Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff and GeekWire co-founder John Cook.
GeekWire co-founder John Cook interviews Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff at the GeekWire Summit last week.

Authors, artists, and astronauts.

Senators, scientists, and superheroes.

CEOs, COOs, and CTOs.

The GeekWire Summit 2015 featured top executives, entrepreneurs, experts, and more than 800 attendees on Thursday and Friday in downtown Seattle this past week.

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Dr. Jim Olson - GeekWire Summit 2015
Dr. Jim Olson, serial startup founder and cancer researcher at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, discusses the latest breakthroughs in the fight against one of the world’s most vexing diseases.
Maria Cantwell - GeekWire Summit 2015
Sen. Maria Cantwell, one of the country’s geekiest senators, speaks about technology at the GeekWire Summit.
Vicis - GeekWire Summit 2015
Former NFL and University of Washington quarterback Damon Huard tests out helmets developed by Vicis on stage with GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook.
Dave McClure - GeekWire Summit 2015
500 Startups founder Dave McClure leads the audience in ‘power moves’ at the GeekWire Summit in Seattle on Thursday.

This was our first time hosting the Summit for two days, doubling the amount of fireside chats, power talks, and “Inventions We Love” segments.

It ended up being a fantastic time as we heard from technology leaders and innovators in a variety of fields, offering up interesting insights into the past, present, and future of their respective industries. We heard from people of all backgrounds and ages — even some impressive youngsters got in on the fun during the “Kids Tech Panel.”

Kids Tech Panel - GeekWire Summit 2015

Kids Tech Panel - GeekWire Summit 2015

There was also the debut of “The Treasure Trunk” where Summit attendees deciphered a geeky puzzle in order to unlock a trunk filled with fun tech gifts.

Treasure Trunk - GeekWire Summit 2015

Treasure Trunk - GeekWire Summit 2015

We also enjoyed having Guillaume Wiatr sketch drawings on big murals near the stage inspired by what was being talked about during the interviews and presentations.

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And thanks to Bruce Pavitt, the Sub Pop founder and Seattle music scene veteran who was spinning tunes during breaks and intermissions during both days of the Summit, keeping the mood upbeat with his vast catalogue of music tracks.

Bruce Pavitt - GeekWire Summit 2015

We’ll be posting videos from each session in the coming days, so stayed tuned for that. For now, we’ve put together a recap of the Summit for those who missed out or those that just want to relive the two-day event. Thanks to Kevin Lisota for snapping these fantastic photos.

And thanks to all of you for attending, and a huge thanks to all of our GeekWire Summit sponsors for helping to make this event happen.

Presenting sponsor: Bank of America, which is partnering with GeekWire on our Geeks Give Back campaign in support of the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship.

Gold Sponsors: Wave Business, WSGR, Best Buy, WE, Acumatica, Dice and Vulcan.

Silver Sponsors: OfferUp, Xtreme Consulting Group, EY, Hired, EMC/Isilon, Chef,Flowroute and UPS Connect.

Thursday, 9 a.m. — Top Seattle investors raise $12.5M for new ‘startup studio’ Pioneer Square Labs

Greg Gottesman - GeekWire Summit 2015

Longtime Seattle investor Greg Gottesman was our first on-stage guest on Thursday morning, joining us to reveal the first public details about his new “startup studio” called Pioneer Square Labs.

Thursday, 9:20 a.m. — Former Amazon execs: Working at Amazon a cinch compared to startup life

What We Learned at Amazon: Sandi Lin, David Cotter, Nadia Shouraboura, and David Streitfeld.
What We Learned at Amazon: Sandi Lin, David Cotter, Nadia Shouraboura, and David Streitfeld.

Former Amazon.com executives Nadia Shouraboura, Dave Cotter, and Sandi Lin shared insights into what it was like working at the Seattle tech giant during a panel moderated by New York Times reporter David Streitfeld, co-author of “Inside Amazon, Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace.”

https://twitter.com/stentontoledo/status/649628517362044928

Thursday, 10:20 a.m — Join our Geeks Give Back campaign and help raise money to fund STEM education

Washington State Opportunity Scholarship Recipient Rutha Nuguse.
Washington State Opportunity Scholarship Recipient Rutha Nuguse.

Naria Santa Lucia, executive director of the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, and University of Washington computer science student Rutha Nuguse kick off the annual Geeks Give Back campaign, a new program GeekWire launched with Bank of America that will help support low and middle-income students in Washington state to pursue STEM degrees. Later on Thursday, Seattle angel investor Gary Rubens said he would match donations to the effort up to $125,000.

Thursday, 10:50 a.m. — For Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff, creating a softer workplace culture was always the goal

Spencer Rascoff - Geekwire Summit 2015

Zillow Group CEO Spencer Rascoff discussed everything from the culture at Zillow, his company’s future, and why he likes to tweet.

Thursday, 11:25 a.m. — Xbox chief Phil Spencer on how Microsoft recovered from early Xbox One blunders

Phil Spencer - GeekWire Summit 2015

Xbox chief Phil Spencer discussed a number of interesting insights into Microsoft’s gaming arm, touching on topics like Minecraft, Halo 5, and the company’s early mistakes with the Xbox One launch.

Thursday, 1 p.m. — Nick Hanauer to tech community: Step up your social and civic engagement

Nick Hanauer of Second Avenue Partners, center, at the 2015 GeekWire Summit
Nick Hanauer (center) of Second Avenue Partners at the 2015 GeekWire Summit.

Nick Hanauer, co-founder of venture capital firm Second Avenue Partners and founder of Civic Ventures, offered up opinions on minimum wage, gun control, and a number of other topics he is passionate about.

Thursday, 1:30 p.m. — Reporter John Markoff and Microsoft Research head Peter Lee talk self-driving cars, robots taking the SAT and the AI of Hollywood

John Markoff & Peter Lee - GeekWire Summit 2015

In one of the more geeky chats of the day, New York Times reporter John Markoff and Microsoft Research VP Peter Lee dove deep into the world of artificial intelligence and its potential impact on our future.

Thursday, 2:10 pm. — Red planet vs. blue planet: Lori Garver looks ahead to Mars and the future of space

Lori Garver at GeekWire Summit.
Former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver chats with Alan Boyle on stage during the 2015 GeekWire Summit.

Former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver joined freelance journalist Alan Boyle on stage for a space-related chat that included topics like sending astronauts to Mars and discovering a blue planet around an alien sun.

Thursday, 2:55 p.m. — GeekWire Summit 2015: Here are 4 inventions we love

Wigl creator Vivek Mano demos the device at the GeekWire Summit.
Wigl creator Vivek Mano demos the device at the GeekWire Summit.

It was so fun hearing four Pacific Northwest-based entrepreneurs describe their products on stage during our first “Inventions We Love” segment. Participating companies included Excy, Wigl, PebbleBee, and You Kick Ass, which ultimately won the audience favorite award.

Thursday, 3:30 p.m. — Glassdoor CEO Robert Hohman

Robert Hohman - GeekWire Summit 2015

Glassdoor CEO Robert Huhman talked about his 8-year-old company, a leader of the online employment community on recruiting and managing top employees, and building successful businesses in the modern tech economy.

Thursday, 4 p.m. — 500 Startups co-founder Dave McClure: 90 percent of VCs are going to look like idiots in 10 years

Dave McClure & Brady Forrest - GeekWire Summit 2015

Brady Forrest, Vice President of Highway1, and Dave McClure, Co-founder of 500 Startups, wrapped up Thursday with an energetic discussion about venture capital, a potential tech bubble, and their new Syfy reality show, “Bazillion Dollar Club.”

 

Thursday, 5 p.m. — Opening Night Party at Sullivan’s Steakhouse

GeekWire Summit speakers, attendees and other VIPs gathered after Thursday’s sessions to eat, drink, and network at Sullivan’s Steakhouse. We also brought in a fun retro gaming arcade, where people played pinball, Pac-Man, and more.

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Friday, 9 a.m. — DocuSign’s Tom Gonser on his decision to be founder and chief strategist, but not CEO

Tom Gonser - GeekWire Summit

DocuSign founder Tom Gosner joined GeekWire reporter Tricia Duryee on stage to talk about handing over the CEO reins of his electronic signature company and the transition for DocuSign from a startup to a multi-national.

Friday, 9:30 a.m. — Asteroids, plagues and why science needs more sex appeal: Our futurists take on the good and bad in tech

Science Fiction panel - GeekWire Summit 2015

Science fiction writers, technologists, and a former astronaut came together for a fascinating chat about the future of science and space in a discussion moderated by GeekWire columnist Frank Catalano. Panelists included Hugo-award winning sci-fi writer Nancy Kress; computer scientist, futurist, and award-winning author Ramez Naam and former NASA astronaut and Sentinel Mission CEO Ed Lu.

Friday, 10:20 a.m. — Geeks Give Back announcement with University of Washington student neurobiology student Mahdi Ramadan

Mahdi Ramadan - GeekWire Summit 2015

Our second Geeks Give Back announcement featured UW stuent Mahdi Ramadan, who told his personal story and how, with the help of Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, he overcame struggles to make it to the UW.

Friday, 10:55 a.m. — Power Talk with Dr. Jim Olson of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Dr. Jim Olson - GeekWire Summit 2015

The serial startup founder and cancer researcher discussed the latest breakthroughs in the fight against one of the world’s most vexing diseases.

https://twitter.com/stentontoledo/status/650008297064415233

Friday, 11:15 a.m. — Here’s what changed — and what didn’t — at Concur after its $8.3 billion acquisition by SAP

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Fresh off the company’s purchase by SAP, the leaders of tech powerhouse Concur shared insights from building a successful company, and life after the acquisition.

Friday, 1 p.m. — Tech-savvy Sen. Maria Cantwell says Hillary Clinton needs to respond faster in the digital age

Maria Cantwell - GeekWire Summit 2015

Sen. Maria Cantwell dug into her tech background to offer presidential candidate Hilary Clinton some free campaign advice: “I think you have to respond more rapidly.”

Friday, 1:15 p.m. — Power Talk: Analyzing disasters on social media

Kate Starbird - GeekWire Summit 2015

Kate Starbird, an Assistant Professor at the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering at the University of Washington, discussed the emerging field of crisis informatics — the study of how information-communication technologies are used during crisis events.

Friday, 1:35 p.m. — Head engineers talk about hiring, innovating and building world-class products in Seattle

Redfin CTO Bridget Frey, Socrata CTO Deep Dhillon and head of Uber's Seattle engineer office Tim Prouty.
Redfin CTO Bridget Frey, Socrata CTO Deep Dhillon and head of Uber’s Seattle engineer office Tim Prouty.

Top technical leaders shared insights on hiring, innovating and building world-class products in an ultra-competitive industry. University of Washington computer science professor Ed Lazowska led the discussion with top technologists, including Redfin CTO Bridget Frey, Socrata CTO Deep Dhillon and Tim Prouty, head of Seattle software engineering at Uber.

https://twitter.com/sleuth/status/650050929245315076

Friday, 2:15 p.m. — Kids Tech Panel

Kids Tech Panel - GeekWire Summit 2015

Kids Tech Panel - GeekWire Summit 2015

We invited four special guests to share their unique insights on technology and the future.

Friday, 2:55 p.m. — Inventions We Love

Our second “Inventions We Love” segment included presentations from Glowforge, VicisIllumagear and the MSR SE200 Community Chlorine Maker, which ultimately took home the audience favorite award.

 

Friday, 3:30 p.m. — Nike COO: We’re talking about opening a Seattle engineering center

Eric Sprunk - GeekWire Summit 2015

We closed out the Summit with a sports-filled chat that featured Nike COO Eric Sprunk, who shared insight into the culture and innovation at Nike.

 

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