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TechfestNW (TFNW) is a tech conference in Portland, Oregon that bills itself as the "premier tech event in the upper left coast". Founded in 2012, the event involves speakers, networking, workshops, start-up pitches and parties and attracts founders, entrepreneurs and investors. Among the speakers that have presented at TFNW include Genevieve Bell, Alan Webber, Joe Stump, David Plouffe, Kara Swisher, Tad McGeer, Andrew McLaughlin, Mike Dubin, Ward Cunningham, Dave Allen, Evan Doll, Ron Wyden, John Markoff, Chip Conley, Lucas Foster, Zoë Quinn, Jesse Schell, Anthony Batt. In 2012, Fortune magazine called it the next South by Southwest (SXSW). TFNW is the sister festival to MusicfestNW.
History
TechfestNW was founded by Mark Zusman in 2012 and quickly outgrew its first four venues; it recently announced that in 2017, it will be moving to the Portland Art Museum. Originally held in August, TFNW now takes place in the spring. In 2016, TFNW also introduced a conference within a conference called PitchfestNW, in which startups apply to pitch, attend workshops and showcase their company. In the first year, more than 100 companies from the US and overseas applied and 50 were accepted for free admission. The winner of the 2016 Pitchfest competition, Poda Foods, won a package worth more than $200,000.