Jeff the Great's Top Technology Companies in Portland

The Portland Business Journal on March 9th, 2012 published a list of the Top 25 Technology Companies in the Portland area. They ranked using number of global employees but also listed the number of Portland area employees. Effectively, this is a list of the largest tech companies with a presence in Portland.

Wow, did they miss the boat. Of course the likes of Xerox and Intel made the list (#1 and #3 respectively), but the omissions and selections get more and more odd as you read down. For example, at #25 they list Infinity Internet with 27 worldwide employees, 26 in the Portland area. You mean to tell me that the 25th largest tech company in Portland only has 27 employees?

So I did some research and quickly discovered that the Portland Business Journal blatantly ignored local companies that were obvious choices for the list. They even ignored multiple companies that they wrote about in the very same March 9th issue (Fisrv, Monsoon, Axium, Symantec)!

So out of respect for the great companies that were omitted for the list, here are some that should have been mentioned. The figures in parenthesis are my estimations of local employees based on data collected from LinkedIn plus a sprinkling of my personal knowledge.

• Act-On Software (over 60)
• Avnera (about 60)
• Axium (about 80)
• CD Baby (over 200)
• Clearedge Power (more than 100)
• Digimarc (over 100)
• EasyStreet (at least 30)
• Elemental (about 60)
• Fiserv (as many as 300)
• Galois (about 35)
• iovation (over 75)
• Janrain (110)
• Jive Software (200+)
• Monsoon (about 84)
• Netflix (about 200)
• Pixelworks (about 32)
• Puppet Labs (about 40)
• Rumblefish (about 30)
• Urban Airship (about 60)
• Shopigniter (about 30)
• SolarWorld (hundreds)
• Symantec (100, even after layoffs)
• Synopsys (about 300)
• Thetus (about 50)
• ViaWest (at least 25)

This isn't even an expansive list, there are more but I had to stop researching! Even the big guys have a presence here. Microsoft has about 150 in the Portland area, and Apple has at least 175 (both retail AND engineering). Finally, I didn't even list companies with fewer than 20 employees which I stumbled upon in my research. There are easily a few dozen tech companies with 10-20 local employees.

So, Portland Business Journal, I find it hard to believe you when you say "every attempt is made to ensure the thoroughness and accuracy of the list." It is especially frustrating when the only avenue to communicate errors and omissions is to send "corrections and additions on company letterhead to..." followed by your mailing address. Company letterhead, really? Why can't I just email you a list?

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great is So Goboz!

I wrote recently about a cool new gadget for your iGoogle homepage, brought to you by Goboz.com. On Thursday the 6th, Goboz.com launched in the Portland Metro Area.

Goboz.com is basically 2 things: first it is a local business search site, similar to Citysearch and Yelp. Second, Goboz is a 1 stop shop for Portland area news from all the top sources like KATU, the Oregonian, and the Willamette Week.

What makes Goboz different is the way the site communicates to you what businesses people like and what news people care about. It uses a voting system inspired by Digg.com and the great thing is that you don't need to be signed into an account to vote. One click of the mouse lets you voice your opinion.

Goboz also stands out because it allows users to submit businesses and news that is not already on the site. So if you read a great article about Portland in the New York Times, share it with others at Goboz.com. Love the local coffee shop and think everyone else in Portland needs to know about? Just submit it in 1 quick step and it is available for voting immediately.

I love this site. I think they way they deliver this information is the next evolution in local information on the web. Don't trust me though, check it out for yourself.

Other blog coverage: Silicon Florist

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great says LivePDX is DeadPDX!

If you have watched much TV in Portland lately, you've probably seen ad's for LivePDX.com. The site is like citysearch, you use it to find restaurants, shopping, etc. So I've done some research, checked out their site a bit, thought I'd post my thoughts for all to read.


First thing that I noticed and I think deserves mention is that LivePDX.com is affiliated with Fox12 (KPTV). The parent company is the Meredith Corporation and LivePDX is a pilot project for them...if all goes well they'll launch the same web concept in other cities they serve with local media.


Next thing that jumped out at me was their contact page that implies they employ at least 5 full time employee's.


Finally, while looking through their site I noticed something startling; they only have restaurant and bar information on their site. No shopping, no beauty, no nothing other than food and drink.

At this point you are asking "why this is all important?" Here is my point: with all the money and support they have from their parent company, with 5 full time employee's, this is all they could do?


With all do respect, this site is awful! I couldn't find ANYTHING I was looking for. No exaggeration, couldn't find a thing. Their site implies they have information beyond just food/beverage, but nothing. They don't even bother to say "coming soon" on those pages. The submit page, which allows users to add to their directory, is awful. The page is not specific to the type of business you are submitting, and a submission I made about a month ago is still not showing on their site.


The local search market is so crowded these days, you'd think a big company like Meredith Corp would give it their all. If LivePDX is "their all," I'd sell their stock ASAP.


-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great goes Naturally Curly!

I've been working hard on a marketing project for a local Portland fashion and beauty icon and am excited to report today that we have hit a milestone!

The Hickox family and their salon partners have been cutting the locks of the Portland elite for over three decades. What you might not of known is that Justin Hickox, owner of the downtown boutique salon Hickox Studio, also sells a line of world class, private label hair care products.

Today the globally renowned web site for women with curly hair, NaturallyCurly.com, featured Phat Hair in their new products section. Phat Hair is a styling mousse that was developed for all types of hair, but turns out to be one of the best products on the market for curly hair!

NaturallyCurly.com gets about 3 million page views per month and is growing by about 30% per month! They are looked to as the world wide authority on curly hair so this exposure is fantastic for us!

Check out the product mention at NaturallyCurly.com [here] and visit the Hickox Studio web site to buy a bottle for yourself. Shoot me an email for a 20% off coupon code!

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great has '10 items or less'

I stopped into a local grocery store the other day, the rare mom and pop kind of place that still offers to help you out with your bags (they really do...I actually saw a bag boy helping someone out to their car today!).

I usually try to go to this place so that my dollars stay local. I was on my way home from work, anxious to be on the couch with a beer, but decided to take the extra time to go to the local store rather than 7-11. I grabbed my beer, a couple limes, and headed to the checkout.

That's where this story gets interesting. Lucky me, I find a checkout with the bright yellow open sign on, no line and two employee's standing there. I set my stuff down and am greeted with "Sorry, I'm closed."

"You don't look very closed to me" I said, expecting her to start ringing me up. "You'll" have to go to another checker" she said as she pointed to the 3 lines of at least 8 people each at the other end of the store.

Are you kidding me? I drove out of my way for this? I walked down to another register and began to wait in line. After waiting a minute and not moving, I suggested to the employee behind that counter that she might want to call a manager for help (what a crazy idea, huh?). She did so, and when the manager arrived she SHE TOOK THE TWO PEOPLE BEHIND ME to the register she was opening!

Is it just me or would common sense have said you take the people that are waiting the longest. I expressed my displeasure and I was met with blank stares.

So why should I bother going out of my way for the local business? 7-11's are located conveniently, I never wait more than 60 seconds in line, and most importantly I'm in and out without having to deal with stupid people. No wonder mom and pop shops are disappearing by the dozens.

Innovate or die. For me, it's the 7-11 or the self checkout at the big box.

-Jeff the Great