Courtesy / Roux Institute
Lars Perkins
Updated: April 20, 2021
Portland tech accelerator names former Google exec as managing director
File Photo / Jim Neuger
The Roux Institute is headquartered at 100 Fore St. on Portland’s East End, in space leased from WEX Inc.
A former software entrepreneur, angel investor and consultant for startups in California has been named managing director of Portland's new Roux Institute Techstars accelerator, it was announced Tuesday morning.
Lars Perkins started his new role on April 12, a spokesperson told Mainebiz.
Perkins comes to the position after a career in software dating back to an enterprise company he took public in the 1990s.
Since then, Perkins has served as the founding partner and managing partner of Idealab's Boston incubator, where he launched Picasa, a well-known company that produced software for digital photography.
After selling Picasa to Google in 2004, he joined the Menlo Park, Calif.-based internet giant for two years, including a year as director of product management, according to his LinkedIn profile. He is also a certified flight instructor.
More recently, Perkins has been angel investing and consulting for startups including Community.com, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based company that manages direct messaging with large audiences on behalf of celebrities and other public figures, as a way of "monetizing" their social networks without direct involvement.
Perkins lives in Camden, and for his new job will commute between the midcoast town and Portland.
The Roux Institute Techstars Accelerator, set to run from September through December, targets entrepreneurs working in areas including artificial intelligence, life sciences and health, as well as data and analytics.
Noting that COVID has challenged many fundamental assumptions about work and also the delivery of services like health care and education, Perkins predicts that the accelerator's focus will help shape how society evolves over the next decade and beyond, according to a Q&A in Tuesday's press release.
Describing Portland as a city "on the cusp of greatness," he said: "The investment that the Roux Institute at Northeastern University and the Harold Alfond Foundation are making will be transformative to the city and will position it as a major East Coast hub of innovation."
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Steven Koltai
May 6, 2021
This is an inspired appointment. Lars will bring incredible vision, experience and a network to the Roux Institute. We're very lucky to have him!
Anonymous
April 20, 2021
"On the cusp of greatness." Spoken like a true out of stater who thinks he has discovered something. Just what Portland needs.
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