The 2013 GeekWire Awards: A Peek into the Land o’ Seattle Startups

Posted by terraolsen on May 13, 2013 in Around Town, Science/Tech | Leave a comment

The 2013 GeekWire Awards:

A Peek into the Land o’ Seattle Startups

 By: Meg Humphrey

The GeekWire Awards celebrate startups and the people brave enough to take the risk to make them happen. In my mind, I am not especially qualified to be the one sent to the 2013 GeekWire Awards for Have You Nerd. I don’t pay much attention to the tech industry and all I know about Startups is that my boyfriend works at one (where he works his rump off).

For those who are a little fuzzy about what Startups are, maybe this introduction video used at the Awards will help:

Even if that didn’t really explain things, it was still fun to watch, right?

The EMP was full of over 750 highly motivated, dedicated, and talented people. I only had the opportunity to talk to a few of them – most people rushed to get food, drinks, and connect with their colleagues before the main event started. I did have the chance to chat with some lovely ladies from Killer Infographics (who actually passed out infographics about why they’re number one). Savy, Kat, and Jess were rooting for their company; Killer Infographics was nominated for the “Geekiest Office Space” category. I also ran into Sandi, who used to go to the same gym at the same time as me (small world!). She was there to network and keep her eye out on what’s going on in the industry. Folks were talking shop, making connections, and buzzed about their businesses.

Chris DeVore, the keynote speaker for the night, certainly delivered (and not just because he mentioned turtles).  He spoke about feeling unfilled, taking risks to make ideas happen, and striving to make things better. Sure, we may have Microsoft and Amazon, but it’s all of those smaller spaces made of bright eyed people bursting with the desire to make something new or improved.  Again, I’m not part of the Startup community, but DeVore inspired still me. You can read the entirety of the speech over at his blog, Crash Dev.

I won’t spend time talking about the amazing people that were nominated and who walked away with the “Golden Joystick” – you can find that over at GeekWire. It was a stiff competition and no doubt everyone in that room deserved an award for what is always described to be tireless work. But I could tell from the energy in the room that as difficult as the job may be, this is a community that supports, motivates, and feeds off each other.

At my brief glimpse at a slice of the PNW’s world of Startups, I wished that I had more than basic computer skills and that I would be able to one day join their ranks. Maybe someday I will.