Mentorship

Hands-on, real-world experience on and off-campus

Mentor Services and Programs at Portland State University

PSU offers experiential programs for students to gain hands-on experience working with established companies as well as opportunities for students to connect to seasoned experts with real-world experience that can help you launch your own venture.

Business Outreach Program (BOP)
The Business Outreach Program provides technical assistance and business consulting services to locally owned, small businesses, with a focus on emerging, minority, and women-owned enterprises. The BOP was created in 1994 to meet the needs of small businesses by assisting entrepreneurs in improving their profitability and survivability, while at the same time, allowing PSU students to engage in community-based learning with first-hand business consulting experience.

PSU Business Accelerator
The PSU Business Accelerator is an entrepreneurial community like none other in Oregon. Home to more than 30 promising technology and science startups, including spinouts from all major Oregon research universities, the Accelerator provides office and lab space plus a menu of services designed with the fast-growing startup's needs in mind.

Social Innovation Incubator (SII)
Building upon the PSU School of Business Administration’s recognized leadership in integrating social, environmental and ethical issues into its curriculum, the SII assists early-stage social entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs in launching market-based innovations that generate systemic social and environmental benefits.

Mentorship in the Community

PSU is located in the heart of Portland, the Northwest’s “Silicon Forest,” a city with a vibrant and welcoming startup community and ecosystem. We encourage interested students to check out the following community organizations and resources dedicated to supporting entrepreneurship in the city.

Getting Your Recipe to Market
Developed by CLIMB‘s Small Business Development Center, the Food Innovation Center at Oregon State University, and New Seasons Market, Getting Your Recipe to Market is a comprehensive program that takes food entrepreneurs from concept to commercial reality.

Hacienda CDC
Latino culinary businesses can apply to be a part of the Micro Mercantes incubator, a program of Hacienda CDC, where they can develop their entrepreneurial skills. After an 11-week foundation course, participating businesses have access to technical assistance, and affordable commissary kitchen, hands-on training at farmers market booths, technical assistance, classes, and consideration for capital.

Hatch Innovation Lab
Formerly Springboard Innovation, Hatch offers workshops, events, and direct public offering platforms, with an envisioned physical incubator, all geared towards nonprofits and mission-driven businesses.

KitchenCru
A shared-use community kitchen and culinary incubator that supports culinary entrepreneurs in developing, operating, and growing a successful business.

Mercy Corps Northwest
We support small businesses and entrepreneurs through microloans, matched business grants, and small business classes taught by business professionals. Our programs include one-on-one business counseling in the areas of legal, record keeping, and business plan advising, as well as mentoring small business owners.

Oregon Bioscience Incubator
Launching in early 2013, the Bioscience Incubator, operated by the Oregon Translational Research and Development Institute (OTRADI), will provide office space, labs, and equipment to member firms.

Oregon Technology Business Center (OTBC)
The OTBC Provides coaching, networking events, entrepreneurship programs, and shared office space to help tech, biotech, cleantech, and open tech start-up ventures succeed.

Portland Incubator Experiment (PIE)
The PIE is a partnership among leading brands, technology innovators, and advertising and communications company, Wieden+Kennedy. PIE is a collaborative center and startup incubator where brands, tech, and culture meet to explore and redefine brand experiences.

Portland Seed Fund (PSF)
The PSF selects entrepreneurs with great ideas and the passion and grit to see them through. Twice a year they invest in ‘classes’ of 6-8 entrepreneurs at a time, surround them with mentors, subject matter experts and a peer group of entrepreneurs, start them off with $25,000 investments, and see what they can do in 90 days. They reserve follow-on capital for top performers and introduce them to other funders, partners and acquirers.

SCORE Portland Oregon
The Portland SCORE chapter consists of over 90 volunteers who have developed their skills through successful careers as business managers, executives, and professionals. SCORE offers expertise to help you start and grow your own small business. We are a non-profit agency and we provide mentoring services without charge.

TenX
TenX offers Foundations, Individual Advising, Sprint, and Marathon program for teams looking to accelerate performance and build capacity within a startup, small business, company, or nonprofit environment.