Podcasts in Seattle
Shows
Landline phones in 2025? How this tech vet is helping kids connect
If you're looking for an uncommon thinker, how about a tech industry veteran developing and selling landline phones in 2025 — and selling out of them in the process. Chet Kittleson is the co-founder and CEO of Tin Can, a Seattle startup making Wi-Fi enabled landline phones designed to let kids talk to friends and family with just their voices. No screens, no AI. GeekWire recognized Kittleson as one of our Uncommon Thinkers for 2025, a program presented in partnership with Greater Seattle Partners honoring inventors, scientists, and entrepreneurs transforming their industries in unexpected ways. In this episode, he talks…
TTodd Bishop
CChet Kittleson
Transforming Science and Technology for Humankind, Emer Dooley, CDL
The Creative Destruction Lab: Connecting Innovation with Impact In this episode, Emer Dooley, site lead for the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) at the Foster School of Business, University of Washington, discusses the CDL's mission to commercialize deep tech startups for the benefit of humankind. She elaborates on CDL’s mentoring program, which pairs high-caliber mentors with promising startups in the fields of computational health and advanced manufacturing, to guide them through critical objectives over a nine-month period. Emer also explains the program's unique funding model, the process of selecting and nurturing startups, and CDL’s significant impact on the Seattle innovation ecosystem…
EEmer Dooley
Uncommon Thinkers 2025: Solar spacecraft, sci-fi biology, destroying PFAS, beyond AI chatbots, and better social media
On this special episode of the GeekWire Podcast, recorded backstage at the GeekWire Gala at the Showbox Sodo, we sit down with five of the inventors, scientists, and entrepreneurs selected as the Seattle region's 2025 Uncommon Thinkers, in partnership with Greater Seattle Partners. Jeff Thornburg spent years building rocket engines for Elon Musk at SpaceX and Paul Allen at Stratolaunch. Now, as CEO of Portal Space Systems, he's moved past chemical rockets to revive a concept NASA studied decades ago but never pursued — a spacecraft powered by focused sunlight. He calls it a "steam engine for space." Read the…
JJeff Thornburg
AAnindya Roy
JJay Graber
Raina Kumra - Founder at Spicewell
Raina Kumra is the Founder of Spicewell, a "Food is Medicine" startup focused on bringing everyday Ayurveda to the American diet, closing nutrient gaps, and planetary health. Raina is also an advisor to Google X and CEO of Juggernaut, a transformation bureau that focuses on placing capital and storytelling for an organization's next leap. Previously, she worked in the Obama administration and served as Head of Digital for Wieden + Kennedy in New York. For What Fuels You listeners, Raina has provided a promo code for 25% off SpiceWell products. Shop here for superfood seasonings, which make a great gift…
SShauna Squirlin
RRaina Kumra
Bezos is back in startup mode, Amazon gets weird again, and the great old-car tech retrofit debate
This week: Jeff Bezos is back in startup mode (sort of) with Project Prometheus — a $6.2 billion AI-for-the-physical-world venture that instantly became one of the most talked-about new companies in tech. We dig into what his return to the CEO title really means, why the company’s location is still a mystery, and how this echoes the era when Bezos was regularly launching big bets from Seattle. Then we look at Amazon’s latest real-world experiment: package-return kiosks popping up inside Goodwill stores around the Seattle region. It’s a small pilot, but it brings back memories of the early days when…
TTodd Bishop
JJohn Cook
Investing in Food and Growth in Africa with Luni Libes, Founder, Africa Eats
From Tech to Bananas: A New Investment Horizon This week, Ed Barker sits down with Luni Libes, one of Seattle’s most quietly influential entrepreneurs and investors. Luni built and ran multiple software companies before launching Fledge, the accelerator network that helped more than 120 founders around the world. His current focus is Africa Eats, an investment company backing a portfolio of food-focused African businesses that are growing far faster - and surviving at rates far higher - than the typical American tech startup. Luni explains why the standard venture playbook misses the realities of most global markets and walks through…
LLuni Libes
How — and What — to Build in the Age of OpenAI
Where is OpenAI going, and what does it mean for the broader AI and tech ecosystem? Madrona Partner Vivek Ramaswami sits down with Jason Kwon, Chief Strategy Officer at OpenAI, for a rare behind-the-scenes look at the decisions shaping one of the most influential AI companies in the world. In this live conversation from the 2025 IA Summit, Jason shares what OpenAI will build, what it won't, and how founders can use that as a roadmap to go big without going head-to-head. They unpack OpenAI's ecosystem-first mindset, what "full-stack AI" really means, and how the rise of agentic AI is…
Seattle’s history of hardware heartbreak: Big raises, high hopes, hard landings
Seattle’s consumer-hardware ambitions are once again colliding with economic reality. The struggles of Glowforge and Rad Power Bikes echo a long regional history of big raises, high hopes, and hard landings — shaped by the pandemic, VC, and the unforgiving nature of building real products. GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook recorded this conversation for the purpose of providing the audio to an AI tool that turned the conversation into a written column that was edited and reviewed before publication. Check it out here. Related Stories: Glowforge hits restart: After restructuring, co-founders acquire key assets of laser engraver startup…
TTodd Bishop
JJohn Cook
Ring founder Jamie Siminoff on failure, reinvention, and his second act at Amazon
What’s it like to pitch your dream on Shark Tank, get rejected on national TV in front of eight million people — and then turn that failure into a company Amazon later buys for more than a billion dollars. Ring founder Jamie Siminoff did just that. A serial inventor and entrepreneur, Siminoff joins us to talk about his new book, Ding Dong: How Ring Went from Shark Tank Reject to Everyone’s Front Door (out Nov. 10), sharing the messy, high-stakes, and ultimately inspiring story behind the company. Now back at Amazon as a vice president leading Ring and the company’s…
TTodd Bishop
JJamie Siminoff
The Analyst Mindset in Venture: Madrona Investor Rasik Parikh's story
In this episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Digital Editor Coral Garnick Ducken sits down with Investor Rasik Parikh to unpack his journey from public markets to venture capital and what makes a founder stand out. Rasik shares how working across institutional investing, M&A, and now enterprise AI at Madrona has shaped his analytical mindset and founder-first approach. They dive into how to build information asymmetry as an early-stage investor, why storytelling matters more than metrics in early fundraising, and what Rasik looks for in founders. Founders building in security, agentic software, or enterprise AI — this one's for you…
CCoral Garnick Ducken
RRasik Parikh
Seattle’s tech paradox: Amazon's layoffs and the AI boom — or is it a bubble?
Why is Amazon laying off 14,000 people during a massive AI boom? Todd and John analyze the Seattle tech paradox, digging into Andy Jassy's 'startup' reasoning and debating whether the AI frenzy is a bubble. Then, they take on the Cascadia high-speed rail: a necessary connector or a misguided project? Related headlines from the week Amazon layoffs Amazon confirms 14,000 job cuts, says push for ‘efficiency gains’ will continue into 2026 A tale of two Seattles in the age of AI: Harsh realities and new hope for the tech community Filing: Amazon cuts more than 2,300 jobs in Washington state…
TTodd Bishop
JJohn Cook
Redefining Communication: Yoodli Founders on AI Roleplays, Confidence & Building in Seattle
In this episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Venture Partner Patrick Ennis sits down with Varun Puri and Esha Joshi, co-founders of Yoodli, an AI-powered communications coach helping people become more confident speakers. Varun and Esha share their leap from Big Tech into startup life, eating noodles on secondhand couches while chasing a bold mission: making effective communication accessible to everyone. They dive into: The origin story behind Yoodli, (and where the name came from!) How AI roleplays bring "exposure therapy" to speaking practice. Use cases ranging from sales training to doctors having end-of-life conversations. The decision to build in…
PPatrick Ennis
VVarun Puri
EEsha Joshi
Vibe-coding a new reality: Chris Pirillo on the rise of AI-powered apps, features, and founders
Chris Pirillo, the longtime tech enthusiast and entrepreneur, joins the show this week to discuss how AI software development tools are opening up new possibilities for everyday users, as illustrated by his own experience going from commentator to creator, building nearly 100 apps and games. He’s launching a free, in-person event series called CTRL+ALT+CREATE Live, where anyone can build something real using AI and no-code tools. The first event takes place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m on Thursday, Oct. 16 at the Amazon AWS Skills Center in Seattle. With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
CChris Pirillo
CChris Pirillo
From Google and Amazon to NewDays: Why These Tech Vets Bet on AI for Dementia
In this episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Managing Director Tim Porter sits down with Babak Parviz and Daniel Kelly, co-founders of NewDays, a platform purpose-built for older Americans living with cognitive change to help them reclaim abilities, preserve independence, and keep being themselves. Babak and Daniel share how their experience at Amazon and Google led them to apply AI in the most human way: helping people with dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) with scalable solutions. They dive into: Why we chose to build at the intersection of AI and cognitive health How to translate clinical science into accessible…
TTim Porter
BBabak Parviz
DDaniel Kelly
The Agentic Entrepreneur: How the next wave of AI is changing the startup playbook
This week on the GeekWire Podcast: How artificial intelligence is changing the way companies are created, built, and operated. We're on location at Pioneer Square Labs in Seattle with investor and entrepreneur T.A. McCann, a managing director at the startup studio and venture capital firm. He explains how AI agents are automating complex functions, letting small teams do the work that once required large groups of people. As AI makes product development easier, he says, the key strategic moat for many startups is now shifting to distribution and data. Other topics include: The wearable AI recorder that captures everything he…
TTodd Bishop
TT.A. McCann
A $100k wall for talent: Tech leader and author Shirish Nadkarni on the H-1B fee and the impact of immigrants
The U.S. tech and startup community was stunned by an executive order last week imposing a $100,000 fee for employers seeking new H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers, a program heavily used by the technology industry. This move brings a longstanding debate back to the forefront: are skilled immigrants taking American jobs, or are they a vital engine for innovation and economic growth? Our guest this week has a strong point of view on this topic. Shirish Nadkarni is a serial entrepreneur and Microsoft veteran who founded companies acquired by BlackBerry and Rosetta Stone. An immigrant himself, he just released…
SShirish Nadkarni
The Future of Biology Is Generative: Inside Synthesize Bio's RNA AI Model
In this episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Investor Joe Horsman sits down with Jeff Leek and Rob Bradley, co-founders of Synthesize Bio, a foundation model company for biology that's unlocking experiments researchers could never run in the lab. Jeff, chief data officer at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center, and Rob, the McIlwain Family endowed chair in data science, share: •Why a startup the right fit for generative genomics •How generative genomics could reshape research, drug trials, and more •Why RNA is the right starting point for a generative AI model in biology •What this breakthrough means for the future…
JJeff Leek
From $1M to $10M ARR in 6 Months: How Fyxer is Winning AI Productivity
Fyxer.ai is an AI-powered assistant that helps users reclaim hours of their day by managing their inboxes, writing replies, and taking meeting notes. But Fyxer didn't start with AI. It started with a decade-long executive assistant agency that gave them a treasure trove of data and insight that became the foundation for integrating AI. Fyxer CEO and Co-Founder Rich Hollingsworth joins Madrona Managing Director Karan Mehandru on this episode of Founded & Funded to share how Fyxer went from $1M to $10M ARR in six months with just 30 employees. In this episode, Rich shares: Why great startups start with…
KKaran Mehandru
RRich Hollingsworth
OpenAI's big Seattle deal; Steve Ballmer under NBA scrutiny; the irony in Google's antitrust case
This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and his NBA team, the Clippers, face scrutiny over an alleged salary-cap dodge tied to star Kawhi Leonard. We unpack the report and Ballmer’s emphatic denial, while reflecting on his history in tech and sports. Also: OpenAI's surprise $1.1 billion acquisition of Seattle startup Statsig, and what it says about the AI talent wars. Plus, the ironic role of Microsoft’s own antitrust past in the landmark ruling against Google’s search monopoly this week. Seattle journalist, radio host and bar owner Mike Lewis joins GeekWire's Todd Bishop for this episode…
MMike Lewis
TTodd Bishop
Booms, Busts, and Seattle in the AI Era, with Jeff Shulman of the UW Foster School
What does Seattle gain — and lose — in times of dramatic change? University of Washington Foster School of Business marketing professor Jeff Shulman has spent years studying that question, as host of the Seattle Growth Podcast, director of the Product Management Center, and a civic voice on issues ranging from housing affordability to the campaign to bring back the Sonics. On this episode of the GeekWire Podcast, Shulman joins us to talk about Seattle’s place in the global AI boom, why the city has struggled to produce superstar startups, what AI means for marketing and education, and how civic…
TTodd Bishop
JJeff Shulman
Autonomous CRM: How Clarify Is Reinventing a $100B Category
Thompson and Austin Hay, co-founders of Clarify, the startup that's pioneering the idea of autonomous CRM. Their vision? A CRM that actually does the work for sellers of driving outreach, managing pipeline, and surfacing insights without constant manual input. Patrick and Austin share: • Their journey from Iteratively, Ramp, and Amplitude to founding Clarify • Why the CRM market is ripe for disruption with AI • How Clarify's unique pricing model flips the script (free CRM, pay only when the AI agent works for you) • The concept of autonomous GTM teams and the rise of the Go-to-Market Engineer •…
SSabrina Albert
PPatrick Thompson
AAustin Hay
Building an AI-first company: What these two business leaders learned from top experts in the field
Our guests this week: Adam Brotman and Andy Sack, co-authors of the book AI First: The Playbook for a Future-Proof Business and Brand. Brotman was Starbucks’ chief digital officer and later co-CEO of J.Crew. Sack is a founder, investor, and longtime advisor to tech leaders. Together, they run Forum3, a company that helps brands rethink loyalty and customer engagement. For their book, they interviewed experts including Bill Gates, Sam Altman, Reid Hoffman and Ethan Mollick, and spent time with companies that have had early success with AI implementation. We talk about their "holy sh*t" moment with Sam Altman, how Moderna…
TTodd Bishop
AAdam Brotman
AAndy Sack
Terry Myerson - CEO and Co-Founder at Truveta
Terry Myerson is CEO and co-founder of Truveta, a leader in EHR data and analytics, led by a growing health system collective that together provide more than 18% of all daily clinical care in the US. Truveta is trusted by more than 50 leading healthcare and life science customers to study safety and effectiveness, improve patient care, and train medical AI. Across these leading organizations, Truveta connects data, people, and ideas to pursue the mission of Saving Lives with Data. Terry previously enjoyed a 21-year career at Microsoft, leading the development of Windows, Xbox, and the early days of Office…
SShauna Squirlin
TTerry Myerson
Bridging Strategy and Startups: Madrona Investor Rolanda Fu's Story
In this Investor Spotlight episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona's Coral Ducken sits down with Investor Rolanda Fu to explore her journey to VC — from playing violin at weddings to advising startups in Chicago. Rolanda shares what drew her back to Seattle and Madrona, how her generalist background helps her spot strong founders across sectors, and what traits she looks for in entrepreneurs — especially in today's AI-first world. If you're a founder, this episode is packed with practical insights into how VCs think and what makes a company (and founder) stand out.
