TechfestNW

VR demo at TechFestNW 2016

TechfestNW (TFNW) is a tech conference in Portland, Oregon that bills itself as the "premier tech event in the upper left coast". Founded in 2012, the event involves speakers, networking, workshops, start-up pitches and parties and attracts founders, entrepreneurs and investors. Among the speakers that have presented at TFNW include Genevieve Bell, Alan Webber, Joe Stump, David Plouffe, Kara Swisher, Tad McGeer,^[1] Andrew McLaughlin, Mike Dubin, Ward Cunningham, Dave Allen, Evan Doll, Ron Wyden, John Markoff, Chip Conley, Lucas Foster, Zoë Quinn, Jesse Schell, Anthony Batt.^[2] In 2012, Fortune magazine called it the next South by Southwest (SXSW).^[3] TFNW is the sister festival to MusicfestNW.

History

Poda Foods win the first inaugural PitchfestNW

TechfestNW was founded by Mark Zusman in 2012 and quickly outgrew its first four venues; it recently announced that in 2017, it will be moving to the Portland Art Museum. Originally held in August, TFNW now takes place in the spring. In 2016, TFNW also introduced a conference within a conference called PitchfestNW, in which startups apply to pitch, attend workshops and showcase their company.^[4] In the first year, more than 100 companies from the US and overseas applied and 50 were accepted for free admission. The winner of the 2016 Pitchfest competition, Poda Foods, won a package worth more than $200,000.^[5]

References

External links

• Digital Trends PitchfestNW 2016
• Geekwire TechfestNW 2016
• Portland Business Journal TechfestNW 2016
• Washington Post TechfestNW 2014
• Geekwire TechfestNW 2014