GeekWire Startup Day 2013 is less than a month away, and today we’re excited to announce that Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee will be joining us for the event on Oct. 25, underscoring the importance of technology startups and entrepreneurs to the broader economy.
The governor’s talk will kick off a day of startup insights from veteran entrepreneurs, sharing war stories and lessons from the trenches. The action-packed event at the Showbox Sodo in Seattle features a series of 20-minute talks, each covering a different aspect of the startup experience.
New additions to the lineup include Brent Frei, the Smartsheet co-founder and former Onyx Software CEO whose talk is titled: “Resuscitating a Product on Life Support.” Also this year, we’re excited to announce that search expert Vanessa Fox, founder of Nine By Blue, will be on hand to share her experiences in a talk: “How To Avoid Being Eaten By a Bear: Vital Entrepreneurial Skills That You Can Learn Anywhere.”
“I even have an actual story about not being eaten by a bear,” says Fox.
They join a roster that includes Glenn Kelman, the Redfin CEO; Rudy Gadre, the angel investor and former Facebook general counsel; T.A. McCann, the RivalIQ founder and former Gist CEO; and Adina Mangubat, the CEO of Spiral Genetics.
See more speakers and register for tickets on the GeekWire Startup Day event page.
This unique event, now in its fifth year, is designed to help navigate the startup path, and avoid the pitfalls. It’s ideal for people running and working at startups currently, in addition to aspiring entrepreneurs at larger companies thinking about making the leap into the startup world.
As a new feature this year, startups can also sign up to showcase their companies and get direct feedback from angel investors and VCs in the Startup Demo Zone. We only have 25 slots available in the Startup Demo Zone, so make sure to sign up today before we sell out. Go here and look for the ticket type Startup Demo Zone, or register below. A Startup Demo Zone ticket comes with one full-day pass to the event, as well as the chance to pitch live on-stage to our all-star investor panel of Greg Gottesman of Madrona; Frank Artale of Ignition and super angels Geoff Entress and Rudy Gadre. (Note: Last year’s winner, BuildersCloud, walked off stage with a check and went on to raise more money).
In addition, attendees will be able to take advantage of the Startup Resource Room, where entrepreneurs will be able to have one-on-one discussions with experts about everyday business challenges in law, finance, public relations, dev/design and more.
And don’t forget: Startup Day concludes with the Battle of the Geek Bands after-party, featuring bands from several top Seattle tech companies, including DoubleDown Interactive, ExtraHop and Avalara. Tickets for the after-party are included with Startup Day admission, and also available separately.
A big thanks to our sponsors for helping to make Startup Day possible: Wave Business Solutions, Moz, Knoll, Double Down Interactive, the Museum of History and Industry, Avalara and TechStars (which is holding its Demo Day and after-party the day before at the same venue). Startup Day is part of Startup Week, presented by GeekWire and taking place from Oct. 18 to Oct. 30. It features more than a dozen events. For additional sponsor opportunities, contact GeekWire Chief Business Officer Daniel Rossi at daniel@geekwire.com.
Get your GeekWire Startup tickets here or below. Looking forward to seeing you Oct. 25!
