In its seventh year, Portland Sneaker Week hopes to bring the community together in an impactful way and highlight the incredible work being done in the ecosystem by some amazing people in the sneaker industry. Josh and Rose got to speak with co-creators Herbert Beauclere and Megan Davis about their vision for the future, why Portland is the perfect home for this event, and what they've learned over the years.

About the UpStart Collective: Born out of the pandemic, the UpStart Collective is a group of founders in one place to learn, connect, and commiserate together in a safe space to help collaborate and grow.

As a self-described "digital native" Lauren has been part of the online marketing industry for several years. Having started her career as the original social media lead for the PGA Tour, she spent 15+ years optimizing fan engagement in sports, B2B, B2C, healthcare, higher ed, and several more industries. With Fanwagn, she has figured out how to merge fan engagement with an e-commerce platform that helps to ensure team gear, such as jerseys, hats, and more does not end up in landfills.

About the UpStart Collective: Born out of the pandemic, the UpStart Collective is a group of founders in one place to learn, connect, and commiserate together in a safe space to help collaborate and grow.

Born in Columbia, Mariana Ferreira found herself accidentally falling into entrepreneurship during her days in college in which she learned more through failure than success. Today, leading a CPG company focused on healthy eating through a device that consumers can put on their kitchen counter to grow microgreens, Mariana is leaning in on her learnings to give back to the founder community.

About the UpStart Collective: Born out of the pandemic, the UpStart Collective is a group of founders in one place to learn, connect, and commiserate together in a safe space to help collaborate and grow.

When Nick Lawson began his founder journey, he didn't know immediately that it was even starting. Sqwad was born out of necessity and found product market fit very quickly. In nearly a decade, Sqwad has worked with teams from every major US sports league and even some overseas. And while his founder journey ended up finding him, he's learned quite a bit along the way including how to make LinkedIn his superpower and why fundraising was not a priority as Sqwad made their way towards profitability.

About the UpStart Collective: Born out of the pandemic, the UpStart Collective is a group of founders in one place to learn, connect, and commiserate together in a safe space to help collaborate and grow.

When Argent immigrated to America he was already convinced he would find a pathway to being a founder. Today, as the founder of Bobafy, he is very mission-driven ensuring that the community he is so connected to can thrive.

About the UpStart Collective: Born out of the pandemic, the UpStart Collective is a group of founders in one place to learn, connect, and commiserate together in a safe space to help collaborate and grow.

Oliver is a serial entrepreneur who enjoys solving complex problems and carrying out his personal mission of enabling the American Dream for others.
Oliver’s entrepreneurial journey started at an early age. From selling blackberries at the farmers market to finding old cars for collectors, Oliver has always found joy in business. As Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Orchid Health, Oliver spearheaded the business’ launch, including raising several rounds of angel and institutional investment, overseeing operations, budgeting, marketing, and employees. He also changed Oregon law via SB485 in 2017 which enabled Orchid to scale its model. Today, Orchid's team manages over 6,500 patient lives across its locations. In 2021, Orchid was recognized as one of the state’s “100 Best Places to Work” by Oregon Magazine, while 2022 saw Orchid receive recognition as one of Oregon’s “Healthiest Employers” by the Portland Business Journal.

About the UpStart Collective: Born out of the pandemic, the UpStart Collective is a group of founders in one place to learn, connect, and commiserate together in a safe space to help collaborate and grow.

Spencer Lindsay has been a creative for most of his career. When you match that up with his agency work, you get something that is incredibly compelling and awesome. Spencer got a chance to chat with us about his founder journey and the cool new exhibit he and his team are working on as part of the 2024 Portland Winter Lights Festival.

About the UpStart Collective: Born out of the pandemic, the UpStart Collective is a group of founders in one place to learn, connect, and commiserate together in a safe space to help collaborate and grow.

Josh, Rose, and Mark talk about the recent discussion happening around DEI and how Portland's startup ecosystem can build bridges that foster collaboration.

All this and much more on the latest episode of the UpStart Collective Podcast!

About the UpStart Collective: Born out of the pandemic, the UpStart Collective is a group of founders in one place to learn, connect, and commiserate together in a safe space to help collaborate and grow.