Anyone here remember Andy Claus?
Legend has it, he used to go around this time of year, distributing “gifts” to unsuspecting Portland business types. Often, the presents came in the form of suggestions, or made-up adages, or mere acknowledgments. Andy Claus, you see, ain’t exactly got the gift distribution machine of Amazon behind him.
He's been off the past couple of holiday seasons. This year, he's back, and has opted to dole out his wares to a niche group: Those who’ve occupied the scrolled pages of Portland Inno, the web collection that features stories and insights from the PBJ’s Malia Spencer. It’s a deserving lot, the smartest of the smart, the visionaries with the best visions, the Innos of the Innos…so much for sticking the landing…
Moving on. We caught a look inside Andy Claus’s bag. Here’s a peek at what a few locals can expect to unwrap as the holidays wind down.
To Rick Turoczy: Eight more hours each day. This guy has tirelessly monitored, espoused and counseled Portland startups for what seems like decades. He’s always paying attention, he always seems to be working. Let’s make the day 33% longer to give him a little time to rest.
To Stephen Green: Four more Twitter accounts. Andy Claus loves Green’s tweets. The sharply worded missives are always thoughtful, and provide a great barometer into all aspects of Portland’s startup universe, in particular, from the money-seeking and -procuring sides.
To Slumberkins: A smooth ramp. This company’s poised to hit it big as it continues to develop its line of books, multimedia, toys, classroom curriculum and other items that promote emotional and social wellness. It has forged relationships with a major streaming service for a show on which production began more than a year ago. Slumberkins was the sixth-fastest growing company on the PBJ’s Private 100 list this year. Let’s hope they can manage their upward rise and avoid stumbles that many face when success happens easily.
To Vacasa: The ability to keep the photos coming. As it marks its successful ($4.4 billion valuation) IPO, we’ve run many great supplied shots like the one immediately above this item of Vacasa’s rental offerings. It’s a day-maker whenever we get a new batch in. Keep up the great visual work, Vacasa, and you’ll no doubt be nudging against the eight-digit mark. At least if Andy Claus has anything to say about it.
To Built Oregon, MESO, My People’s Markets and the Ethical Fashion Festival: Customers, especially those who need (very) last-minute gifts from these peddlers of items that entice those who, like Andy Claus, enjoy shopping small. You can find these excellent spots here.
To Malia Spencer: A new calculator. OK, a new laptop with a new calculator. Wait, nah, a new phone with a new calculator. Whatever. The point is, she’s going to spend a fair amount of time in early January adding up all the VC and other investments that poured into Portland-area startups this year. Whether she prefers a Texas Instruments-style 70s-like hand-held model or an abacus, she’ll be busy. 2021, it turned out, broke a few banks.
For your collective stockings: Andy Claus is leaving an invitation to become the smartest, most visionary and most, um, Inno readers around. You can subscribe to Inno here.
