Portland Incubator Experiment, or PIE, and all of its different flavors will be holding its annual Demo Day Oct. 12, starting at, you guessed it, 3:14 p.m.
This year’s event is virtual. It will have some prerecorded presentations by companies, but the main attraction is a trade show featuring 26 startups. The idea is to give community members the ability to talk directly to founders of these emerging companies. Registration is online.
The trade show companies are from across the accelerator's different programs: the original PIE that skews toward software; PIE Shop, which works with companies that make physical products; Slice of PIE, which is a lighter touch program for companies that are a bit further along; and PIE consumer, which is a partnership with Built Oregon and works with consumer products.
This year also features PIE for our Neighbors and experimental cohort focused on addressing the region’s housing crisis.
“Our primary objective with PIE Demo Day is to highlight the achievements of the participants in our program by engaging the broader startup community and Portland, in general, in celebrating these founders and the companies they are building,” said Rick Turoczy, cofounder and general manager, in a written statement. “We’ve learned over the years that the audience for our demo days is consistently interested in getting the opportunity to speak directly with the founders at the event — and to connect with others in the community. So this year, we’re changing the traditional format of demo day to provide attendees with the opportunity to do exactly that.”
In the past, the event has focused more on founders pitching their startups to potential investors or partners.
PIE started as a co-working space in 2009. It became an important part of the city’s startup ecosystem and was a key player in creating the software startup community when the city was still better known for hardware. It has since grown to include other types of startups. The group works closely with other organizations that also support founders such as Oregon Entrepreneurs Network, Oregon Biosciences, Built Oregon and TIE Oregon.
Here’s the massive list of startups you can meet at the event, descriptions supplied by PIE:
- BabbleBuy, your small biz activities hub
- BuildingLens, building management that prioritizes occupant’s health and comfort
- Buildly, product management for distributed teams
- Ditto Pigeon, automated, programmable Instagram posts
- DTocs, a sustainable, earth-friendly choice for disposable tableware
- Hemingway Designs, (pre-launch) bringing recyclability to disposable insulin pens
- HotZot, your grandparents didn’t need herbicides to control weeds and neither do you
- How I Chow, eat the food you love and build the community you crave
- HUUB, a central hub for economic development and small business
- Kit Switch, modular interiors to create the homes we need with the buildings we have
- Kocchi, resilient off-grid communications
- Missing Middle Housing Fund, doubling Oregon’s housing production
- Momentum, your productivity coach app that goes everywhere you go
- NearHear, music discovery for local shows
- Prestavi, simple process automation for your entire team
- Radious, find a meeting space or private office right in your neighborhood
- ReDram Program, convenient kiosks to solve plastic pollution
- Re-Public, a dashboard for your personal dataverse
- Shilling, screen time platform that helps improve financial habits
- Stumpworx, breathable, adjustable, lightweight, and comfortable prosthetic sockets
- Teaminal, an agile meeting tool for remote teams
- Thriving Design, versatile, sturdy DIY plant support systems in a snap
- Toast Wear, (pre-launch) rethinking the way we stay warm outdoors
- Tonsil Tech, kiss tonsil stones goodbye
- UrbanForm, automated zoning technology for better buildings, cities, and environments
- Width by Height (WxH), simplifying how you decorate your walls
And if that isn’t enough, nine companies in PIE Consumer will be featured at the Built Oregon Festival Oct. 21:
- Altitude Beverage, oat milk lattes with benefits
- AVYN, nursing bras that adapt to your body as it changes
- For Bitter For Worse, complex cocktails made with love, not alcohol
- HAB, innovative and artistic hot sauces
- MISE Footwear, the new standard for kitchen shoes
- One Breath Kombucha, a unique blend of kombucha and water kefir
- Skaut, innovative Pack Coffees for the freshest coffee at your campsite or on the road
- Voxapod, menstrual cups that reduce the stress of periods
- Wooolybubs, sustainable, dissolvable baby shoes
