OtherTell us about your Electronic Systems Startup Project

Contributed by Steve Morris, OTBC

The Silicon Forest is not just about software. It all started with hardware!  ESI and Tektronix both started with instrumentation products.  Today, the Portland area, and especially the west side, has an impressive population of hardware and firmware engineers.

So what startup ideas are those hardware/firmware engineers working on?  We want to find out!

So OTBC and Axiom Electronics are sponsoring a pitch competition for teams that are building electronic systems.  And we’re putting $1,000 on the table to encourage people to apply.

And this is just the first step.  If we find what we think we’ll find,  our plan is to launch an electronic systems incubation program that will help teams design and prototype their product – and even provide some seed funding.  But step 1 is to gage the interest and the activity level.

So we’re looking for startups with ideas that require more than software – concepts that tackle big challenges and with electronic systems as a key component.

Why should you enter?  Finalists with the most intriguing combination of business opportunity and electronic technology will receive valuable feedback on their business model and technology plan. Finalists will also receive coaching on their pitch and great networking opportunities – and one of them will win $1,000.

If you’re working on a startup idea and you need to design and build an electronic system – we want to hear from you!  The deadline is Sep. 10, so apply now here:
http://otbc.org/electronics_startup_pitch