SightBox is a Portland-based subscription service that provides regular delivery of contact lenses. For a monthly fee, the service finds, fulfills and pays for subscriptions.
- iFlipd is a Portland-based startup that wants to replace the traditional college textbook model. The startup has an online book rental model with a pay-as-you-go system.
- Wild Friends Foods is a Portland-based food startup that began in a University of Oregon dorm room. The company makes an array of butters including peanut, almond and sunflower. The product is available in more than 10,000 stores.
- The Dyrt is a Portland-based website designed to offer user reviews and information on campsites. The company also connects outdoor brands to users for reviews.
- 2Morrow is a Kirkland, Wash.-based behavioral health app. The app is designed to help people quit smoking and make other life changes. The company uses research from Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
- Owl Insights is a Portland-based behavioral health and analytics platform for mental health providers. Using a smartphone reporting system a patient’s status can be monitored by mental health professionals.
- Collexion is a Portland-based visual search engine for collectibles. Earlier this year the company won the Angel Oregon conference.
- Rooster is a Berkeley, Calif.-based online community that helps neighbors share resources.
Source: 9 companies join Portland Seed Fund portfolio – Portland Business Journal
