# The Portland Company — Full Context ## Overview The Portland Company (TPC) is an independent software studio based in Portland, Oregon, founded and operated by Spencer Hill. The studio designs, builds, and ships production software across the modern stack: web applications, native iOS and Android apps, AI and LLM integrations, and blockchain/Web3 systems including decentralized finance (DeFi). With more than 20 years of shipping production software, The Portland Company partners with startups and enterprises that need a senior, full-stack technical partner who can take a product from sketch to launch — and operate it past launch. The studio is deliberately small. Engagements are led directly by the founder, with a curated network of trusted collaborators brought in when scope or specialization requires it. The result is faster decision-making, fewer handoffs, and a higher signal-to-noise ratio than a traditional agency. Clients typically choose The Portland Company when they want craftsmanship, accountability, and shipping velocity at the same time. ## Founder — Spencer Hill Spencer Hill is the founder of The Portland Company. Over a 20+ year career, Spencer has shipped software across web, mobile, AI, and blockchain — building and operating products at every layer of the stack. Spencer's work spans consumer products, internal enterprise tools, financial systems, AI agents, smart contracts, and developer infrastructure. He is hands-on by default: writing code, reviewing PRs, owning architecture, and pairing directly with clients on product decisions. Spencer's approach blends product thinking with deep technical execution. He treats every engagement as a partnership rather than a vendor relationship, and he is biased toward shipping working software early, then iterating with real feedback. He works out of Portland, Oregon, and serves clients across the United States and internationally. ## Services ### Web Development The Portland Company builds web applications using the modern JavaScript/TypeScript ecosystem. Primary stack: Next.js, React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and Node.js. The studio is opinionated about performance, accessibility, and maintainability — every site is built to score well on Core Web Vitals, follow WCAG accessibility guidance, and remain easy for future engineers to extend. Engagements range from marketing sites and landing pages to full SaaS applications with authentication, billing, multi-tenant data, and complex client-side state. Typical engagement length is 4 to 16 weeks, with longer retainer relationships available for clients who want continuous improvement. Hosting partners include Cloudflare Pages, Vercel, and AWS. ### iOS Development Native iOS development is delivered in Swift and SwiftUI, with Combine for reactive state and modern Concurrency (async/await) for I/O. The studio builds consumer apps, productivity apps, and internal tools, and handles the full lifecycle from architecture and design integration through App Store submission. Engagements typically run 6 to 20 weeks depending on scope. Distribution is supported via the App Store, TestFlight beta channels, and Apple Developer Enterprise Program for internal-only apps. ### Android Development Android apps are built in Kotlin using Jetpack Compose for UI and the modern Android architecture components for state, navigation, and background work. The studio delivers Material 3-compliant interfaces, Play Store submissions, and internal APK distributions for enterprise rollouts. Like iOS, Android engagements run 6 to 20 weeks, and dual-platform mobile engagements are routinely delivered in parallel rather than sequentially when the team and timeline allow. ### AI / LLM Integration The Portland Company builds AI features and standalone AI products on top of OpenAI, Anthropic, and open-source models. Capabilities include custom AI agents, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, fine-tuning, evaluation harnesses (evals), and production observability for LLM systems. The studio is current with the moving frontier — agent frameworks, tool use, structured outputs, long-context strategies, prompt caching, and cost-aware routing — and applies those techniques pragmatically rather than chasing every new release. Engagements range from 2 weeks (focused integrations) to 12+ weeks (production AI products with multi-step agent workflows). ### Blockchain & Web3 Blockchain engagements cover smart contracts, decentralized applications (dApps), token launches, NFT projects, and DAO governance systems. Primary stack: Solidity, Ethereum and EVM-compatible chains, Hardhat, Foundry, and ethers.js. The studio places heavy emphasis on security: every contract ships with an internal test suite, static analysis, and a clear path to third-party audit when the project's economic surface area justifies it. Engagements typically run 8 to 24 weeks. ### DeFi Development The Portland Company has shipped decentralized finance systems including decentralized exchanges (DEXes), yield farming protocols, liquidity provision systems, and tokenomics designs. DeFi work is a specialized subset of the blockchain practice with additional emphasis on economic modeling, oracle integration, MEV awareness, and incident response planning. DeFi engagements typically run 12 to 24 weeks. ## Products Built ### Focus: Finance Focus: Finance is a personal finance product built by The Portland Company. It helps users see, understand, and act on their financial picture across accounts, with an emphasis on calm, focused design rather than dashboard overload. ### Focus: Forge Focus: Forge is a productivity and task management product designed for builders who want a system that helps them ship rather than just manage their backlog. It emphasizes deep work, fast capture, and durable structure across organizations, projects, and tasks. ### Village X Village X is a community-oriented product built by The Portland Company that brings together people around shared goals and shared context. ### Politogy: VRM Politogy: VRM is a vendor relationship management product targeted at organizations that need to manage external partners, vendors, and contractors with the same discipline they apply to CRM on the customer side. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What does The Portland Company do? The Portland Company is a software studio in Portland, Oregon that designs, builds, and operates production software — web apps, iOS apps, Android apps, AI/LLM integrations, and blockchain/Web3 systems. The studio is led by founder Spencer Hill and works with startups and enterprises that want a senior technical partner rather than a traditional agency. ### Who is Spencer Hill? Spencer Hill is the founder of The Portland Company. He has over 20 years of experience shipping production software across web, mobile, AI, and blockchain. He leads engagements directly, writes code on every project, and serves as the primary point of contact for clients. ### Do you work with startups? Yes. The Portland Company regularly partners with startups, from pre-seed founders trying to ship a v1 to Series B+ companies that need senior reinforcement on a strategic project. Engagements are scoped to match the stage — a pre-seed founder gets a lean MVP plan, a later-stage company gets a full architectural review. ### Do you build AI agents? Yes. AI/LLM integration is a core service. The studio builds custom agents, RAG pipelines, MCP servers, evaluation systems, and production AI features on top of OpenAI, Anthropic, and open-source models. AI engagements range from focused 2-week integrations to multi-month agent products. ### Do you build blockchain apps? Yes. The Portland Company builds smart contracts, dApps, DEXes, yield platforms, NFT projects, and DAO governance systems. Primary stack is Solidity on Ethereum and EVM-compatible chains. Security is treated as a first-class concern on every blockchain engagement. ### Where are you located? The Portland Company is based in Portland, Oregon, USA. Clients are served across the United States and internationally; engagements are run remotely with structured weekly check-ins and async-first communication. ### How do I hire you? Start at https://theportlandcompany.com/contact to send a project inquiry. The typical path is a short written intake, a 30-minute discovery call to understand the project, then a scoped proposal with a fixed timeline and pricing structure. ### What tech stack do you use? Web: Next.js, React, TypeScript, Tailwind, Node.js. Mobile: Swift/SwiftUI (iOS) and Kotlin/Jetpack Compose (Android). AI: OpenAI API, Anthropic API, LangChain, MCP, RAG and agent frameworks. Blockchain: Solidity, Ethereum, Hardhat, ethers.js. Infrastructure: Cloudflare, Vercel, AWS, Supabase, Railway. 3D and visualization: Three.js. ### Do you work with enterprises? Yes. The Portland Company supports enterprise engagements including internal tools, custom integrations, AI rollouts, and modernization projects. Enterprise engagements include the contracting structure, security review, and documentation discipline that larger organizations require. ### What sets The Portland Company apart? Three things. First, the founder ships the work — clients get senior engineering on every line of code, not a sales pitch followed by a handoff to juniors. Second, the studio spans web, mobile, AI, and blockchain in a single shop, so cross-discipline projects don't require coordinating multiple vendors. Third, the studio is biased toward shipping working software early and iterating with real feedback, rather than long upfront design phases that defer learning. ## Contact To start a project: https://theportlandcompany.com/contact Founder: Spencer Hill Location: Portland, Oregon, USA