Oregon Business

A number of high-dollar deals inflated the growth, NVCA president Mark Heesen wrote in the release. That means the increase doesn’t necessarily point to more funding for all startups and industries

"One of the biggest draws here is the lifestyle."

Working with Portland product design shop Fuse, they created the Clutch, an iPad case with a rotating handle that doubles as an easy way to prop the tablet up.

"We are the only company allowing companies to compete against one another (or between operating divisions), while maintaining total privacy and control of their employee portal," says Mays. He adds that Walker Tracker is good at delivering tailored programs to medium and small businesses — many of their competitors focus on large corporations.

The recession’s punch hit the state’s rural communities first and hardest.

‘Keeping the Town Alive’

Data centers arrived in Oregon five years ago, cloaked in mystery. There’s no hiding them now.

Aircraft officianados and designers extraordinaire "Skeeter" Karnes and his son Richard have relentlessly pursued a uniquely crafted single seat aircraft that gives even the most seasoned pilots a thrill every time they pour on the gas, pull back on the stick and scream straight up through the clouds.

"I was really passionate about entrepreneurship and building things," Alford-Jones, 25, said. "For me, it almost seemed like there was no other alternative."

It’s nearly unheard of for a first-time inventor to land in a major retailer’s health and beauty care aisle, a highly competitive category dominated by multinational corporations. And yet for Peterson, 71, the work has just begun.