Attention lady hackers: Code Fellows debuts women-only bootcamp, guarantees $60K salary

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Seattle’s “TechStars for engineers” wants to see more women in tech and just debuted a new class solely for female hackers. Code Fellows, which run classes for engineers that guarantee a $60,000 tech job after graduation, just announced a new Ruby on Rails bootcamp for women and women only. The idea for the class came from Jennifer… Read More…

Here’s what Andy Sack would do if he were Seattle mayor

Andy Sack accepts the Iron Man of Startups Award.

Our friends over at Crosscut just started a cool new feature called “If I were Mayor” in which they are asking prominent members of the community for their insights on what they’d do if they were running the state’s biggest city. The feature is especially timely given that the city will be choosing its leader… Read More…

Bootcamp for engineers: Andy Sack unveils new digital trade school Code Fellows

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Everywhere you go in Seattle these days, companies are talking about how difficult it is to find talented developers, designers and engineers. As the director of TechStars Seattle and general partner of Founder’s Co-op, Andy Sack hears this a lot in his discussions with entrepreneurs. But now Sack is looking to do something about it,… Read More…

Live from TechStars Demo Day: Ray Ozzie keynote and 10 new startup pitches

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Team GeekWire is attending TechStars Demo Day, taking place today at the Showbox SoDo in Seattle. More than 600 entrepreneurs, investors, developers and geeks are now filtering into the old warehouse space. Legendary software developer Ray Ozzie will be keynoting the event, starting roughly at 2:25 p.m. That will be followed by the 10 pitches… Read More…

Tech Moves: Andy Sack passes torch at Lighter Capital; OUYA’s new hire

Andy Sack (Randy Stewart photo)

Andy Sack is stepping aside as CEO of Lighter Capital, the Seattle investment firm that provides revenue-based loans to companies that angel or venture capitalist won’t touch. Sack will remain executive chairman, and in his place as CEO will be BJ Lackland. “I remain passionate about the Lighter Capital business and the revenue-based financing model,… Read More…

Lighter Capital ignites with three new investments

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Seattle’s Lighter Capital, which offers an alternative to venture capital and traditional bank loans, today announced three new investments in startups based in Dallas, Minneapolis and the Seattle area. It is backing Dallas’ BinaryWave, developing products and services for the support of Microsoft SharePoint; Bellevue’s HarborCloud, creating virtual desktops for QuickBooks, PeachTree and other services;… Read More…

Seattle VCs invest in TechStars, supporting 3 more years of startup incubation

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TechStars will be looking to hatch companies in Seattle for the next three years, thanks in part to cash from some of the region’s leading venture capital firms. TechStars Seattle, the branch of the popular startup incubation program, has raised $1.5 million in new funding that will support up to 30 new companies over the… Read More…

Introducing The Elevator Pitch: Where entrepreneurs get 43 seconds to reach the top

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In the fast-moving world of startups, entrepreneurs need to be able to sell themselves in seconds. A good elevator pitch can mean all of the difference, helping entrepreneurs score cash, recruit top engineers or land that ever-elusive big customer. A bad pitch? Well, let’s just say that’s a one-way ticket to nowheresville. That’s why we’re… Read More…

Video: Andy Sack of Founder’s Co-op accepts a WTIA award

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The Washington Technology Industry Association’s Industry Achievement Awards were held this week in Seattle. The annual awards are a fun night, celebrating the best of the best in the state’s technology community. But there was one nominee (and winner) who was noticeably absent. As many in the technology community already know, Andy Sack was recently… Read More…

Founder’s Co-op raises $8M angel fund, looks to become a ‘catalyst’ for the NW startup community

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Founder’s Co-op, the angel investment fund led by Andy Sack and Chris DeVore, has raised a new $8 million fund from some of the top names in the Seattle technology community. Managing partner Chris DeVore tells GeekWire that the new fund — raised over the past 12 months — will be used to bankroll as… Read More…

Geeks Who Give Back: Andy Sack, Geoff Entress, Chris DeVore

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These angel investors are elevating Seattle to new heights. The brains behind Founder’s Co-op and TechStars not only are bankrolling new startup ventures, but Andy Sack, Geoff Entress and Chris DeVore are making sure Seattle’s next generation of entrepreneurs has what it takes to compete on a global scale. Says DeVore, “Seattle is the underdog that actually… Read More…

Lighter Capital finds its flame, awards cash to HireAHelper

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Back in August, we told you about an unusual investment competition created by Andy Sack and the crew at Lighter Capital. In essence, the Seattle firm promised to bankroll one company with a loan of up to $500,000. Well, after more than 100 submissions, Lighter Capital has found the winner of its so-called “Capital Countdown”… Read More…

TechStars’ plea to Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and the other ‘godfathers’ of Seattle tech

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Andy Sack, the director of TechStars Seattle, is accustomed to critiquing the pitches of entrepreneurs. Now, Sack is doing an elevator pitch of his own, making a plea to some of the heaviest hitters in Seattle tech. In an email and video message (both posted below), Sack and other members of TechStars Seattle make the pitch… Read More…

Pittsburgh looks to attract entrepreneurial dreamers (over the age of 45)

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Last week, I moderated a panel discussion at the TechNW event in which panelists Andy Sack of TechStars, Glenn Kelman of Redfin and Kathy Savitt of Lockerz suggested that Seattle needs to do more to attract and retain young entrepreneurs. I agreed, citing the story of Box.net as a warning sign for the region and noting… Read More…

Let’s stop the Silicon Valley comparisons, and take a look at why NYC is kicking butt

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Overdone. Counterproductive. Tired. Whiny. Those are some of the words I’ve heard in the past few weeks as the Seattle startup community looks itself in the mirror, debating our standing as an innovation hub in relation to Silicon Valley. We’ve had a pretty active discussion on GeekWire about it, and there’s been no shortage of… Read More…

Photo Gallery: The battle in Seattle (of the tomato variety)

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There may be no better cure for the end of summer than cold beer, live music and hurling tomatoes at your friends. Tomato Battle at the Pyramid Ale House Saturday was the messiest, happiest, and most entertaining event I have ever witnessed in Seattle. It was also a thrilling place for a photographer. Telephoto lens… Read More…

Y Combinator-backed Contagion merges with Health Month to form Habit Labs, moves from SF to Seattle

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Jen McCabe, who founded the Y Combinator-backed startup Contagion, thought about keeping her company in the San Francisco Bay Area upon merging with Buster Benson’s Health Month. But, after taking a closer look at Seattle’s developing startup community, she realized that the newly-formed company, dubbed Habit Labs, would fit better in the Pacific Northwest. “Many… Read More…

IPOs, startups and market volatility: How do you make sense of what’s going on?

Could Silicon Valley use some Pepto?

The wild ups and downs of the stock market this week would be enough to send most sane investors to the medicine cabinet for a strong dose of Pepto-Bismol. But, as the gyrations shake confidence in the markets, I can’t help but think of Impinj. After all, how would you like to be a company… Read More…

Portland Seed Fund tests public-private VC model: Could a similar idea take root in Seattle?

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On the GeekWire podcast last week, we chatted with Rick Turoczy of Portland’s Silicon Florist blog about the differences between the Seattle and Portland startup communities. One of the big ones, which we didn’t get a chance to discuss, is the Portland Seed Fund. A unique public-private partnership, the fund is designed to funnel seed-stage… Read More…

Nerd Notes: McGinn loves the Leaf; Tomato Battle in Seattle; Comcast bans a data hog; and much more

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•Mike McGinn is going electric. The Seattle Mayor today announced that the city has added five new Nissan Leaf electric vehicles, with a goal of having 35 of the vehicles in the city fleet by the end of 2012. •Meet the 39-year-old Seattle gamer who just got kicked off Comcast for hogging too much bandwidth •Bill Gates… Read More…