Making the PIE bigger
PIE Shop, an experiment in accelerating manufactured products
At PIE, we’re always looking for opportunities to apply our learnings — and the knowledge from our community — in new and different ways. That motivation to continually explore and experiment has been at the core of our work for nearly a decade.
It was the impetus for founding the project. It’s why we converted from a coworking space to a startup accelerator. It’s why we open sourced our learnings through the PIE Cookbook. And it’s why we have continued to look for opportunities to experiment with the model — and to strive to find new and different ways to build better founders — year after year.
Long story short, we take the “E” in PIE — which stands for “Experiment” — pretty seriously. Even if we’re not quite sure what we’re getting ourselves into.
So when we happened upon the opportunity to collaborate with an industry leader like Autodesk and one of our own alums, Uncorked Studios, to pursue an experiment that would explore the needs of startups who manufacture physical objects, we couldn’t resist the opportunity. Especially given how enamored we are of the challenge to embark on an experiment more complex than any we have tackled in the past.
And now, we’re ready to introduce that complex experiment to you.
It’s called PIE Shop. And we believe that it has the potential to fill a much needed role in the Portland startup community, for both early stage startups and for more established companies with small batch manufacturing needs. It presents an opportunity to better leverage existing resources and latent manufacturing capacity for the benefit of our entire Portland ecosystem. And best of all, we’re enthralled by the unique opportunity to tap into the deep seeded knowledge in our community, a community which boasts a rich history in both traditional and electronics manufacturing driven by a culture of curiosity and craft.
Of ultimate import to PIE, this new effort promises to satisfy a number of the objectives we’ve set out to accomplish in 2018.
Rest assured, PIE Shop will leverage all of the startup accelerator learnings and our extensive network of mentors, connections, and community, just as we’ve done for other disciplines.
We’re incredibly excited to expand the PIE family with a whole new group of startups, mentors, and partners. And we’re sincerely hoping that you’ll be interested in joining us on this journey.
How to get involved
- If you’re an Oregon manufacturer, maker space, or any other company with machines or manufacturing capacity, we’d love to hear more about the work you do.
- If you’re a maker or founder who is looking to leverage existing resources to bring your product to fruition, we’d love to hear more about your needs.
- And of course, if you’re an early stage startup or founder who feels like PIE Shop’s resources, connections, and mentorship could help accelerate your business, please take a few moments to apply to participate in PIE Shop.
Originally published at blog.piepdx.com on March 14, 2018.
