What PIE does

PIE (Portland Incubator Experiment) is a privately held startup accelerator and curated coworking space headquartered at 221 Southeast Ankeny Street in Portland, Oregon. Founded around 2009–2010 through a collaboration between Wieden+Kennedy — the largest privately held creative advertising agency in the world — and the Portland startup community, PIE operates as an ongoing experiment in enabling established organizations (corporations, government, and educational institutions) to collaborate with startup communities. The organization runs three specialized tracks: a SaaS & Mobile program for pre-funding/pre-revenue software startups, PIE Shop (a hardware and manufacturing accelerator run with Autodesk, with a preference for Autodesk Fusion 360 users), and the Built Accelerator (run with Built Oregon, focused on growth-stage, post-revenue consumer product companies in food, beverage, apparel, beauty, outdoor, and pet categories). Beyond the cohorts, PIE offers mentorship, a peer and alumni network, discounted partner services, periodic Demo Days, and the open-source PIE Cookbook on GitHub.

The business model is structurally non-revenue-generating from participants: PIE charges no tuition and takes no equity, providing all programming, mentorship, workspace, and discounted services free of charge to founders. Operating economics are sustained through in-kind and financial sponsorships from anchor partners — Wieden+Kennedy (founding partner), Autodesk (manufacturing track), and Built Oregon (consumer products track) — supplemented by event-driven community engagement. Headcount is in the 1–10 range, the company has no disclosed funding rounds, no parent entity, and no acquisitions, and all three core accelerator tracks have been placed on hiatus for 2026, indicating an operational pause rather than active scaling. Co-founders Jason Glaspey and Rick Turoczy (who also serves as General Manager) lead the organization, and distribution is exclusively regional/direct at the Portland facility.

Name

PIE

Legal name

Portland Incubator Experiment

Website

https://piepdx.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PIE is a Portland, Oregon-based free startup accelerator and coworking space founded by Wieden+Kennedy and the Portland startup community, serving pre-revenue SaaS, hardware, and consumer-product founders with mentorship, networks, and discounted services — taking no equity and charging no tuition.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Accelerator Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA), Entrepreneurship & Small Business Workforce Programs (EDAAAOAM)

Keywords

• Startup accelerator services
• Coworking and community space
• Mentorship programs
• Hardware incubator program
• Consumer products accelerator

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. No Revenue Generation: PIE is a free accelerator program that does not charge tuition, require equity, or collect fees from participating startups. The program is funded through partnerships and sponsorships with organizations like Wieden+Kennedy and Autodesk, allowing it to provide services at no cost to founders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

PIE (Portland Incubator Experiment) operates a free startup accelerator and curated coworking space in Portland, Oregon, providing early-stage founders with mentorship, peer networks, and tailored programming across software, hardware, and consumer product tracks. It runs specialized accelerator programs (SaaS & Mobile, PIE Shop for Manufacturing, Built Accelerator for Consumer Products) without charging tuition or taking equity, and is sustained through partnerships with sponsors such as Wieden+Kennedy and Autodesk.

Product overview

PIE (Portland Incubator Experiment) is an accelerator program that operates multiple specialized tracks. The core programs include the SaaS & Mobile Program for software startups, PIE Shop (Manufacturing Program) for hardware and connected devices in partnership with Autodesk, and the Built Accelerator for consumer products in partnership with Built Oregon. All PIE programs are provided at no cost, with no equity taken and no tuition charged. Beyond program-specific offerings, PIE provides Demo Days events for alumni to showcase their companies, the PIE Cookbook open-source guide, mentorship access, peer networks, and discounted services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SaaS & Mobile Program

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Wieden+KennedycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWieden+Kennedy, the largest privately held creative advertising agency in the world, collaborated with the Portland startup community to create PIE. This partnership established the foundation for PIE's ongoing experiment in enabling organizations to collaborate with startup communities.
• AutodeskcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAutodesk partners with PIE to run PIE Shop, which focuses on hardware-based projects, connected devices, and manufactured objects. Preference is given to companies interested in using Autodesk Fusion 360 for product design.
• Built OregoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBuilt Oregon collaborates with PIE on the Built Accelerator, which focuses on consumer product companies in food, beverages, apparel, beauty, outdoor, and pet products sectors. This program targets growth stage, post-revenue companies.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Y Combinator: Y Combinator is the world's leading startup accelerator, running twice-yearly cohorts for early-stage founders. Like PIE it provides mentorship, community, and Demo Day exposure, though it takes ~7% equity whereas PIE takes none.
• Techstars: Techstars operates a global network of mentorship-driven startup accelerators across multiple verticals. It is directly comparable to PIE in offering cohort-based programming and demo days, but operates at national scale and takes equity.
• MassChallenge: MassChallenge is a nonprofit, equity-free global accelerator network with multiple industry verticals. It is the closest direct peer to PIE's no-equity, sponsor-funded model, though at significantly larger scale.
• Plug and Play Tech Center: Plug and Play runs corporate-sponsored, vertical-specific accelerator programs (fintech, health, retail, brand & retail). Comparable to PIE's sponsor-branded tracks like PIE Shop (Autodesk) and Built Accelerator (Built Oregon).
• 500 Global (500 Startups): 500 Global is a venture-backed accelerator network operating globally with multiple programs and a portfolio-first approach. Comparable to PIE in offering early-stage startup programming, though it is equity-based and operates at much larger scale.
• gener8tor: gener8tor runs concierge-style, equity-based accelerator cohorts across US metros. It is comparable to PIE as a cohort-based accelerator serving early-stage founders, though it takes equity and has a national footprint.
• Bolt (formerly Highway1): Bolt runs hardware-focused startup accelerators (including Highway1), targeting connected devices and manufactured objects. Directly comparable to PIE Shop, PIE's Autodesk-partnered hardware/manufacturing accelerator track.
• Galvanize: Galvanize combines coworking spaces, community programming, and workforce education for tech founders and operators. Comparable to PIE in offering coworking plus accelerator-style programming, though with more enterprise/workforce-training emphasis.

Regional players

• Capital Factory: Capital Factory is a Texas-based accelerator, coworking hub, and venture platform. Like PIE it combines accelerator programming with coworking and community, but is geographically concentrated in Austin/Switzerland rather than Portland.
• Seedcamp: Seedcamp is a leading European early-stage accelerator and seed fund. Comparable to PIE in operating cohort-based programs for early founders, but takes equity and serves a different geography (Europe vs. Pacific Northwest US).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/piepdx/pie-cookbook
• Xx.com/piepdx
• Facebookfacebook.com/piepdx

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments23 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PIE