Scott Porad

Scott Porad is the CTO at Cheezburger, a company that specializes in “making the world happy for five minutes a day.”

After a long career in tech and web development, he finally found his place creating a site that rewards him and his customers with happiness. Find out how he got there, and why this self-described “connectivity guy” thinks relationships are key and the future of marketing is all about content.


  • Scott loves his job – and why not? He remembers working at other online companies, where customers were satisfied to receive a product as expected. Now, he specializes in creating and having fun, which he says helps him connect with his customers in a whole new way. He recounts meeting someone at a conference who, upon finding out what he did, jumped and gave him a hug. (8:00)
  • Scott stumbled into the online world after graduating college “with no plan”. After designing a website for a school organization, he began his career on the Internet at the same time as the Internet really took off. “This career found me,” he says, and he’s glad he did. “It’s very exciting to be at the beginning of something.” (4:30)
  • Along with classic wisdom about the keys to finding start-up success, Scott also reminds tech leaders thatit’s important to have friends. Not only people you can bounce technical ideas off of, but people who you can have “open and honest conversations” about their own experiences. He also explains why – even if it’s not your style – meeting up for coffee is a good thing to do. (19:16)
  • Sometimes described as “The Luddite CTO”, Scott isn’t a gadget guy. He’s more impressed by connectivity, and systems that make it easier to live day-to-day. His example – Seattle parking meters. (28:07) Plus – find out why Scott thinks the future of Internet marketing is all about the content and how he manages a growing network of user sites.

Previously on Nextcast: Dr. Gary Flake, CEO @ ClipboardTodd Hooper, CEO @ Zipline Games

Nextcast founder Jeff Dickey is passionate about technology, business and philosophy. He works as the chief cloud architect at Redapt, a Redmond-based cloud and big data infrastructure company. [Editor’s note: GeekWire is proud to partner with Jeff Dickey who produces the Nextcast entrepreneur interview series].

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