After a decade leading the entrepreneurial organization TiE Oregon Nitin Rai is stepping out of the president role and handing it to board member Donn Dimond.
The move isn’t a step into retirement, Rai said, but instead will free him up for expanded work with his investment fund Elevate Capital as well as his business First Insight. Rai remains chair of TiE Oregon Angel and will be an ex-officio board member for TiE Oregon. Under his leadership the group has expanded its educational offerings and its network has become an important investor pool and mentorship resource.
Dimond has been in Portland since 2005. He is co-founder of The Kor Physical Therapy, which grew to a chain of three clinics and 44 employees before selling to national chain ATI Physical Therapy in 2016.
He has been a charter member of the group for several years after being introduced to TiE by fellow charter member and entrepreneur Mike Choi. Dimond joined the board last year.
“This is something I felt like I could help and step into the entrepreneurial space and take what Nitin has done and take it to the next level and really improve our impact in the area,” Dimond said. “I really want to help and broaden and diversify the charter mentorship in expertise and who is available and make a bigger impact.”
In addition to Dimond’s new role, the group also named two new board members: Allie Magyar, founder of Hubb which sold in 2021; and Niti Goel, a 17-year Intel Corp. vet, who also heads up TiE Oregon’s Women’s initiative. Both are also active investors and mentors within TiE. The group has an 11-member board.
One area the group is looking to expand is its support for startups and founders in the health care sector, said Rai. The group has been looking for a new leaders since 2021. Historically focused on software, it has wanted to find someone with entrepreneurial experience and a past exit.
Dimond is an investor in women’s health care company Madorra, physical therapy and rehab tech startup Tenzr Health, and robotics company Biomotum. He is also a venture partner at Elevate Capital, where he helps advise on health care investments.
In this new leadership position Dimond wants to even more broadly extend TiE’s connection into the entrepreneurial community by bringing on more mentors and investors into the ecosystem with a diversity of experience.
TiE has programs include Pitch Club, which helps founders with the earliest feedback on their investor pitch, and programs for high school and university students curious about entrepreneurship. It also has a robust angel investing group that has backed 84 companies and seen 13 exits over the last 12 years. Of those investments 45% went to startups with women or minority founders, according to the group.
Dimond sees TiE Oregon filling a specific role as a starting point for founders who are seeking investment. It’s a place to help people perfect their pitch, he said, regardless if they are pitching TiE Angels or any other fund in town or even out of state.
“(TiE) is the glue to help hold things together. It provides the first feedback and education and mentoring within the entire community,” Dimond said.
