Fostering the Growth of Tech Companies that Redefine
the Future with THE 2025 TECH ACCELERATOR
RAIN Catalysts Tech Accelerator provides entrepreneurs with strategic and valuable approaches to help scale and accelerate their business with hands-on insights provided by industry experts and thought leaders.
We are committed to ensuring that businesses are well prepared and poised for investment opportunities, including referral for investment from the Portland Seed Fund.
2025 Tech Accelerator Experts:
The RAIN Catalyst Tech Accelerator is a 10 week program, with workshops led by subject matter experts, cohorts facilitated by RAIN’s very own business coach Catalysts and one on one mentorship. This program is delivered virtually and is free of charge to participants.
Mark Pontarelli
An accomplished General Manager and strategist with a talent for seeding entrepreneurial growth and driving innovation aligned to corporate strategic goals. Currently focused on the novel applications of data science and analytical techniques to strategy development and activation.
Brandon Barnett, PhD
Brandon is the founder and CEO of Trigate Coaching, whose mission is to elevate leaders and teams to master strategy. With over two decades of experience, he has refined his approach to strategy by experimenting with various theories, frameworks, and processes throughout the corporate lifecycle and across critical areas, including core business growth, industry transformation, innovation, new business development, and technology strategy.
Prof. Melissa M. Appleyard
One of the first Ames Professors in the Management of Innovation and Technology at Portland State University. As Associate Dean of Graduate Programs, she oversees seven Master programs and six graduate certificates. Her research focuses on how knowledge creation and diffusion catalyze economic growth and business longevity in technology-intensive industries. Over the past two decades, she has concentrated on the global semiconductor industry's ability to achieve perpetual innovation in design, process integration, and manufacturing. Her recent work has developed the construct of open strategy that combines open innovation with traditional business strategy, and recent NSF grant research has examined the critical processes for successful interdisciplinary R&D in nanomedicine.
Stephen Salzman
Proven deal maker & strategist experienced at creating & growing businesses of all sizes, and structuring and negotiating strategic investments & alliances. Former Managing Director, Intel' Capital's VR & AR investments. Also focused on gaming, eSports, displays, and smart home. Stephen joined Intel Capital in 2002, and has previously led investment activity in support of Intel's Wi-Fi and Atom System-on-a-Chip businesses. Saltzman re-joined Intel in 1998. Prior to joining Intel Capital, Saltzman was the GM of Intel’s Wi-Fi division, where he led its growth to market leadership. The Wi-Fi division was Saltzman’s second new business venture at Intel. In the late 1980s, he helped the then newly formed PC Enhancement Operation grow from $6M/year to over $250M/year in 3 years.
Scé Pike
A tech pioneer who began her career in Silicon Valley's 90s, designing early e-commerce sites for companies like GM, HP, and Blue Cross. At Palm, she worked on the first WiFi and Bluetooth smartphones. In 2007, she founded Citizen, growing it to become Oregon's 7th fastest-growing company before selling to Ernst & Young. Her product vision spans industries, creating multi-million-dollar solutions for clients including Intel, Daimler, AT&T, and Disney. Recognizing a gap in IoT for multi-family housing, she founded IOTAS in 2014—a smart apartment platform that raised ~$20M and was acquired by ADT in 2022.
Natasha Overmeyer, PhD
Assistant Professor of Management, University of Oregon, Lundquist College of Business. Education: Harvard University A.B, Stanford Graduate School of Business, PhD in Organizational Behavior. My research specializes in entrepreneurship, labor markets, and inequality, using unique data and cutting-edge methodologies that combine traditional qualitative and econometric methods with computational linguistics and machine learning.
Jerry Bautista, PhD
Retired: VP and GM, Product Management/Engineering - innovatively developing, scaling, and launching cutting-edge new technologies and products for F50 global tech companies and start ups. BS Stanford University, PhD Princeton University both in Chemical Engineering
Rachel Jagoda Brunette
Rachel joined RAIN Catalysts in 2024 as CEO. RAIN Catalysts supports communities creating inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems and leveraging innovation for economic prosperity. Prior to RAIN, Rachel was a Philanthropic Director at Foundation Source and Program Officer for The Lemelson Foundation's Oregon Initiative. She has cultivated innovation ecosystems across Oregon through program development and partnership building, and served as a board member and advisor to organizations including the Entrepreneurship Funders Network, Oregon Economic Development Association, TiE Oregon Foundation, and VertueLab.
Learn more about connecting with RAIN Catalysts.
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The RAIN Catalysts Capital Challenge Program is Funded by:
The 2025 RAIN Catalysts Tech Accelerator is sponsored by:
We welcome your partnership in ensuring the success of this program and its participants.
Please contact The RAIN Catalysts Accelerator Director for partnership opportunities.