Amplifying voices of color, mitigating food waste, and creating cleaner energy are just some of the ideas that have spurred young founders on Oregon college campuses.
You'll find those ideas and more featured in the print debut of Portland Inno, the new home for the Portland Business Journal's coverage of entrepreneurship. The ideas are inspiring, but the bright young stars behind them are equally impressive.
We connected with 15 founders under the age of 25 to showcase the energy and enthusiasm that's helping to fuel Oregon's innovation economy now and into the future. All of there entrepreneurs have received big assists from entrepreneurship programs, incubators and startup competitions hosted by Oregon universities, which are playing a vital role in seeding innovation.
Scroll down to see profiles of the Inno Under 25
The Portland State Business Accelerator, houses the PSU Center for Entrepreneurship, and is one of the oldest such programs in Portland. Oregon State University has entrepreneurship programs within the college of business and engineering. University of Oregon has an entrepreneurship center and a new ventures competition. University of Portland and Lewis & Clark College each have centers and both have programs to immerse students in what it takes to start a business.
“Statewide we are in a whole different place than we were 10 years ago,” said Angela Jackson, co-founder of Portland Seed Fund and executive director of industry and entrepreneurial engagement at PSU. Jackson was also the longtime director of the PSU Center for Entrepreneurship.
“Ten years ago, I don’t think any of us had a strong effort for student (entrepreneurs),” she said. “Now, I think we all have strong programs for students. They all have different flavors and purposes and opportunities.”
There is even a program for high school students to help them explore what entrepreneurship means before graduation. Run by the entrepreneurial group TiE Oregon, the TiE Young Entrepreneurs program operates in five high schools in Portland including Benson Polytechnic, Lincoln High and Rosemary Anderson High School. The program matches students to mentors and they participate in a project-based curriculum.
These efforts aren’t just training grounds for founders.
“It’s so important to understand that not every kid that takes an entrepreneurship class needs to go start a company. That is not the purpose of entrepreneurship education,” said Jackson. “Its purpose is to give real life experiences and skillsets in a safe environment that maps to what employers identify as top skills they are seeking: teamwork, agility, communication, innovation.”
Since the fall of 2019 there have been 152 students who have enrolled in OSU’s Launch Academy, which is part of its InnovationX program said program manager Michelle Marie. Launch Academy offers up to $5,000 to get a business off the ground as well as coursework credit.
Since 2017, Portland State has organized InventOR, a statewide competition that sees more than a dozen teams from colleges, universities and community colleges prototyping inventions. Last year, the competition received a $1 million grant from the Lemelson Foundation to fund the program and its effort to spur student entrepreneurship.
The young entrepreneurs featured on the following pages are pursuing varied ideas, but they have a common thread of passion for their work and a hunger to learn and build the future they want to see across industries.
“Entrepreneurship is more than tech,” said OSU’s Marie. “A big piece (of the center’s work) is making sure all students have the opportunity to encounter entrepreneurship and develop their entrepreneurial potential.”
Inno Under 25: Hanna Paulette Wolf, Electerro
Inno Under 25: Mariano Segura, Electerro
Inno Under 25: Hanin Najjar, Parachute Media
Inno Under 25: Ogheneochuko Akpovbovbo, Parachute Media
Inno Under 25: Mia Lopez, Waddle Meal Plan
Inno Under 25: Alden Schatz, Waddle Meal Plan
Inno Under 25: Dagan Kay, Produce Mate
Inno Under 25: Omar Waked, Raedam
Inno Under 25: Chance Olufson, Cascara Films
Inno Under 25: Evangeline Muyano, rePLA
Inno Under 25: Blake Turner, Turner Automotive
Inno Under 25: Karelly Ramirez Gonzalez, GENER8
Inno Under 25: Aaron West, Power Plant
Inno Under 25: Alex Bridgeman, Think Like an Owner podcast, The Operator's Handbook
