Fast-growing Seattle startup Qumulo is looking to transform how companies manage data, with what the company calls the first “data-aware scale-out network attached storage (NAS) platform.”
Whoa, that’s a mouthful. And certainly not the sexiest of new products in an era where hot consumer startups such as Snapchat, Pinterest and Nextdoor grab headlines.
So, how does an enterprise data startup spice things up?
We got a taste of that Monday night as the company — led by former Isilon veterans and backed to the tune of $67 million — hosted a lavish launch party at Emerald City Trapeze.
Yes, there were high-flying acts, and even some performance artists on stilts delivering appetizers to guests. A fancy dessert bar get bellies full, while the signature cocktails were flowing.
Amid ongoing chatter of another tech bubble, Qumulo and its more than 100 employees, investors, lawyers and customers had some fun. Co-founder and CEO Peter Godman compared joining a startup to both a supernova and a snowball. That snowball starts rolling because of an initial belief, he said.
“There is a self-fulfilling prophecy around creating any kind of entity, and in a startup in particular you kind of have to believe,” he said. “And, so the folks here have chosen to believe that data is bigger than storage. That we can ship enterprise quality infrastructure every couple of weeks, and that we are building something that is worthy of people’s trust. So, about this snowball. We are all a part of it now. So, tonight, I invite you all to have a lot of fun. Grab on to the snowball as tight as you can. It is going to spin faster and faster, and get bigger and bigger over the next few years.”
And speaking of spinning faster and faster, check out this scene from the festivities.
