Lessons Learned from Consuming 5 Years of PIE
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To start off, this post isn’t what you think it might be. It isn’t about some new pie related diet fad like the desert equivalent of the “taco cleanse". This is about an entirely different experiment, and an entirely different type of PIE. This is about the Portland Incubator Experiment.
PIE, a project of ad agency Wieden+Kennedy, has been a fixture in the Portland startup community since it’s founding back in 2009. Initially, PIE was spun up as a place for technologists in Portland to gather and work on projects together. It has since morphed from a co-working space to a formal incubator investing in over 40 early-stage companies. Now the team is on to an entirely new type of experiment.
Rick Turoczy and Renny Gleeson, PIE co-founders along with Jason Glaspey, are open-sourcing the startup accelerator know-how they have gained along the PIE journey. Through the PIE Cookbook Project, the team aims is to work with startup folks from all over the world to pull together the best knowledge on startup accelerators. I decided the best way to celebrate this new project here on PST would be to share a few of the things PIE taught me about accelerators and building startup communities.
Here's three elements in the Portland startup community that I'm looking forward to contributing to the PIE Cookbook:
Make the Community Accessible
When it was a standalone space, PIE had a completely open door policy. Sure, there were some awkward moments involving people actually coming in asking for pie (like, the real sugary kind) or people wandering in because the sign on the building looked cool (thanks W+K!). I like to think those people left with a much better understanding of startups after chatting with whomever greeted them. For people who had a slight inkling of what it was and were bold enough to come in, the open door gave people who intended to get involved the chance to do so without any barriers. Young and old, from big company employees to seasoned startup veterans – anyone remotely interested in Portland startups could come into PIE for beer, coffee, or one of the many meet-ups. This open door policy brought great new people into the community who were coming from both outside of Portland but also from outside of tech. These fresh new people and ideas from diverse backgrounds (with an expanded focus to make it more diverse) have helped Portland’s startup community grow stronger.
Cultivate a “Give and Take” Culture
Once interested in PIE and Portland startups, people will go out of their way to get you involved. People acknowledge the role that the community has played in their success and go out of their way to give back. On the flip side, something that I really admired in the tone set by Rick for the PIE community was how PIE encouraged everyone to contribute. No matter what your background was, Rick would find a way for you to be able to give back. I’ve seen people with a wide range of backgrounds get involved with helping Portland startups that you wouldn’t see in other cities. The concept of getting people bought in and contributing as soon as possible constantly adds fresh excitement to the mix. It also fights a culture where a few people hold most of the opportunity with a lot of others clambering for a chance. There’s enough opportunity to go around when everyone is bringing something to the community.
Humility Goes a Long Way
One of the most important startup community elements that has become engrained in the Portland ecosystem is how approachable people are. Founders of some of the biggest startups in the Portland community go out of their way to welcome newcomers, engage people outside the tech community, and be ambassadors for Portland startups when traveling. There isn’t a real sense of anyone being on a pedestal. Rick himself will personally welcome anyone and everyone who is interested in Portland startups. Having a startup community leader so invested in people’s first impression creates a greater sense that everyone is working together towards the common goal of helping Portlanders build great companies. Rick’s humility brings an incredibly sense of camaraderie that has spread out beyond just Portland to other startup ecosystems throughout the state of Oregon. It’s this humility that continually encourages people to feel inspired to try new and exciting ideas.
Of course, these are only observations of one individual startup community. Have different elements you've noticed from your startup community? Do your part in pitching in your know-how!
The PIE Cookbook project is now live and would love to have you involved no matter where in the world you're from. Contributions of just $1 get you signed up to help with the project. You can read more about the PIE Cookbook, read about some of the goals, and get involved by visiting their Kickstarter page.
The landing page for the 1st class of the portland incubator experiment
