Week ending Apr 3, 2026 — Oregon startup news

Portland's Mayor Keith Wilson launched a Central City Roundtable to reinvigorate downtown — but there's not a single entrepreneur or startup person at the table. This week I've got feelings about that. Plus: an intercollegiate hackathon, a Portland cleantech startup heading to Atlanta, Business Oregon's $125K innovation plan check-in, the top 10 Silicon Florist stories for Q1 2026, and a deep dive through 18 years of Portland accelerator history.TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Portland startups intro05:05 Business Oregon's $125K innovation plan RFP08:05 Central City Roundtable — who's at the table (and who's not)14:40 Top 10 Silicon Florist stories for Q1 202619:00 History of Portland accelerators25:20 SecretsLINKSHackUP Intercollegiate Hackathon- Site: https://www.hack-up.dev/- SF: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/02/lets-leave-those-heated-collegiate-rivalries-to-march-madness-hackup-brings-college-developers-together/Fordje → Cox Cleantech Accelerator- Cox: https://www.coxenterprises.com/news/new-cox-cleantech-accelerator-cohort-aims-to-enhance-energy-systems-increase-industrial-efficiency-and-improve-infrastructure- SF: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/02/portlands-fordje-selected-for-atlantas-cox-cleantech-accelerator/Oregon AI Accelerator Demo Day (May 14)- SF: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/31/oregon-ai-accelerator-first-ever-demo-day-is-may-14-at-big-pink/Business Oregon Innovation Plan RFP (~$125K)- SF: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/30/business-oregon-has-125k-for-someone-to-tell-us-how-innovative-weve-been-for-the-last-5-years/Central City Roundtable — Who's Missing- SF: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/04/02/qq-do-you-feel-represented-by-portland-mayor-wilsons-new-central-city-roundtable/- Portland.gov: https://www.portland.gov/mayor/keith-wilson/news/2026/2/24/mayor-keith-wilson-launch-central-city-roundtable-march-6Top 10 SF Stories Q1 2026- SF: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/31/top-10-portland-startup-stories-on-silicon-florist-for-q1-2026/Portland Accelerator History- SF: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/31/an-imperfect-and-meandering-history-of-portland-startup-incubators-and-accelerators/My Open Source Experience Podcast- SF: https://siliconflorist.com/2026/03/31/chatting-with-the-my-open-source-experience-podcast/ABOUT SILICON FLORIST ----------For nearly two decades, Rick Turoczy has published Silicon Florist, a blog, newsletter, and podcast that covers entrepreneurs, founders, startups, entrepreneurship, tech, news, and events in the Portland, Oregon, startup community. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a startup or tech enthusiast, or simply intrigued by Portland's startup culture, Silicon Florist is your go-to source for the latest news, events, jobs, and opportunities in Portland Oregon's flourishing tech and startup scene. Join us in exploring the innovative world of startups in Portland, where creativity and collaboration meet.ABOUT RICK TUROCZY ----------Rick Turoczy has been working in, on, and around the Portland, Oregon, startup community for nearly 30 years. He has been recognized as one of the “OG”s of startup ecosystem building by the Kauffman Foundation. And he has been humbled by any number of opportunities to speak on stages from SXSW to INBOUND and from Kobe, Japan, to Muscat, Oman, including an opportunity to share his views on community building on the TEDxPortland stage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj98mr_wUA0). All because of a blog. Weird.https://siliconflorist.com#pdx #portland #oregon #startup #entrepreneur