GeekWire partners John Cook, Jonathan Sposato and Todd Bishop. Photo: Annie Laurie Malarkey

When you love the startup scene as much as I do, you want to breathe, eat, and sleep in that exciting universe. There are really only two things to do. First, you can launch a startup yourself. This I have done, and every time the experience has taught me about my own limits, stamina, and at times my ability to drink.

The second thing you can do is write about startups. You get to sample and taste all of the wonderful flavors at the buffet. I’ve been jealous of John and Todd in this specific regard for years. They get to experience an amazing cross-section of companies and entrepreneurs — identifying patterns, seeing what works (and what doesn’t), and reporting what they find.

Investing and partnering with them in GeekWire offers the best of both these worlds.

But even more importantly, I like to put my money where my mouth is. For years I’ve spoken about the importance of the founding team over “THE BIG IDEA.” Over the years I’ve come to observe John and Todd to be standup guys with great integrity, insight, a high work ethic, lack of entitlement, and an understanding of the value of a dollar. I’m always looking for these qualities.

I’m also inspired to help change the face of news. Alchemy can happen when veteran news journalists team with a serial geek. GeekWire can do game-changing things in this space in the future, not the least of which is to make the news consumption experience more appealing, more enriching, and more fun. The very nature of media is at the cusp of even more change, and I’m excited to help usher it in with John and Todd.

[Related: Read a note from John and Todd about Jonathan partnering in GeekWire.]

And lastly, in full disclosure, there’s one more reason why I’m a part of GeekWire. And for this one, I need your help. For reasons astounding to me, the Pacific Northwest can still be perceived as the homelier sister to Silicon Valley. I think it’s high time for that to change. Populated by major players (Microsoft, Amazon, Expedia), startups of enormous scale (Cheezburger, Redfin, Zillow, BuddyTV), makers of gaming platforms (Nintendo, Xbox), and VC firms of national prominence, the Seattle region’s geek fu is simply off the charts.

Even with its national perspective, GeekWire is rooted in the Pacific Northwest. It comes from this community. We need to tell the world our stories. And I ask you to join me in this mission as GeekWire readers and sponsors.

You can help through your active participation. Spar and debate with us. Tell us what you want the site to become. Come out to our events. Submit ideas for articles. Write a guest post. As de Toqueville said, it is only through rigorous discourse that any community truly defines itself.

So let’s get our geek on!

[Photography by Annie Laurie Malarkey.]

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