Published 8:01 am Friday, October 16, 2026
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As Gov. Tina Kotek and Christine Drazan enter the homestretch of the governor’s race, Oregon’s small businesses and entrepreneurs would like a word. After visiting nearly every county myself, and spending a lot of time with Bend’s start-up community, I repeatedly hear that those who risk starting businesses here need stronger support from elected leaders.
The economy and affordability have rightly dominated the campaign. Recent reports by the Oregon Prosperity Council and Oregon Business and Industry confirm what many have long said: high taxes, heavy regulation, and scattershot economic development hold Oregon back. Proposals to modernize the R&D tax credit, exempt capital gains from qualified small business stock, and create a state commerce authority are meaningful starts — but more is needed.
Small businesses with 50 or fewer employees represent more than 90 percent of Oregon businesses. As the state’s only sector-agnostic organization for founders, solopreneurs, and early-stage companies, we at the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network see ten actions needed from our next governor.
1. Reconnect Small Business Stock policy to federal tax code
Recouple Oregon’s qualified small business stock policy to federal law. QSBS rewards risk takers — founders who go without stable pay and employees who accept equity in lieu of higher salaries. QSBS was key to helping founders attract capital, and the Legislature took it away. The next governor should restore it immediately.
Founder-led, community-rooted companies, like those showcased at this month’s Bend Venture Conference, replace lost rural jobs and hire locally. Oregon should let those who take the greatest risks share in the reward.
2. Expand R&D tax credit to more sectors
Other states will keep courting Oregon entrepreneurs with incentives our state simply does not have. Oregon should expand R&D credits to sectors where we have an advantage, including mass timber, climate tech, circular economy, biosciences, and food manufacturing, so job-creating companies stay and grow here.
3. Make innovation infrastructure permanent
Piecemeal development funding traps small businesses in grant-to-grant survival. Multi-biennium funding for centers of innovation excellence and regional innovation hubs would provide stability and show that Oregon is committed to innovators for the long term.
4. Put state capital to work in Oregon, especially outside Portland
One-third of Oregonians live in rural communities rich with makers, entrepreneurs, and investors. The next governor should increase Oregon Growth Board investments in Oregon companies, with an explicit focus on <a href="https://bitcomme.com/clovis-entrepreneur-uses-soccer-to-expand-opportunities-for-local-children/” title=”Clovis entrepreneur uses soccer to expand opportunities for local children”>opportunities beyond Portland.
5. Enact an angel investor tax credit
Angel investors often supply a startup’s first dollars. A modest credit for Oregonians investing in Oregon companies would stimulate capital, and an enhanced rate for rural companies or rural investors would direct more funding where it’s needed most, like our higher unemployment rural counties.
Tie higher-education funding to commercialization outcomes and standardize startup-friendly licensing terms across universities. Extending the Oregon CHIPS Act model to other sectors, including energy resilience, would speed innovation, reduce licensing costs, and create jobs.
7. Make the state a first customer
Government purchasing can give young companies crucial traction. Oregon should create a startup procurement pathway with pilot contracts, lower bonding and insurance thresholds, and challenges that let agencies post problems and startups propose solutions.
Launch a one-stop digital startup registration across agencies to ease creation of new products and services. Streamlined coordination would make navigating state government faster and more predictable.
Oregon should publish a regularly updated entrepreneurship scorecard tracking new business starts, capital raised, and federal funding awarded by region, including the urban-rural split. One dedicated entrepreneurship lead in the Governor’s Office should be accountable for the results.
Reports and campaign agendas do not create jobs. Governors do — through what they fund, fix, and prioritize. For more high-wage jobs, investment, and competitiveness, Oregon must begin with the small businesses that already make up the bulk of our economy. We’re all eager for action. OEN is ready to help.
Cara Turano is executive director of the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network.
