About
HERE is run by Kenny Asher, a Portlander since 1997 who’s been building relationships with local businesses in the region for 30 years. HERE began in 2025 as a local referral network for freelancers and independent consultants.
We live in isolating times. Screens, economic hardship and our separate circles pull us apart. Life keeps moving online and commerce keeps consolidating. Business and community organizations support some of us. Many are still left out.
Beneath all that is a remarkable truth that’s been hiding in plain sight: we all belong to the place we live. Because we are here, we can actually be together in person. We can get to know each other. In these times, that has never been more important. From there, amazing things become possible.
Our “here” is Portland, where we have a concentration of some of the most creative people in the world. Many of them run businesses in this region. The passion for these companies already exists. HERE gives it a home, along with new ways to show up for the city and each other:
- A shared membership badge that’s free to all
- Gatherings to meet the people behind the businesses
- A live count of everyone who’s in
- A directory of the most Portland-rooted companies
- A built-in way to bring in those who aren’t well known yet
- A podcast that goes deeper into stories of business and belonging in Portland
Each new member makes this project more meaningful for all of us. And against the national brands, we’re the ones who put Portland first.
HERE brings visibility and new contacts to our smaller local businesses. It invites established businesses to put their Portland roots to work. It moves us beyond competition.
Isolating times call for new ways of finding each other. In this amazing valley where we live, we now have one more way. This one, for all of Portland.