Ah, those wacky entrepreneurs and their enablers. Put them in front of an audience, give them a live microphone, and envelop them in the geeky goodness that is GeekWire Startup Day and … well, they say things.

Ed Murray at Startupday 2015
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, on how he values but isn’t necessarily a part of Seattle’s technology culture: “I’m not a techie geek. I’m a political geek. When I was five, I wanted to be mayor.”

Kristen Hamilton at Startupday 2015
Koru’s Kristen Hamilton

Koru CEO Kristen Hamilton (wearing a t-shirt declaring “Build Break Learn”) on having the determination to move forward even when much is unknown: “When you’re in a startup, it often feels like you’re running to a cliff … and you have to hope there’s a bridge, or a platform, or a parachute you can grab.”

Rahul Sood at Startupday 2015
Unikrn’s Rahul Sood

Unikrn CEO Rahul Sood on the adjustable height of the bar for creating a startup: “You have to be passionate about solving a problem. You have to be passionate about something. Anything.”

Ben Huh at Startupday 2015
Cheezburger’s Ben Huh

Cheezburger CEO Ben Huh on how failing at a startup, especially after coming from a large company, is not literally a matter of life or death: “If you screw up at a startup, the most probable outcome … is that you will get a raise at a bigger company.”

Jon Roskill at Startupday 2015
Accumatica’s Jon Roskill

Acumatica CEO Jon Roskill, one of three Microsofties-turned-entrepreneurs on a panel, about the relative freedom to decide and act that a startup provides: “At Microsoft, getting something done felt like lobbying Congress.”

Startupday 2015 - Making the Leap
Forest Key

Former Buuteeq CEO Forest Key on finding the right balance in creating a unique brand, based on how much time it ultimately took his staff to explain it to others: “I would go with something much easier to spell.” (Chimed in Acumatica’s Roskill in a nod to Key and INRIX CEO Bryan Mistele, “We might have the panel here with the three worst names.”)

Sarah Bryar - Startupday 2015
Sarah Bryar

Former Rivet & Sway CEO Sarah Bryar on how her startup’s women’s eyewear brand continues to live on past its June 2014 shuttering, thanks to the asset sale: “You can still find our glasses on Glasses.com.”

Raj Singh - Startupday 2015(2)
Concur’s Raj Singh

Concur co-founder Raj Singh on the value of endless debates with fellow co-founder Mike Hilton over apparently little things like whether to use the term “itemize” or “breakdown” in the product: “That’s startup life, man. You’re supposed to love every pixel.”

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.