The illuminated sign that typically accompanies a PIE Demo Day.
Cathy Cheney | Portland Business Journal
Ten startups representing everything from a wellness support app for pregnant people to a small business marketing service to a new way to build affordable housing pitched at the second all-virtual Portland Incubator Experiment Demo Day. The event was held at the end of June.
In typical years, the event would have been in a theater with an audience with a quick succession of founders introducing their companies. There would be pictures and I would live tweet and follow-up with a photo gallery.
However, this year is not typical. And with the virtual format it means you can all watch the pitches as well anytime from anywhere. They are all on PIE’s YouTube page — along with the 2020 pitches, which were also digital, and an archive of past years.
Here’s a rundown on who pitched:
- Reco, which is building a community recommendation app. Founded by alums of the footwear and design industry, the startup is first focused on allowing users to play matchmaker to their single friends. But, the team sees a bigger opportunity to facilitate recommendations from your friend community that you already know and trust.
- Carry, is building an app to support pregnant people and new parents through movement and meditation exercises as well as other information. The startup’s team is from the worlds of footwear, mobile design, and retail as well as yoga and doula practitioners. The app is available in app stores and subscriptions are coming in even before the startup started any marketing.
- Lovely, is a monthly subscription box filled with activities to help strengthen relationships. The product is purposely analog and encourages couples to communicate and see each other in new ways, no matter how long they have been together. The startup launched in January and has been shipping boxes.
- CHNL, is a new streaming and social media network designed with privacy at the center. Founder Shannon Atkinson is an IT and software professional with stints at Nike and Intel. He wants CHNL to be a useful tool for people without users becoming the product to be sold to advertisers.
- Sort-E, is a service to provide small law firms or solo practitioners with access to expensive online research tools through group subscriptions. Founder Natasha Torres sees the tool as way to help diversify the legal field by removing one of the many costs in practicing law.
- Margo, is an online tool that gives subscribers access to marketing advice and custom marketing strategy. The product is aimed at small business owners and early-stage startups for whom in-house marketing or agencies are too expensive. The product grew out of a popular newsletter that founder and marketer Paige Hewlett started to offer marketing help and tips.
- Authentic, a service to connect photographers to brands looking for professional, lifestyle photos of products. Unlike influencer marketing, this allows brands to tap professional photographers to shoot high quality photos. Photographers earn rates higher than typical stock art, and brands have to access professionals and their network of models for more inclusive shoots.
- Analog AR, is being developed by comic book artist, and STEM educator Steven Christian of Iltopia Studios. The project seeks to create a better augmented reality experience that is affordable and designed to enhance the AR experience and not detract from the content being consumed.
- Wonderfil, is developing a smart refilling station for retailers that allows consumers to refill reusable bottles for cream or liquid products like shampoo. It offers manufacturers a way to dispense product without reliance on single-use plastic containers. The company's goal is to remove plastic from the waste stream.
- Humankind Homes, is developing a novel way to build affordable, sustainable and healthy housing using proprietary geopolymer concrete blocks that can be 3D printed. The entire design process uses virtual reality and simulation to streamline the construction process. The company has its first pilot project in Portland slated to start in 2022.
