Dear Fellow Entrepreneurs,
It’s time for lots more changes, not just the weather of course, but in technology and economics !
Our next meeting in April the 29th, Wednesday, in the Marriott lounge.
For those focused on building their businesses, we can likely all agree that few firms exist today without significant tech requirements. With the prolific and daily expansion of AI, keeping pace with the shifting landscape is a constant challenge.
Many of our regular attendees and several of our newest members are deeply tech-oriented. To maximize this collective knowledge, we want to “connect the dots” by facilitating meetings with those who offer specialized technical expertise and high-level networking.
We invite you to bring your toughest questions. Startup Corvallis remains dedicated to supporting your business in every possible way. As we approach a milestone of 800 members, I encourage you to submit a brief overview of your current projects, your specific needs, and any offers you believe would benefit the community.
Let’s amplify your reach within this growing network—let’s ensure your expertise is seen and utilized.
We trust that your business is thriving and you’re keeping up with the tsunami of change in everyone’s digital environment. Not unlike our last updates the AI front is still the key news item.
Please RSVP at the meetup site. People need to know that you’re attending. Have you thought about bringing a friend or colleague ?
Meet us in the lounge and enjoy some food or drink and get ready for some great conversations.
Is there some specific information you want or need to assist your business ? Drop us a line and let’s focus our monthly newsletter on your requests and make referrals.
For this month’s updates, we have;
- A quote worth repeating
- Let’s start with the question….Don’t you have a live Protege ?
- Then move on to the Startup Pulse on what’s happening in the startup world
- Ready for some funding ?
- Shout out to some new members
Quote of the day: “The best entrepreneurs see things as they are and not how they want them to be” Arthur Rock
Quote of the tomorrow: The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” — H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Experience the Future of Expertise I’d like to invite you to see how ExpertScale.ai is turning these very concepts—nuanced judgment and tacit knowledge—into scalable Digital Protégés.
Expert Scale Inc.
We are incredibly excited to introduce you to the power of a Digital Protégé! Agents and Bots are soooo old school, let’s move to the next level.
A digital Protégé is a high-fidelity representation of your specific expertise, captured through a sophisticated digital interview. It is contextually unique to you, providing your clients an authentic, 24/7 conversational experience with a strict no-hallucination guarantee.
The most common question we get is “how is that possible?”—the answer is simple: when the Protégé cannot verify an answer with 100% certainty, it defaults back to you, the human expert. There is no guessing and no error-prone output.
We believe the only way to truly grasp the clarity, authenticity, and accuracy of our technology is to experience it firsthand. To facilitate this, ExpertScale.ai is offering a no-cost, “no hooks” opportunity to interact with our Protégés—no credit card or commitment required.
This is a game-changer for professionals. Whether you need a few minutes of attorney-level insight to navigate complex paperwork, require expert feedback on a high-stakes pitch, or are looking to streamline your hiring process, your first session with any of our Protégés is entirely free.
Beyond being remarkably cost-effective, the platform delivers mind-blowing responses once the onboarding is complete. The process is straightforward:
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The Foundation: You participate in a 30-to-60-minute digital interview, which immediately establishes 50% fidelity for your Protégé.
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The Customization: You upload your unique knowledge base—including books, PDFs, and recordings of client conversations.
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The Strategy: You define your specific KPIs and client goals.
Once deployed, your Digital Protégé serves as a 24/7 extension of your brand. You can choose to monetize this access as a new revenue stream, integrate it into your existing coursework, or offer it as a high-value inducement for other services.
Are you ready to amplify your impact, scale your wisdom, and ensure your clients receive expert-level clarity at any hour of the day?
As a hallucination-free platform, it’s being used by Attorneys/CPA’s/Executive Coaches and others in high-trust circumstances/
Experience an Expert’s Protégé at no cost:
Schedule a live demonstration of a protege in action:
White paper for Authors who want to make revenue while they sleep and interact with their readers:
Pitch Coaching 1st time without any cost:
The Startup Pulse: Scaling Impact and Raising Smart
Special Edition: Insights from the Front Lines of Venture and Growth
The Masterclass: Storytelling & Pricing for Scale
Alejandro Cremades recently shared a critical update on selecting pricing models for sustained growth. His core takeaway for 2026? Storytelling is everything. Whether you are raising a seed round or a Series B, your ability to provide consistent investor updates that psychologically prime your backers is what separates “the talk” from the traction. Founders using his latest AI-driven frameworks are reportedly closing rounds 3x faster by focusing on the urgency of the deal rather than just the data.
The Founder’s Soul: The Discipline of Being Still
Gino Wickman (EOS Worldwide) has shifted the conversation from “grind” to “grounding.” In his latest discourse on the discipline of being still, Wickman argues that the soul of a company is its core values, but the clarity of those values only emerges when a leader works on themselves. His 2026 focus is on “The Power of Solved,” encouraging founders to stop discussing problems and start resolving them at the root to prevent “soulless” scaling.
Capital Trends: Where the Family Offices are Moving
Richard Wilson (Family Office Club) reports a significant shift in ultra-wealthy investor behavior this month. Family offices are moving away from broad tech plays and toward energy, industrial real estate, and distressed opportunities. For those raising capital, Wilson emphasizes that centimillionaire investors are currently prioritizing “mid-sized platforms” with high-upside stability over high-risk “moonshots.”
The Community Moat: Grassroots to Greatness
Lloyd Lobo (Boast.ai / Traction) continues to champion the “Community-Led Growth” model. With over 100,000 innovators in the Traction network, Lobo’s latest insights remind us that success isn’t in the technology—it’s in the people. His “Relationship > Transaction” philosophy remains the gold standard for startups looking to build a growth moat that is impossible for competitors to replicate.
AI Watch: From RAG to Agentic Experience (AX)
The industry is moving past simple AI responses. AX Semantics and industry leaders are now focused on Agentic Experience (AX). We are entering a phase where AI agents are no longer just tools but “delegable capabilities” that understand authority and constraints. As AWS and ServiceNow lead the charge, the focus for 2026 is turning unstructured data into “knowledge graphs” that AI can actually reason with.
Quick Hits & Resources
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OurCrowd: Currently funding the Trepont Fund (DeepTech) and the Israel Resilience Fund, focusing on restoring stability through tech ecosystems.
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Danny Iny (Mirasee): Exploring the “Future of Online Education,” highlighting how transparency and ethics have become a core competitive advantage in a world where mediocre content is being commoditized by AI.
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Startups.com: New tools released for exit strategy planning and private equity readiness.