Prosper Portland was pleased to sponsor this year’s local round of the 1776 Challenge Cup, a startup competition that awarded the agency’s Startup PDX Challenge alum NoAppFee its top prize last year. Kimberly Branam, Prosper Portland executive director, used her speaking opportunity at the event to highlight ways for the business community to support the agency’s efforts to build an equitable economy. Those efforts include Prosper Portland’s network of service providers, its partnership on the Inclusive Startup Fund and the Xxcelerate Fund, and support for those companies which have publicly committed to diversifying their industry through the Tech Diversity pledge – and are starting to see positive results in hiring more women and people of color within this growing sector in our city.

Tyrone Poole and Katherine Krajnak

Katherine Krajnak, Project Manager, with Tyrone Poole, Founder & CEO of NoAppFee