Podcasts in Seattle
Shows
Technology, data, and the future of TV, with iSpot tech chief Anthony Skinner
Most online publishers and advertisers are accustomed to real-time analytics, the ability to see how many people are viewing a website or app at any moment, where they're coming from, generally who they are, and what they're doing on the site. But that concept was a novelty in TV advertising before a startup called iSpot.tv came along in 2012. The company, based in Bellevue, Wash., took the turnaround time for data about television ads from weeks and days to hours and minutes. A decade later, iSpot is a key partner and resource for major media platforms and advertisers. With more…
TTodd Bishop
JJohn Cook
AAnthony Skinner
Ryan Frazier
Ryan Frazier is the Co-Founder & CEO of Arrived. Arrived makes it easy for anyone to invest in shares of single-family rental homes, and earn passive rental income + property appreciation right away. The company is backed by Jeff Bezos, Marc Benioff, Spencer Rascoff (the former CEO and founder of Zillow), and Core Innovation Capital. Previously, Ryan was the Co-Founder and CEO of DataRank, an alumni of Y Combinator, and GM at Sprout Social. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
RRyan Frazier
MMarc Benioff
Tony Hsieh, Zappos, and Amazon
Tony Hsieh was a legendary entrepreneur who built Zappos and sold the online shoe retailer to Amazon for $1.2 billion in 2009. He was known for unusual experiments in management and business structure, and for pursuing long-term passions over short-term profits, as described in his 2010 book, Delivering Happiness. A new book, Happy at Any Cost: The Revolutionary Vision and Fatal Quest of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, tells the rest of the story of Hsieh's life, leading up to his tragic death from injuries sustained in a fire in New London, Conn., in November 2020. The book also goes behind-the-scenes…
TTodd Bishop
KKirsten Grind
Dan Lewis
Dan Lewis is the Co-Founder and CEO of Convoy, a digital trucking network that is transforming the trillion-dollar global trucking industry in service of its mission, “To transport the world with endless capacity and zero waste”. Before Convoy, Dan served as General Manager of New Shopping Experiences at Amazon, after having product and data roles at Microsoft, Google, and various startups. Dan started his career in supply-chain and strategy consulting for Oliver Wyman, working in operations across Europe, Latin America, and the US, after graduating from Yale University with a Bachelor’s degree in cognitive science. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
DDan Lewis
Key trends in digital commerce, with the former Amazon exec leading Seattle’s newest unicorn
This week brought news of a big fundraising by e-commerce technology startup Fabric, a $140 million Series C round led by Softbank. With the deal, Fabric became the Seattle region’s newest unicorn startup, a privately held company valued at more than $1 billion, or about $1.5 billion in its case. Our guest on this week’s GeekWire Podcast is Fabric’s CEO, Faisal Masud a former executive with companies including Amazon, Alphabet, Groupon, Staples and eBay. We talked about the state of physical and online retail as we emerge from the pandemic, business to business commerce, the Amazon heritage on Fabric’s executive…
Armoire's startup survival story
Armoire CEO and founder Ambika Singh and her team built a women's clothing subscription service with their "bosslady" members in mind, providing an on-demand wardrobe of apparel primarily for work and events. Two years ago, the Seattle-based startup was on a roll, posting a record month in February 2020 after growing nearly 400% in 2019. But then came the pandemic. Armoire's members no longer needed to dress up for the office or to go out. So close the door on Armoire, right? Not so fast. Ambika Singh talks with GeekWire's John Cook and Todd Bishop about Armoire's survival story, how…
TTodd Bishop
JJohn Cook
AAmbika Singh
Why Microsoft's return to the office may not be the norm
What does Microsoft's return to the office mean for everybody else? That was one of the questions raised by the tech giant's announcement Monday that it will fully reopen its Washington state offices, including its Redmond headquarters, starting on Feb. 28. The company says it will offer flexibility but expects most employees to be back in the office at least 50% of the time. Microsoft and other big tech companies were among the first in the country to ask employees to work from home at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly two years ago. The rest of the industry…
TTodd Bishop
MMichael Schutzler
Melissa Widner
Melissa Widner is the CEO of Lighter Capital, the pioneer and leader in revenue-based financing for tech startups and scales-ups. Prior to Lighter Capital, Melissa was the Managing Director of NAB Ventures, the VC arm of the National Australia Bank and a General Partner at Seattle based SeaPoint Ventures. She was also the founder and CEO of 7Software, and the CEO of Northwest Industrial Supply, where under her leadership, both companies generated over a 10X return to investors. Melissa is also the co-founder and Chairperson of Sydney based Heads Over Heels, an organization that supports women entrepreneurs running companies with…
MMelissa Widner
Amazon defies gravity, Microsoft's biggest challenge, and one startup's quest to wipe out deforestation
This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Amazon's latest results demonstrated its extraordinary flexibility and ability to overcome challenges in the broader economy using the built-in safeguards in its business, most notably the Amazon Web Services cash machine. Amazon spent an extra $4 billion to keep its business running smoothly despite a clogged economy. Plus, Microsoft hires an Amazon veteran to take on "one of the greatest challenges of our time," and Seattle startup Cloud Paper raises $5 million in new funding for its environmentally friendly, tree-free toilet paper. With Todd Bishop and John Cook; Edited by Curt Milton; theme music…
TTodd Bishop
JJohn Cook
Data journalist Sherrell Dorsey on her new book, 'Upper Hand: The Future of Work for the Rest of Us'
Data journalist and entrepreneur Sherrell Dorsey is a Seattle native whose story is a powerful testament to the potential of kids in overlooked communities, and to the possibilities that emerge when their paths are cleared. Dorsey is founder and CEO of The Plug, a venture-backed news and insights platform covering Black startups and ecosystems. Her new book is Upper Hand: The Future of Work for the Rest of Us. Read an excerpt from Dorsey's book on GeekWire: Seattle’s ‘Motown of tech’ changed Sherrell Dorsey’s life — now she’s passing it along See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
TTodd Bishop
SSherrell Dorsey
Frank Mycroft
Frank Mycroft is the co-founder and CEO of Booster, the leading mobile energy delivery platform that delivers fuels including renewables to fleets and consumers in the U.S. Prior to Booster, Mycroft worked as a rocket scientist for NASA and Boeing. He also served as the Vice President of Strategy for Planetary Resources, a robotics company that aspired to mine asteroids in space. Mycroft and colleagues Tyler Raugh and Diego Netto founded Booster Fuels in 2014. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
FFrank Mycroft
NFTs, Metaverse, Web3, and new realities of startup investing, with Founders Co-op’s Aviel Ginzburg
So much of what happens in the startup world comes from serendipitous moments, random interactions that lead to fresh insights and new collaborations. And so much of that has traditionally happened at events, meetups, coffee meetings, and other in-person gatherings. Two years into the pandemic and remote work, what are the implications? That's our first topic on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, with entrepreneur, software engineer and investor Aviel Ginzburg, general partner at Seattle-based seed-stage venture fund Founders Co-op. The former Techstars Managing Director for Amazon's Alexa Accelerator, Ginzburg was co-founder of social analytics platform Simply Measured, acquired by…
SSam Okafor
TTodd Bishop
JJohn Cook
AAviel Ginzburg
Yadhu Gopalan
Yadhu Gopalan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Esper, the DevOps platform for intelligent edge devices. Esper is helping thousands of enterprise customers manage their device fleets, with the first DevOps enterprise-grade functionality with the ability to scale. Yadhu has over 25 years and 35 patents in embedded systems and security. Code he has built helps run over 100 million devices globally. He has held engineering leadership roles over the years, including owning systems engineering for Amazon, designing back-end solutions for FireOS and serving as the Chief Architect of Microsoft Windows CE. Yadhu spends his free time recharging by hiking…
Rajeev Singh
Rajeev Singh is CEO of Accolade, the Seattle-based company providing millions of people and their families with an exceptional healthcare experience that is personal, data driven and value-based, so that they can live their healthiest lives. Last month was Rajeev’s sixth anniversary at Accolade – congratulations! Prior to joining Accolade, he co-founded Concur, the global leader in travel and expense management, in 1993. Concur went public (Nasdaq: CNQR) in 1998, and grew to more than $800mm in revenue, over 4,000 employees, and more than 25,000 customers before being acquired by SAP AG for $8.3 billion in 2014. Rajeev’s desire to…
RRajeev Singh
Laura Jennings (Founder & CEO at Knack) on developing a vision, responding to failure, and letting go of other what other people think
After a long career as a VP at Microsoft in the 80s and 90s, Laura Jennings had a big vision for eCommerce. After founding Knack, her masterplan didn't play out exactly as designed. She was working out of a basement, shipping boxes, and learning how to sell merchandise with little experience. Her principles remained, but she updated her strategy after watching and listening. She created a culture that responds to mistakes by asking "what are we going to do about it?" instead of "who is at fault?" Now Knack is a growing profitable business and Laura is still looking forward.
LLaura Jennings
What Fuels You Podcast
Scott Jacobson - Madrona Venture Group - What Fuels You
Scott Jacobson is a Managing Director at Madrona Venture Group, where he has spent over 14 years helping early-stage technology entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest build and scale their companies. Scott is on the boards of companies like Rover, Flexe, and CommerceIQ, and focuses much of his energy on consumer businesses or business technologies that have a significant consumer component. Prior to joining Madrona, Scott worked at Amazon, where he did two tours of duty, leading product management for Amazon’s 3rd-party seller platform and working on the launch of the original Kindle.
SScott Jacobson
Scott Jacobson
Scott Jacobson is a Managing Director at Madrona Venture Group, where he has spent over 14 years helping early-stage technology entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest build and scale their companies. Scott is on the boards of companies like Rover, Flexe, and CommerceIQ, and focuses much of his energy on consumer businesses or business technologies that have a significant consumer component. Prior to joining Madrona, Scott worked at Amazon, where he did two tours of duty, leading product management for Amazon’s 3rd-party seller platform and working on the launch of the original Kindle. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
SScott Jacobson
Jane Park on SPACs, the immigrant ethos, and brands in the Amazon era
Jane Park, the CEO of newly public Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp., hadn't imagined herself leading a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, before accepting the job. She decided to consider the pitch from venture capitalist Isabelle Freidheim for one reason. “It took some convincing, a little bit. I wasn’t sure if I had the right capabilities. I have always sat on the entrepreneur side. So to be on the acquiring/money side is a new perspective and vantage point for me,” she said. “I don’t think I would have taken the call if it wasn’t the fact that it was an…
TTodd Bishop
JJohn Cook
JJane Park
Tech pay, cloud trends, Kraken, and self-driving cars with Qumulo CEO Bill Richter
Everyone is closely monitoring the implications of remote work as we emerge from the pandemic, so it's no surprise that one of the most widely read stories on GeekWire this week — right behind the Titanic's disappearing bathtub and Facebook's potential name change — was a story on trends in tech salaries. Two big trends stood out in the report from jobs site Hired: Average tech salaries in Seattle are up 4.6% from last year, to $158,000, second only to the Bay Area, which saw its average dip slightly to $165,000. Nationwide, the average U.S. tech salary fell 1.1% to…
TTodd Bishop
JJohn Cook
BBill Richter
Jesse Proudman
Jesse Proudman is the co-founder and CEO of Makara, a new investment platform democratizing access to the cryptocurrency markets, and the co-founder of Strix Leviathan, a crypto investment manager powered by a sophisticated proprietary trading platform. Prior to Strix Leviathan and Makara, Jesse founded Blue Box, a cloud computing startup that he led to a successful acquisition by IBM. During his time at IBM as an IBM Distinguished Engineer, Jesse focused on blockchain technology and cryptocurrency applications. With more than two decades of experience as a technical entrepreneur, Jesse serves on the board for the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship at…
JJesse Proudman
Built in Seattle with Adam Schoenfeld
Gordon Hempton (Co-Founder & CEO at Spot.xyz) founder lessons from Outreach to Spot, establishing culture, and remote work
Gordon co-founded Outreach in 2013. Now a multi-billion, 1000+ employee company, he's reached rare air. But he's starting again with Spot.xyz... all the way back to the ground flood. That means writing code, recruiting, and establishing a culture from the ground-up. Why would he do it again? Hear his founder lessons on this episode of The Built in Seattle Podcast.
GGordon Hempton
Ed Petersen
Ed Petersen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wrench, Inc. The company was started with the mission to remove the hassle of vehicle ownership through trust, transparency, and convenience. Wrench operates throughout all 50 states and British Columbia and Ontario, Canada providing maintenance and repair to consumers and enterprises and vehicle inspection services. Ed is a serial entrepreneur, having founded multiple companies, including Intelius, Talentwise, Union-Street.com, LocalMobile, and Pantheon. These companies have provided approximately $1 billion in exits to their collective shareholders. While leading Wrench, he was a 2020 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist, and in 2021…
EEd Peterson
'They proved me wrong.' Investor who passed on Seattle startup analyzes its IPO
Jason Stoffer was still early in his career at venture capital firm Maveron in 2012 when he declined an opportunity to invest in Remitly, then a fledgling Seattle startup with ambitions to challenge Western Union by bringing a tech mindset to the business of international money transfers. He was impressed by Remitly co-founders Matt Oppenheimer and Josh Hug but knew they faced a huge challenge in getting the state-by-state regulatory approval required to make monetary remittances to what was then their initial international market, the Philippines. "It felt like the end vision was powerful — if they can get there,"…
TTodd Bishop
JJohn Cook
JJason Stoffer
Built in Seattle with Adam Schoenfeld
Laura Clise (Founder & CEO at Intentionalist) on building partnerships, managing change, and lessons from small business owners
Laura Clise didn't intent to be an entrepreneur. She spent most of her career running corporate social responsibility programs at bigger companies as a self-described "intrapeneur." But she saw the need for Intentionalist after developing a strong point of view about the power of consumer spending choices. While Laura's mission is about social change, she specifically decided to take a business-driven approach to the problem. She's now growing her marketplace that helps consumers spend with intention and gives small businesses a platform to tell their story.
LLaura Clise
