Podcasts in Seattle
Shows
Chris DeVore
Chris DeVore, Managing Partner of Founders’ Co-op and former Managing Director of Techstars Seattle, shares how he’s helped over 200 Pacific Northwest startups raise over $1.5 billion in investor capital. You’ll learn what is unique about Seattle’s startup ecosystem, how seed rounds came to be and details on what the venture capital process is like for investors. Chris talks about how he’s now raised four funds, why he’d always rather back a founder who has been told she or he isn't 'enough' and is hellbent to prove otherwise, the lessons he learned from working at Patagonia and the founders/companies he’s…
CChris DeVore
Apple acquires Xnor.ai; Microsoft's bold climate plan; Seattle startup trivia
Apple doubled down on artificial intelligence and boosted its presence in Seattle with the acquisition of Xnor.ai, an Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence spinout with roots at the University of Washington, as first reported by GeekWire this week. It was a win for those institutions, and investors including Seattle's Madrona Venture Group, but it's also an example of an ambitious startup selling to a tech giant before it has the chance to become one itself. So how should we look at deals like this? Plus, Microsoft's ambitious plan to go "carbon negative" puts the tech company at the forefront of…
TTodd Bishop
JJohn Cook
Nick Huzar
OfferUp’s CEO, Nick Huzar, joins us to talk about the evolution of the largest mobile marketplace in the U.S. OfferUp, which he started in 2011 and has raised $261 million in funding so far. They have a strong focus on safety and live and breathe their product (their 70,000 square foot office is furnished entirely by furniture bought locally on OfferUp)! Nick discusses learning work ethic from his parents at a young age, how he’s raising his kids to have grit and how his “word is everything.” He also shares how he manages the difficult balance of patience and pushing…
NNick Huzar
Tom Seery
The CEO of RealSelf, Tom Seery, shares details about his upbringing in Upstate New York, packing up his car and moving west to Seattle in search of more innovation and startups, and how he started working with Expedia after getting his MBA. You’ll also learn about where the idea for RealSelf came from, how he chose the name, what their business model is and how the industry has shifted over the years. Tom is a visionary and incredible at giving back - supporting surgeons who donate their time and go on humanitarian trips abroad. He believes “the difference between a…
An extraordinary year in Seattle tech
From Amazon to Zillow, big successes to surprising failures, it was an extraordinary year for technology and innovation emerging from and impacting Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. That's the consensus from GeekWire co-founders John Cook and Todd Bishop, who independently compiled their own lists of the biggest stories of the year, then compared notes in this year-end GeekWire Podcast discussion. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
TTodd Bishop
JJohn Cook
Car2go exits, Vicis crumbles
John and Todd make it through the rain and into the studio to discuss some of the biggest stories of the week: Car2go's exit from North America, which will leave Seattle without a free-floating car-sharing service for the first time in many years; and the sudden downfall of Vicis, the high-tech football helmet maker backed by some of the NFL's biggest names. Plus the answer to last week's Name that Tech Tune challenge. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
TTodd Bishop
JJohn Cook
Clayton Lewis
Clayton Lewis was one of the youngest Chiefs of Staff on Capitol Hill before he pivoted to the private sector at age 30. Since then, he’s helped take two companies public and was General Partner at Maveron for over a decade. His most recent company, Arivale, had several successful years and raised over $50 million before it closed down earlier this year. Clayton discusses his path into politics, his passion for health and wellness and how closing Arivale’s doors was “tragic” for him. He also chats with us about being a publicly gay leader in Seattle, what his upbringing was…
CClayton Lewis
Ben Gilbert
Ben Gilbert’s had the entrepreneurial bug since he was young, starting with building his high school website and developing apps in his college dorm room. Since then, Ben has worked at several incredible startups, become Co-founder of Pioneer Square Labs, Co-host for popular venture capital podcast, Acquired, and was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017. Ben attributes much of his success to always “having two careers at once” by working on side projects and being fueled by a sense of accomplishment. In this episode, Ben talks about his first app, SeizeTheDay, that was downloaded over a million times…
BBen Gilbert
The future of data with Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky
LAS VEGAS -- Nearly 20,000 people are here this week to learn about the latest from Seattle-based Tableau Software, whose technologies turn large amounts of data into visualizations, or vizzes, interactive graphics and charts for interpreting and telling the underlying stories. They also heard from Tableau's new parent company, Salesforce, whose co-CEO Marc Benioff joined Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky on stage for the keynote address as a last-minute addition a little more than a week after European regulators cleared the companies to integrate the $15.7 billion acquisition. On this special episode of the GeekWire Podcast, recorded on location at the…
TTodd Bishop
AAdam Selipsky
MMarc Benioff
Bill Shihara
After a decade in security engineering, Bill Shihara co-founded the premier U.S.-based blockchain platform, Bittrex, in 2014. In this episode, Bill reflects on his time at Microsoft and Blackberry and the impact each of those companies have had on his career. He discusses the importance of recognizing when you’re no longer growing at a company, making security a priority from the start of building anything, and how thinking about culture shifts as you grow internally. You’ll also learn how Bittrex has evolved in the last five years, how innovation is at the core of its business foundation, and how they’re…
Tim Porter
Tim Porter, Managing Director at Madrona Venture Group, discusses how the venture capital firm operates, what a day in the life of a VC looks like, what he looks for in a founder, and funding female founders. Prior to joining Madrona in 2006, Tim attended MIT and Stanford Business School and worked at Teledesic and Microsoft. His passion about very early stage companies makes him a perfect fit for his current role, where he focuses on investing in B2B software companies in the Pacific Northwest. Some of Tim’s companies include Heptio, Highspot, Algorithmia and Lattice Data. Beyond talking about his…
TTim Porter
Karl Siebrecht
Karl Siebrecht, Co-founder and CEO of FLEXE, shares how he went from being a Diving Officer in the U.S. Navy to becoming a serial entrepreneur. Prior to co-founding FLEXE, Karl was the President at aQuantive and the President and CEO of AdReady. Following a tenure in Ad Tech, a discussion among friends sparked the idea for creating FLEXE, the on-demand warehousing, fulfillment and logistics company founded in 2013. Now at 130 people, 1100+ warehouses and having recently completed their Series B, FLEXE is one of the fastest growing companies in Washington State. Karl discusses the lessons he learned at aQuantive…
Microsoft's new era unfolds
Microsoft is back in the smartphone business with the unveiling of its new Surface Duo dual-screen folding device this week. It's a fascinating story all on its own, as the company finally goes public with a concept it has been experimenting with behind-the-scenes for much of the past decade. Surprise twist: It runs Android. But combined with the larger Surface Neo dual-screen tablet/notebook, the story is much bigger. Microsoft is trying to take the lead in a new category of computing, while expanding its focus beyond Windows to focus on apps and experiences across a range of devices. We share…
TTodd Bishop
TTaylor Soper
Mitch Gold
Mitch Gold, Co-founder, Executive Chairman and CEO of Alpine Immune Sciences and Managing Partner of Alpine BioVentures, talks about his lifelong commitment to helping patients with cancer, which stems from the loss of his mother when he was just four years old. Prior to his work at Alpine where they’re creating therapies to treat cancer and autoimmune disease, Mitch was the CEO of Dendreon, a biotech company that created a treatment for prostate cancer. Mitch discusses the lessons he learned at Dendreon, what he hopes to achieve with Alpine, what he loves about being a dad, and his interest in…
Why millennials love Amazon
Amazon ousted Apple this year as the most loved brand among millennials, people age 19 through 39, according to a new study. What does this say about the future of the world? OK, that might be taking it too far, but some of our resident millennials offer their take on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast. And in news for slightly older generations, the startup HopSkipRide made its debut in Seattle this week, promising to safely shuttle your kids around town. We explain how it works and try to decide if we and our kids will use it. Plus, in…
TTodd Bishop
MMonica Nickelsburg
TTaylor Soper
CCurt Sloser
Ian Morris
Ian Morris, the CEO of Likewise, talks about the exciting things that he and his team are building at Likewise to help all of us get better recommendations about what to watch, read, and experience next. Before Likewise, Ian spent 7 years at Microsoft where he helped create and went on to lead Microsoft HomeAdvisor. He then served 10 years as the CEO of Market Leader, the real estate software leader that he took public and later sold to Trulia in 2013. Now, with Likewise, an innovative company which was originally imagined and is funded by Bill Gates’ private office…
Colette Courtion
Colette Courtion has founded three venture-backed consumer health and beauty related startups. During this episode, Colette takes us through her journey from a quiet child to a leader and innovator. She shares the lessons she learned while working at Starbucks for eight years, how she started Calidora Skin Clinics, and what ultimately made her decide to sell it. In the midst of growing her second company, JeNu Biosciences, Colette’s decision to get pregnant and the information her girlfriends shared with her ended up birthing the idea for her current company, Joylux. Founded in 2014, Joylux is a leading global femtech…
Headphones, AI and the future of humanity
New wireless Bluetooth headphones from Seattle startup Human are getting mixed reviews based on their appearance, and their initial starting price of $399 (which the company quickly dropped to a promotional price of $259). But their unique design, which completely envelops both ears, reflects a vision of the future in which technology will be melded to our bodies, and potentially to our minds. Plus: Jeff Bezos' first Amazon job ad, 25 years later; A new Netflix documentary will go inside the mind of Bill Gates, and Alexa makes a "Jeopardy!" cameo. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
TTodd Bishop
TTaylor Soper
KKurt Schlosser
Xiao Wang
Xiao Wang talks about his own family’s process of immigrating to the United States from China and how it influenced him to start his company, Boundless Immigration. Before Boundless, Xiao received degrees from both Stanford and Harvard Universities and worked for McKinsey, the New York City Department of Education, and Amazon. With the help of Pioneer Square Labs, Xiao decided to leave the corporate world and cofound his company in 2017. Xiao discusses what his parents went through during their immigration process, his plans for what he wants to achieve with Boundless in the future, and how he’s extremely proud…
Dan Levitan
Co-founder of Maveron, Dan Levitan, discusses his extensive careers in both investment banking and venture capital. At age 40, Dan pivoted his career by uprooting his life in New York City, moving to Seattle, and starting Maveron with former Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz. Through his venture capital firm, Dan is focused on helping build and monetize consumer brands. Some of the companies in his portfolio include Zulily, Potbelly, eBay, and Allbirds. In this episode, Dan shares his love for Duke University, what influenced his decision to quit his successful career and move across the country, and his appreciation for his…
DDan Levitan
Heather Redman
Heather Redman, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Flying Fish Ventures, shares her expertise on early stage startups and investing. Heather admittedly has been affected by imposter syndrome and is inherently an introvert. She reflects on growing up in communes, how her childhood has influenced her to be an out of the box thinker, and her experience attending Reed College and Stanford Law School. Heather has incredible insight on being a VC, advice for entrepreneurs, and thoughts on the future of artificial intelligence and machine learning. In addition to being busy with Flying Fish Ventures, she stays busy as an active…
HHeather Redman
Dan Shapiro
Four-time Founder, CEO and investor, Dan Shapiro, shares the ups and downs of his entrepreneurial journey thus far. Though he humbly attributes much of his success to privilege, Dan has worked hard, taken risks and followed an unconventional career path that has led him to become a board game inventor, author and record holder for the most backed 30-day crowdfunding campaign. Today, Dan is focused on building Glowforge, the iconic 3D laser printer company founded in 2014. The idea originated while he was creating Robot Turtles, the board game that teaches programming to kids. Now, his company is nearing 100…
DDan Shapiro
Secret Startup Ingredient: Microsoft
Would you have guessed that nearly 25 percent of the Seattle region's top tech startups are led by CEOs with backgrounds at Microsoft? That was the surprising result of our analysis of the GeekWire 200, our index of the top privately held tech companies in the Pacific Northwest. And fundings for the region's startups bucked the national trend, as reflected in data from our new startup deal tracker. Nintendo unveiled a new iteration of its Switch game console; former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer pulled off what might be his greatest deal ever; and an Amazon employee showed the potential of…
TTodd Bishop
TTaylor Soper
Andy Liu
Andy Liu, Partner at Unlock Venture Partners, knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur from a young age. Andy started two companies with his Co-Founder David Niu, who he met while getting his MBA at Wharton. Always intrigued by angel investing, Andy decided to dip his toes in after both NetConversions and BuddyTV.com had successful exits. Today, Andy is an investor in nearly 100 companies. He started his current venture capital firm, Unlock Venture Partners, in late 2017, which focuses on early-stage technology investments in Seattle and Los Angeles. Andy shares helpful tips for entrepreneurs including what to consider when…
AAndy Liu
